...the little poll I have going on the right hand side of this page about homebirth. I cannot wait till it is over and we see how moms are thinking/feeling.
I sincerely DO wonder why more moms do not choose homebirth. SERIOUSLY. So for me this is pretty interesting.
Speaking of birth :)
Let's take a look-see at the newest gadget to hit the hospital market for laboring moms.
As if the internal fetal monitor (a screw put into the baby's head) is not barbaric enough for our baby's head.
As if the vacuum extractor (the name gives the use away) is not barbaric enough for our infant's skull.
As if the forceps (metal salad tongs) are not crushing enough for our baby's fragile brain.
They need to torture mom a bit more here...so they came up with
THIS.
As if the episiotomy is not barbaric enough.
As if the countless vaginal exams (some moms refer to them as 'birth rape') are not enough.
WAIT A SEC.
The docs have FOR YEARS defended the hourly vaginal exam. They need to know that information, right? It helps them better manage moms labor, right? I mean, they HAVE to chart it, right?
Well, then why do they feel the need to come up with a 'better' option? Are they admitting that moms hate the exam, that the exam causes more infections, that the exam can give false information, that the exam can break the bag of waters to early, that the exam is NOT going to tell you when the bay is coming....??????? Cause if not, then why would they invent this Birth Track garbage in the first place?
Perhaps they want all the information "given" during the exam WITHOUT having to take the time to come into the hospital, wash the hands, get a glove on, make small talk with the family, torture mom...er, dig into mom to find the cervix and measure dilation, effacement and station.
In other words, they want machines to replace personal care.
AGAIN.
We have seen this with the electronic fetal monitor. Doctors and nurses cannot be bothered to check the baby's heart rate manually so they invent a machine that replaces the need for a human. A machine, might I add, that has TRIPLED the cesarean rate over the past few decades without lowering the infant death rate. (for those of you who may not understand...the EFM has not helped save any babies lives statistically in the past 3 decades. The infant death rate is the same and even HIGHER than before the EFM was introduced)
So many moms have expressed concern and even anger over the fact that the medical staff (doctors, midwives, nurses) care more about the beeping machines than her. They walk in the room mumbling a weak "hello" and their eyes only stay on the paper read out. Does mom even count? Or is she a
Womb Pod?
Answer me this:
Is labor only about the cervix?
Do we only "need" to know what the cervix is doing in order to manage birth better? Is that how this new devise will....dare I say the word...HELP?
Or should we try and manage labor at all?
Will it limit the mom's movement, comfort, care and ability to labor uninhibited?
Already mom has a blood pressure cuff on one arm, an IV on the other arm, two straps around her contracting belly or 2 devices inserted into her body (IFM, & pressure cathitar in the uterus) as well as a catheter in her bladder. And if she, like most moms, cannot handle the pain of labor laying on her back totally still (I could not either) she will also have a needle inserted into her back sending much needed pain relief to this poor mom.
So let's limit mom even more. Let's send her the message that her body is broken and she needs to let the 'experts' take over. That she cannot do it. That she is in danger.
And what will happen? We will have an even higher c-section rate. As if a national average of 30%+ is not high enough. (remember, that rate doesn't not parallel a lower infant death rate)
Oh.....and may I say a quick word about inductions??? (Yes! It is my blog!!!)
I hate them. They are from the devil.
Perhaps that will be the subject of my next post...
"Inductions: A moms fastest way to major abdominal surgery" (the the doctors vacation or golf game)
