http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/177_11_021202/dec10354_fm.pdf In America, when women moved from home to hospital, the rate of peurperal infection was extremely high. and the death rates from it were staggering. This was caused by medical students doing multiple vaginal exams on women, often after attending people with gangrene, TB, syphylis, or even cadavers, without washing their hands. However, midwife attended homebirths, often in squalid conditions, had a much lower rate of peurperal fever and death, because midwives did not do frequent vaginal exams, had no one other than the woman they were caring for at the time, and the woman was already immune to the germs in her own home. http://college.hmco.com/history/readerscomp/women/html/wm_005400_childbirth.htm http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/1997/09.18/DefeatingInfect.html http://www.cl.utoledo.edu/canaday/quackery/quack4.html http://www.kcskinhealth.com/handwashingactexch.html
I got a drip epidural which is like an iv stuck to your back and it drips in when they need to give you more but much slower then just being stuck although it worked right away ii still felt all the pressure adn could push. it wore off at 10 cm which was when I could feel it all. I got it at 6 and a half after that thay said i could not have one if i didnt get it by 6 and a half. I tried without but I had been induced and I had already been given 4 other things in my Iv plus I heard a woman in a room next to me screaming her lungs out the docs said she didnt want any meds...I just wanted her to shut up she was making me hurt wors then I was without hearing her but nobody had any dang ear plugs....anyways my labor was 10 hours or so total the hard labor no more then 2 hours I bet...not sure. It went really fast. do a lot of squats and pelvic movements
With Maddie (my first), I had a long labor...contractions brought no dialation at all! I went in at @6 pm when my water broke and I was at only 1 cm...by 4 oclock am I was still only at 3-4 cm. But, from between 4 to 4:45am I jumped up to 10 cm. I told the nurse I had to shit, but she said, Uh, no you're having a baby! So, they called my dr. and I delivered her at 4:54am. I pushed about 3 times and she was out! No tearing, no episiotomy, or anything. She was tiny, though...6 lb 11 oz. But, I walked all during my pregnancy like 1-2 miles a day...and I think that helped alot. Fallenfairy, every pregnancy is different. Look at mine...I had one normal vaginal birth, and one horrible emergency life or death c-section. And my dr. told me that I should have no problem having a VBAC (as long as I don't have to be induced). If you're not presenting any complications right now, I don't see why you can't have a wonderful healthy delivery.
Wow! Thanks Brighid! It helped alot. I'm actually in the process of getting over a childbirth phobia (I love babies, but plan on adopting). I know it sounds rediculous, since there's no chance of me getting pregnant right now, but I used to get panic attacks just from hearing other women's stories. I'm trying to get over it now because (aside from the useless anxiety,) I'm a nursing student, and I'm going to have to take a semester long course in obstetrics (I want to go into pediatrics, but it's a required course for everyone). The more I think about it, I think it's actually the hospital setting and the way that hospitals treat it that freaks me out (I normally love hospitals, but not for the birth setting) more than the actual childbirth. I mean, with all the stories I've heard of hospital births...yikes! And what you were saying about coached pushing--God! I think that's the main thing that upsets me--seeing all these women in pain and then have them be yelled at on top of it! I'm glad to hear not every woman has to go through that. My problem now (and the course is two years away--leave it to me to worry this early ) is that I will most likely be doing most (if not all) of my training in a hospital setting--I don't know how I'm going to be able to handle all the things hospitals do wrong. Why is it that hospitals make women lie on their backs if it's so much easier on her to kneel/squat? I've heard that women first started to birth on their backs because Henry VIII of England had some freaky fetish for women giving birth so he had them lie down like that so he could watch. (Stupid men! ) What's the reason it's still used? Also, are episiotomies ever necessary? What about obstetric fistulas--why don't they heal on their own? I know fistulas are most common in young girls whose bodies aren't fully developed, but why can't your body heal them? Have you ever worked in a hospital setting? Do you have any tips on how I could handle it if I witness a traumatic birth? I'm worried that even if I manage to get over my phobia before hand, I'll witness something traumatic and it'll all come back. I'm not sure how much influence I'll be allowed since I'm only a student (I'll talk to my advisor), and that's what frustrates me. Thanks so much! Kate
Of course you do! I have heard a lot of those stories myself, and it's no wonder women are terrified of giving birth. Have you seen how birth is portrayed on television or in the movies? It's always a dramatic emergency. Plus, the whole Male Dominated medical system is designed to take away a woman's autonomy (They take your clothes away the minute you get there, for Pete's sake!) and encourage her to be afraid....how else would they have compliant patients who do everything they say? I read a paper once, published in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, that was devoted to telling OB/GYNs how to make a woman compliant. For example, always give her instructions when she's naked on the table because she is more vulnerable. Sit behind a desk, it gives you more authority. Aks them if they want their baby to die if they question your protocols. Things designed to make her feel weak and vulnerable, and the OB omnipotent. I'll see if I can find it again....... I really don't like to go to the hospital with women. But it is part of my job if we have a transport or if I'm being hired as a doula (gotta pay the bills!) California has loads of freestanding birth centers and independent licensed home birth midwives and certified nurse midwives. Look in the phone book and see if you can shadow one or do part of your clinicals in a birth center. LOL! It's easier for the doctor! He sits on a stool with the bed elevated so the woman's crotch at his eye level. I have caught babies lying on my back, bending over a tub or kiddie pool, sitting on the floor, cross legged on the bed, from the side, the back, the front, on the toilet, on the floor, in a closet, outside by a lake, in a back yard......which doctor is going to mess up his sterile feild and sit on the floor, much less stand on his head, if he has too? King Luois XVIII had the fetish for watching his mestresses give birth. He would hide behind a curtain while the accoucher attended the birth, with the lady on her back so he could see everything. He was a sick fucker. I have done 2 episiotomies in 2 years. (And it makes me a bit green around the gills to do it). Sometimes the baby needs to come out NOW and getting them out as fast as possible is more important than the ladies bottom. BUT, it's only after I have tried changing her position, stretching her with warm olive oil, and trying everything to get baby out without cutting her. If the baby's heart rate is fine, I let her stretch as much and for as long as she needs to. Nice, slow breathing, pushing gently with the urge, and birthing in water or with warm oil compresses works lovely to prevent tears. Also good nutrition during pregnancy (see how everything comes back to nutrition?) makes healthy skin with good elasticity. Fistulas are rare, rare, rare. In developing countries, fistulas may develop after days of obstructed labour, when the pressure of the fetal head compresses the tissues and in effect causes them to die. The baby dies in the process. Fistulas like that are caused by malnutrition in young girls who have malformed pelvises. In the US, fistulas may be caused by instrumental delivery, forceps or vacuum extractors. Fistulas are resistant to healing because they are constantly exposed to feces or urine. Remember, a woman with a fistula will be leaking fecal matter into her vagina until it is repaired. Chronic irritation, inflammation and infection prevent the wound from healing. I have only worked as a doula in the hospital (thank the goddesses!) but, honestly, I never get over the rough handling of the babies, the seperation of mother and babe, the drugs, the coercion, the interventions, the outcomes that could have been prevented. One of my clients had a fear of getting an episitotomy. She had one with her first, ripped to a fourth degree (into the anal sphincter) and had a horrible post partum period of pain, itching, and it took almost 2 years before she could have sex comfortably again. So, she's pushing (the coached kind, which we call "Purple Pushing) because mama turns purple and bursts blood vessels in her eyes), and in between she says, "Don't cut me, let me tear" The doctor says, "I won't, I won't". She begins to push, the head is visible, and I see him reach for the scissors. Baby heart rate is perfect, she stretching nicely, mind you. I say to him, "Please, dont cut her. She doesn't want to be cut." And he looks at me with this smirk on his face, and what does he do? Yup, cuts her a new asshole. HUGE episiotomy, for no reason, except to maybe show us who's the boss. It looked like a vaginal ceserean. I kid you not. Recently, I had a lady transport to the hospital because she wasn't progressing (it was all emotional, but that's another story). She gets to the hospital, and she's 9 cm. A few minutes later, she's 10 and ready to push. She pushes for about a half an hour, bringing the baby down nicely, the baby has sudden decelrations of the heart rate, the CNM calls for back up, we move her to her side, she pushes again, the baby is fine. Doctor walks in, and says "Prep her" The CNM says, "It's fine now, the baby's fine" He says, "You called me, I'm doing a section." And that was it. 22 years old, newborn baby, section scar and weeks of postpartum pain. Let me tell you, I cried over that one. So, I don't know what to tell you, except it's okay to be upset and angry over a traumatic birth, especially when it didn't have to be that way. May I suggest a reading list for you? It will give you a different outlook on birth and current medical practices. I think you should start with Spiritual Midwifery, by Ina May Gaskin. It was written by a midwife on a hippie commune in the 70's, and the language (Groovy, psychedelic, man!") is dated, but the birth stories are amazing and inspirational! The birth outcomes on the Farm were better than any hospital, even though (or because!) they gave birth at home on paisley printed sheets. "A Thinking Woman's Guide To A Better Birth" by Henci Goer is another good one. "Obsteric Myth VS Research Reality", by Henci Goer http://www.efn.org/~djz/birth/obmyth/epis.html The Baby Catcher by Penny Armstrong Immaculate Deception by Suzanne Arms Lying In: A History of Childbirth in America By Wertz and Wertz And here's some birth stories by women who gave birth at home http://www.childbirth.org/articles/stories/categories/homebirthstories.html Enjoy!
