What you may not know about childbirth
I’m not one of those women who feels cheated by their delivery experience(s). I’m also not an advocate for natural, unmedicated childbirth (though there’s nothing wrong with that route). Both of my deliveries resulted in healthy children…but after reading this article, I realized there are still things I didn’t know that might have affected my decisions and experiences.
A new survey of mothers reveals some disturbing things about hospital maternity care that may make pregnant women want to take a closer look at their options.
What choices do we really have, and what choices are being made without our involvement?
The article explaining the survey results is not easily summarized, so I’ll just highlight five facts that surprised me (please take a few moments to read it for yourself - you may be startled by what you learn!). Did you know these things?
1. Maternal mortality is on the rise in this country - it was up to 13 deaths per 100,000 in the United States in 2004, up from 11 in 2000. Forty-one (that’s 41!) other developed nations have lower maternal death rates.
2. 73% of the women interviewed who had an episiotomy were not asked for their consent. (This was true of my first delivery as well.)
3. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has never approved Pitocin for the use of augmenting labor and it has been suggested now that mismanagement of Pitocin is the leading cause of liability suits and damage awards. Say what??
4. A woman with private insurance is more likely to end up with a Cesarean section than an uninsured woman or one on Medicaid.
5. Eleven states prohibit births with homebirth-trained attendants, such as certified professional midwives (CPMs), or ban homebirths outright. My state is one of them. Seventeen states have no birthing centers.
Well…good thing I was OK with my children being delivered at the local hospital, I guess! It’s appalling to me that so many of our options are dependent on where we live, and that our experiences differ based on what sort of insurance we carry (or don’t have) - and on how forthright our doctors are with us regarding decisions about the birth itself and care afterward.
Keep your eyes and ears open, moms! Every woman has the right to be involved in the decision-making process when it comes to her health and that of her child.
(Via Radical Catholic Mom.)
Posted by Sunshine.
October 26th, 2007 at 8:10 am
I’m so glad you posted this Mel! I am one of those who advoce EVERY pregnant woman to get as much information as she can about childbirth and delivery and to make the choices HERSELF. Unfortunately, going the hospital route means in quite a few cases, that you don’t make the choices, they are made for you and you also often get false/biased information when the choice is yours, so that your decision will be the one they want.
October 26th, 2007 at 8:12 am
I forgot to add, this book is excellent to get educated: The Thinking Woman’s Guide to a Better Birth by Henci Goer
October 26th, 2007 at 9:14 am
I am so happy to live so close to the only birth center in my home state (Georgia) I know my midwife saved me from having a c-section.
October 26th, 2007 at 9:53 am
I think going through my first birth is what made my second birth better. Of course it could have more to do with second births usually being easier. I did feel more educated and vocal with my second. It really is up to the woman. I never planned on having an unmedicated, natural, no intervention delivery. I did talk with my OB about what was important to me like not having an episiotomy. My second delivery was almost perfect. I still say every decision with both of my deliveries, mine or not, was made for the benefit of the baby.
October 26th, 2007 at 1:15 pm
It’s easy for information to be swayed depending on the bias. I also saw this information from a different source and one of the “biggest” reasons for the increasing mortality rate for women is the rising rate of obesity, which greatly complicates the picture.
I have to also say regarding the statistic that 73% of women weren’t asked about the episiotomy. My two cents is that you have to find a practitioner that you love and trust, then when it comes down to the point of decision, you need accept that they are making the best choice for you. Often at the point of delivery, the main goal is getting baby out safely and there’s not a lot of time for discussion. That’s why this should all be discussed and agreement reached ahead of time.
October 26th, 2007 at 2:18 pm
Jo Ann, I agree. It’s so easy to jump on the “doctors are evil” bandwagon, when I’d say most of the time they only have the patient’s (mother and baby) best interests at heart.
October 26th, 2007 at 8:54 pm
I never said doctors were evil or anything like that; this article just points out that we need to be careful about who delivers (although sometimes you don’t really have many options), etc.
I’m usually in the opposite camp anyway, the “I figure my doctor will do what’s best” so I thought I’d write from the other side for once, such as it is…it’s all really about having healthy babies, whatever that means to you personally.
October 26th, 2007 at 11:32 pm
What’s natural about being “undedicated” — if it’s even possible to be so after nine months? Or do you mean “unmedicated”?
October 27th, 2007 at 12:09 am
It should be “unmedicated” of course.
October 27th, 2007 at 3:27 am
I think I understand better now why some women favor coming up with a birth plan, and put it in writing. Once you’re delivering, everything happens so fast.
I don’t think anyone here is arguing that doctors are evil, merely that labor and delivery are natural events that have become medical events, which has huge pluses of course - but some very weighty minuses as well that are worth considering. It’s possible to strike a balance, and many women do so successfully. Were I to have another baby, I’d give some consideration to a birth plan, and likely opt for a midwife.
One small example - with my second, everything seemed to be going nicely, I was at 9cm, when I heard the doctor (I hadn’t met him yet, the OB practice I went to was large-ish) order “pit”. I knew that meant Pitocin. I knew I didn’t want Pitocin unless necessary, but I just didn’t say anything to him - it seemed like it was out of my hands. Now maybe it was medically necessary. Maybe I had been at 9cm too long. But maybe HIS idea of an ideal birth is faster is better. I’ll never know. It still bugs me a little.
PS Sunshine, sorry about the typo, that was a spell checker error. Babs, I say try for the undedicated option, if only to write about it here.
October 27th, 2007 at 11:58 am
Childbirth is a very natural process. I remember hearing a newsreporter asking a woman who had given birth in her car if she was terrified by not being at the hospital. I thought that was odd. The doctors don’t do anything at all! They stop by and visit once in awhile.
Birth is a mother and her baby and people supporting her. The more interventions you have the more complications that can arise. It’s wonderful that these interventions exist when needed of course, but I think it’s rare that a woman actually believes she can do what billions of other women have done since the dawn of time.
Our mortality rate is disgusting and it is our duty to be informed. While some may be due to obesity, it’s mostly due to c-sections that are not needed but protect the doctor.
My first doctor wanted to give me a c-section for absolutely no reason. If I hadn’t been informed both of my children would have been born via random c-sections. I said no and delivered an hour later. Next time I had a midwife.
My biggest question is really why women don’t know they have the power to say no. The second labor they wanted to give me pit. No reason. The doctor’s don’t always have your best interest at heart. It was a busy labor room and they wanted to speed it up. No health reason, none at all.
Just say no.
October 27th, 2007 at 10:19 pm
Mommasteph — I hope to send you an essay about undedicated childbirth soon!