tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5123368.post110684994294501864..comments2023-08-17T11:15:30.084-04:00Comments on From Here To Obscurity: Hayden Childshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10132654204616196598noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5123368.post-77812233195515628292009-05-04T18:10:00.000-04:002009-05-04T18:10:00.000-04:00I used Ina May's book with my third child and wish...I used Ina May's book with my third child and wish I had had it for my first two, it would have saved me a lot of pain and trouble. Speaking of good reads, has anyone read the Vaccine Safety Manual by Neil Miller? I cannot recommend it highly enough.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5123368.post-1123178885788826742005-08-04T14:08:00.000-04:002005-08-04T14:08:00.000-04:00Thanks for your comment!After the birth of our son...Thanks for your comment!<BR/><BR/>After the birth of our son (which I wrote about in a later post), I pointed out that the Austin Area Birthing Center also appears to have a vested interest in disinformation about birthing procedures. We're in a sad state of affairs when neither side of the issue is telling the simple truth about something so fundamental to all of our lives as childbirth. <BR/><BR/>I'm always happy to learn that there are many physicians (and perhaps this is "most physicians") who are committed to vaginal birth and to preventing unnecessary C-sections. But there should be a way to hold obstetricians like the one your step-daughter visited accountable for not discussing the risks of C-section births.<BR/><BR/>Anyway, good luck with your boards!Hayden Childshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10132654204616196598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5123368.post-1123027042376621752005-08-02T19:57:00.000-04:002005-08-02T19:57:00.000-04:00Hi, I saw this site while reviewing for my boards....Hi, <BR/>I saw this site while reviewing for my boards. I'm a physician (not an OB/Gyn). The medical school and residency program I attended has always taught that vaginal births are best. Even twin and favorable breech births are performed vaginally whenever possible. The perinatologists and OB doctors there are dedicated, highly trained individuals, and are not influenced by reimbursement issues or other non-medical reasons for C-Section.<BR/><BR/>Having said that,imagine my surprise when my adult step-daughter told me the community-based private OB/Gyn practice she works for actually asks the patient to indicate her preference for C-Section or vaginal birth at the first OB visit, apparently without providing information to the patient concerning the risks of Caesarian-section vs. vaginal birth! I was dumbfounded.<BR/><BR/>As physicians, we take an oath to "do no harm".<BR/>Educating patients about pros and cons of certain procedures, informing them of all their options, advocating for patients, and even protecting patients from their own bad decisions all fall under that umbrella. <BR/><BR/>28 years ago, my own son was born vaginally, with nothing but a saline drip in my veins, after 27 hours of labor. He was breastfed. He and I went home about 36 hours after delivery and he (and I) did fine. <BR/><BR/>I am one physician (and there are MANY) who think C-sections should be reserved for those women and babies who have a true indication, and that babies should be breast-fed whenever possible.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5123368.post-1107885909166358482005-02-08T13:05:00.000-05:002005-02-08T13:05:00.000-05:00I haven't responded because I haven't really been ...I haven't responded because I haven't really been up to it. Let me just say that I don't think any of us are in disagreement. The point I want to mainly hit is Marya's annoyance at me using "natural" and "normal" for drug-free childbirth (and drug-free, rather than medical personnel-free isn't an usual use for the term "natural childbirth"), which is, I think, a way of normalizing an increasingly unusual choice in childbirth. My larger point is not that either of y'all have had a diminished childbirth, because I don't think that such a thing is possible -- it's that U.S. obstetricians are too quick to choose convenience and short-term risk as reasons to push for medically intrusive decisions in childbirth, leading to untested results with potential long-term consequences.Hayden Childshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10132654204616196598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5123368.post-1107190101341530622005-01-31T11:48:00.000-05:002005-01-31T11:48:00.000-05:00I stand corrected about the c-section statistics.
...I stand corrected about the c-section statistics.<br /><br />No doubt, OB-GYNs are plagued by fear of lawsuits, and not without reason.JBJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05369081583850087644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5123368.post-1107041118184547092005-01-29T18:25:00.000-05:002005-01-29T18:25:00.000-05:00I'd bet the rate of Caesarians is higher, for inst...I'd bet the rate of Caesarians is higher, for instance, in Amarillo than it is in Austin. Middle-class parents who know their stuff can give the doctor certain signals in advance: that you know the downside to having a c-section and really want to avoid it, that you've studied Bradley or Lamaze, and (implicitly) if you have a bad experience with Dr. X you're going to tell all your friends about it and that they should go see Dr. Y. <br /><br />I'm quibbling, though. Looking back, with Angela's deliveries they used a fetal monitor, and if the baby had been in distress & the doctor suggested a c-section, I'm sure we would have gone along. But we had communicated our preferences, and he would have had to communicate his reasons for going against them.JBJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05369081583850087644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5123368.post-1107031661482583292005-01-29T15:47:00.000-05:002005-01-29T15:47:00.000-05:00John, I agree 100% that informed parents can vastl...John, I agree 100% that informed parents can vastly improve their birth experience in or out of hospitals. However, how many parents do you think are informed enough to disagree with obstetricians over, say, C-sections? In my experience, many of the people we know who have encouraged us to relax and let the professionals work have been educated, intelligent people who just have faith in medical professionals. Lord knows I trust doctors and nurses to do the right thing when I need their advice or care on most issues. I could see myself easily reasoning: Why would a doctor lead me astray on childbirth? But apparently (and, again, this is the best part of Ina May's book: the statistics) a good proportion of obstetricians will do so without a second thought.<br /><br />That said, the couple I mention at the beginning of the post had their baby in a hospital without the benefit of a doula or midwife. They took the Bradley classes with us, and they trusted their obstetrician to do the right thing. James felt that he could handle the situation if anything out of the ordinary started to happen. And they did fine.Hayden Childshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10132654204616196598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5123368.post-1106939348552846792005-01-28T14:09:00.000-05:002005-01-28T14:09:00.000-05:00I hope you'll revisit this post after the baby arr...I hope you'll revisit this post after the baby arrives (as soon as you get the time and energy!). I'm not saying you're wrong, and I get mad at the health care industry too, but our childbirth experiences (pretty conventional, in a hospital with an OBGYN) were good. Our OB doc was not exactly a warm human being, but he's very good at his job, and the OB nurses were awesome (you spend a lot more time with them). <br /><br />To my mind, risk of complications and other bad stuff is mitigated by getting good prenatal care, "shopping around" for an OB you are comfortable with, and advocating strongly for your wishes during labor. (What little value there was in me being in the room with Angela was reiterating, in a loud voice, what she wanted.) I feel for women in rural communities or other situations who don't have much choice in who/what they get.<br /><br />One anecdote: When our first child was born, the birthing center at Rex Hospital offered "suites" where the mother went through labor and delivery in the same room. They made a big selling point of this. By the time #2 came along, though, it was labor in one room, then they roll the mother into THE delivery room. The change was because "the doctors prefer it this way," though I wonder if there was a cost factor.JBJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05369081583850087644noreply@blogger.com