Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Two more UC articles

One from Canada, one from the UK:

DIY Delivery from The Globe and Mail

The Women Having "Extreme Births" from Marie Claire

Note the obligatory disapproving statements from docs and midwives in the first article.

You might enjoy posting comments--thoughtful, articulate responses would be a nice antidote to some of the people freaking out over the concept!

3 comments:

  1. Ugh. I'd rather just hear about it like it really is - beautiful and peaceful and fulfilling - from a mother who has done it than hear about from doctors and midwives who are only trained to intervene. Wow, I'm looking forward to doing this myself!

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  2. The Marie Claire site keeps crashing on me, but I had to comment on something in the other article:

    "Although there are no large or recent studies on the outcomes of planned unassisted childbirth, the evidence stacked against the practice is "overwhelming," according to Vyta Senikas, associate executive vice-president for the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada."

    How completely irrational to suggest that in the absence of any actual evidence that the evidence is "overwhelming"!! And these people are supposed to be "scientists"!

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  3. I want to comment on this again, especially after a conversation I had with a friend yesterday.

    This friend is due to have her third baby in about 4 weeks and will be having him by c-section, just like she had her previous babies by c-section. I mentioned to her that I have no intention of ever giving birth in a hospital again, and that I am seriously considering a UC. She, of course, expressed the usual concerns with such an idea, ie. pain relief, what to do if the cord is wrapped around the baby's neck, how to get the placenta out, etc.

    My internal reaction, since we were interrupted at this point was basically, "My goodness, I am not interested in having a midwife to watch me and chart me and expect things to go wrong. I don't need help with pain relief. If the cord is wrapped around the baby's neck, I or my husband will unwind it. My placenta's come out in abotu 2 minutes anyway. I just want to have a baby in peace and quiet. I want to let my body do what it really knows how to do, and I don't want a bunch of strangers around to watch." It'll be interesting to continue this conversation over the next few months.

    I am flabbergasted at how difficult and complex and dangerous the birth process has been made to appear. It isn't. The most complicated birth I've had so far was the one that had the most interventions. The easiest, by far, was the one that was basically unassisted because nobody realized how close I was until the baby was practically coming out! I wish that there was some way I could convey this idea to the women around me, but so many of them have been completely indoctrinated with the idea that their bodies are broken.

    I'd love to continue, but my kids are going crazy wanting breakfast. See ya. Hopefully I can finish this later. :)

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