Issue link: http://cp.revolio.com/i/855118
I wasn't brave at all . I was simply terrified of having my babies in the hospital! By the mid-1980s, the cesarean sec on rate was escala ng and had reached what then seemed to be an astronomical 18%. In retrospect, I wouldn't have believed it could get to where it is now, and the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has stated that the rate will likely reach 50% before hi ng a plateau! At that me, the episiotomy rate was approximately 99% and the epidural anesthesia rate was not far behind. Every woman was required to be strapped to a monitor and to have an IV line placed "in case of emergency." One OB actually told me that he considered all pregnant women "disasters wai ng to happen." I was just having a baby, not an emergency appendectomy! I didn't want all these poten ally dangerous interven ons for something that was almost always natural and safe. It sort of reminds me of those commercials for a medica on for something benign like a foot fungus. You know, you've got a li le athlete's foot so treat it with something that can cause "heart problems, coma, and death." It's just overkill for something that's usually just not that big a deal in a healthy person. As a midwife, I'd observed the loss of autonomy that too o en occurred when a woman set foot in the hospital – the transforma on that occurred with the ritual of shedding her "real person" clothes in favor of the hospital johnnie, and with it the shi of going from being an independent, capable woman into "a pa ent" – which culturally equates with being dependent, helpless, and sick – quali es that are a far cry, from feeling empowered and strong. Now, having been through obstetrics training I can honestly say that I'd feel even more concerned about having my baby in the hospital – unless absolutely, medically necessary. Aside from the astronomical cesarean sec on rates, numerous other complica ons are occurring in record numbers. One of these is Chorioamnioni s, an infec on in the "bag" that holds the water around the baby, leading both mom and baby to need an bio cs during labor and a er birth – some mes leading to separa on of mom and baby a er birth so the newborn can be observed in the nursery. This infec on is due almost exclusively to bacteria acquired in the hospital, and is commonly transmi ed to the mother when excessive vaginal examina ons are performed to assess labor progress. Women are expected to labor according to the "Friedman curve," an obsolete measure of how many cen meters she should dilate per hour, and are given medica ons to s mulate labor when things are not going according to that archaic and inaccurate plan. Pitocin, the most commonly used medica on, can cause the baby to go into distress, and in a domino effect, culminate in a cesarean sec on. This is just a small glimpse of what can – and generally does – go wrong in the hospital se ng, leading to the high and inappropriate level of interven ons we have in birth. Page 40 | Abby's Magazine - www.AbbysMag.com Bridging The Gap Bridging The Gap Bridging The Gap Bridging The Gap Helping Bridge the Gap between You & Your Customers Helping Bridge the Gap between You & Your Customers CALL TODAY: 727-455-6830 ONLINE: angelarussodesign.weebly.com EMAIL: amduvall1@gmail.com BRAND DEVELOPMENT • PUBLICATION DESIGN PRINT DESIGN • WEB DEVELOPMENT YOUR PROFESSIONAL IMAGE NEEDS TO BE VISUAL & COMPETITIVE in the FLORIDA PRINT AWARDS BEST OF CATEGORY Winners 2X Designer of Abby's Magazine