Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Irrational?

There seems to be this idea that Homebirth Advocates are irrational, angry, loopy, emotional creatures. That we don't understand or respect scientific fact. That we toss reason to the wind and rely on instinct or touchy-feely imagery to drive our birth decisions.


To these criticisms I would ask,

Who is more Rational?

....the Doctor who blithely chooses an elective cesarean for a patient for his own personal convenience? ....or the Mother who through months of painstaking research and careful consideration chooses homebirth to avoid the risks of unnecessary hospital interventions which significantly increase morbidity and mortality for both mother and baby?


and, Free of Charge, Here's An Example of aforementioned "Medical Irrationality"


Sitting at the nurses station, I overhear a pediatrician questioning a nurse, "what was the reason for this c-section?" The nurse looks over the chart, "Hmmm, let's see, she's a primipara(first baby) and, let's see....she wasn't induced. She wasn't in labor"

"Was it elective?" asked the Pedi. "No," responds the nurse, "I think she was breech."

"Yes, here, on her prenatal records, it states that the baby was breech."

The Doc countered, "But this delivery record shows the baby as vertex(head down) at the time of delivery."

"Oh, yeah!" the nurse responded, "The baby turned head down at the last minute!"


As it turned out, the OB was surprised by the mother reporting for her scheduled C-section with a baby head down and in good position for vaginal birth. Undeterred, he promptly talked the trusting woman into going ahead with the surgery anyway, since her baby was probably too big for her to deliver vaginally. She, like a good patient, did as her Doctor recommended.


The baby weighed 8 pounds 2 ounces.



The Good Doctor was back in his office in time to finish up his afternoon prenatal visits without the distraction of a laboring woman to bother with. The patient spent the rest of her day recovering from a completely, irrefutably unnecessary surgery.

7 comments:

Mary the Birth Goddess said...

Thanks so much for commenting!!!
and...I agree!!(lol)

Anonymous said...

And we wonder why the section rate is so high!
In the USA do Drs get paid more for a caesarian section than a vaginal birth?

Mama to Monkeys said...

Please keep writing...please.

More women need to hear what you have to say.

Mary the Birth Goddess said...

Midwifemuse, I cannot speak to the dollar amount an MD takes away from a C-section vs a Vag birth. The Hospital/Insurance charges are much higher for C-section, that's for certain. Also, a c-section is usually much easier on a doctor's schedule than a Vag birth. However, I believe its fear of litigation, not convenienve or greed, that's behind the rising C-section rate. Of course, the fact that C-sections are a much safer surgery than in years past, that does have a lot to do with their increase.
Thanks for commenting!

Mary the Birth Goddess said...

Monkey Momma, thanks for commenting!!

Unknown said...

My doctor's fee was higher for a C-section. I had a vaginal birth, but the fee schedule was presented at the beginning of my pregnancy.

I just found your blog, and am thoroughly enjoying it!

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