In the past two weeks, I have seen several postings in various forums, blogs, and on birth related news sites about the show Mad Men which depicted the shows character Betty Draper giving birth to her third child with something called “twilight sleep” which unfortunately was very common during this period of time. A great description of the episode itself was from Science and Sensibility writer, Amy Romano :
Last week, the main character’s wife, Betty Draper, gave birth to her third child. While her husband, Don, sits in the waiting room drinking scotch with another nervous expectant dad, Betty is subjected to 1960’s “standard of care” obstetrics. Left alone in a labor room, she is shaved, given an enema, and then receives the crown jewel of her modern childbirth experience: medications to induce twilight sleep, which also induce a mad stupor and land Betty in restraints because of her erratic, combative behavior. As a midwife and a mother, the most difficult part for me to watch was when Betty awoke from her stupor, swaddled baby in arms, with no memory of the experience. You can watch all of the birth-related clips from the show at Jezebel.
http://blog.ctnews.com/elwood/2009/09/29/going-back-in-time-twilight-sleep/#comment-52
Posted by: R Haasch in VBAC
Now there is one more reason for women to consider their childbirth options and to fight for their right to thorough, unbiased and accurate information when thinking about what kind of birth for which they’d like to plan. According to US News & World Report, a new study undertaken at the University of Colorado, Denver, School of Medicine, found that repeat cesarean sections are not only riskier to newborn health than VBACs (vaginal birth after a previous cesarean section) but also result in a more costly birth.
http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/blog/2009/05/22/risking-future-studying-repeat-csections-vbacs
When it comes to delivering a baby, it really does matter where a doctor was trained: some residency programs produce better obstetricians than others.
This is the conclusion of a study that evaluates programs based on how well the patients treated by the programs’ graduates fared.
The researchers analyzed the records of 4.9 million deliveries in Florida and New York State from 1992 to 2007, looking for complications like infections and bleeding after vaginal and Caesarean section deliveries.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/29/health/29baby.html?_r=1&emc=tnt&tntemail1=y
Having your baby at home with a registered midwife is just as safe as a conventional hospital birth, a new study says.
In fact, planned home births of this kind may have a lower rate of complications, according to the study published in the Sept. 15 issue of CMAJ.
Even though the study was conducted in Canada, where attitudes toward midwifery are more accepting than in some other countries, the findings may help to calm an ongoing controversy in the United States and elsewhere.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists is opposed to home births, as are certain organizations in Australia and New Zealand. More organizations in Great Britain are supportive and Canadian provinces are currently transitioning to midwifery, said study lead author Patricia Janssen, director of the Master of Public Health Program at the University of British Columbia.
http://www.kold.com/global/story.asp?s=11020363
Posted by: R Haasch in VBAC
I am a huge — HUUUGE — supporter of VBAC and HBAC births. While I am sure that a good majority of the 33% of women who are cut open on any given day in the United States to have their babies pulled from within believe that it HAD to happen that way, the simple fact of the matter is that 1 in 3 babies does NOT need to be born via c-section. We are witnessing an interventions domino effect of the worst kind – one that impacts women and their health and their birth experiences, and one that impacts their babies equally as much — their health, well being, and start in life.
http://drmomma.blogspot.com/2009/09/vbac-hbac-vbamc-resources.html
Peggy Garland, a certified nurse-midwife and Coordinator of the Massachusetts Coalition for Midwifery, says the state acts against the interests of women and mothers by limiting access to midwifery services:
Did you know that almost a quarter of all hospital discharges involves maternity care (mother and newborn)? That six out of fifteen of the most common hospital procedures involve maternity care? That Cesarean section is the most commonly performed surgery? Why are so many procedures being performed on essentially healthy people? It’s the same reason behind sky-rocketing costs in all other sectors of health care: reimbursement is procedure-driven.
http://commonhealth.wbur.org/guest-contributors/2009/09/midwives-a-safe-cost-saving-alternative/
Forget the hands-free breast pump. That innovation is so last month’s hot mommy blogging news. The new must have: a pump that lets you keep your clothes on while you’re making milk.
The Freemie comes from a physician who also happens to be a mother. Dr. Stella Dao’s twins were premies, which meant a whole lot of pumping was going on in the early weeks of their lives.
http://blogs.babble.com/strollerderby/2009/09/16/new-breast-pump-lets-you-do-it-with-your-clothes-on/