May 2010 Weddings
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
The Business of Being Born
We just watched a very interesting documentary on maternal health care in the US. We have the second highest infant mortality rate in the developed world. In other developed countries like Japan, England, France, Norway, Australia over 70% of births are attended by a midwife. In the US it's only 8%, but one in three births are C-sections. I think anyone who's planning on having a baby should watch it, it's on Netflix. It definitely changed my mind about how I want to have a baby (in five to ten years! if I have one at all!)
Check it out!
Re: The Business of Being Born
I watched that documentary a few months ago. And here's my take on it, as a mom of 3.
I've had 3 successful vaginal births. Josh, my ten year old was 8#13oz. Matthew, 6 y.o. was 8#4oz., and William, 4 y.o. was 8#3oz, so I don't have small babies. My first two were pitocin induced. I went in right away, as they suggest when your water breaks. (I have heard that it's actually pretty uncommon for the membranes to rupture as the first sign of labor--ususally it's contractions first, and more often than not, the membranes stay intact until closer to delivery--mine broke with all 3.) I was in the hospital w/#1 for about 18 hours, and w/#2 for about 12 hours before I gave birth.
I understand that after 24 hours of your membranes rupturing, there is an increased risk of infection, which is why they "push the pit"; to get the labor moving & deliver baby soon.
Finally, with my third son, I got the unmedicated birth I wanted with all 3. It was the most amazing, empowering experience of my life. I didn't realize that my water had broken, as it was a slow trickle and wasn't clear to me if that was what it was. I waited at home so much longer than I did with my first two. I was in the shower when I timed my contractions at about 5 minutes apart, regularly, and decided that it was time to go in. I had never been more than 3cm when I went to the hospital, so I was just praying that I was farther. When we walked into the er entrance, I said, "Please just let me be at a 5." That's exactly what I was at. And it was absolutely 100% COMPLETEY still manageable pain. It was INSANELY different than the pitocin labors. I delivered him about 2 hours after we arrived at the hospital.
The point is, I delivered a completely healthy baby each time. That's the most important part, regardless of how it gets here. However, I can honestly say after the fact, that I felt HUGELY pressured by hospital staff into "rushing" my first two deliveries because my water had broken.
I'm intrigued by home births. I think I would probably be a good candidate for it, as each of my labors were faster & faster & less eventful than the one before it (21 hrs w/#1, 14 hrs w/#3 and 7 hrs w/#3). But I don't know that it's really something I'd consider seriously. And here's why: EVERY SECOND COUNTS. I am not one to tempt fate, if that makes sense. I'm comfortable standing up for myself to the nurses & docs now when it comes to meds. There are so many drugs being used in childbirth that have not been around a sufficient length of time to be tested properly (long term effects), I'd rather not use them if I don't have to. But I definitely want that trained hand there to move quickly in the event of an emergency. And let's be honest, one can have 3 successful deliveries & still end up with a cord wrapped around the neck, or a bigger baby than suspected, or a weakened heartbeat when you push, or numerous other emergency scenarios. I certainly wouldn't want to "waste" those 15 extra minutes on an ambulance ride if my child's life depends on it, kwim?
Married May 1st, 2010
Midwives have years of medical school and experience, they aren't just old ladies who likes to go around delivering babies. they are trained to deal with all kinds of situations, and they are trained to know early enough if something will go wrong, they always have a backup plan. In the documentary the director actually was planning a home birth,but after she went in to labor the baby was breech, but they had a backup plan with a doctor at a hospital, they knew early enough that there were complications, so they got her in and she had an emergency C-section. When they come to your house they don't just bring a towel, they have pitosin and all kinds of drugs and equipment.
I think if we are the one of the only countries doing mostly in hospital births and we have the second highest infant mortality rate, that's saying something. In countries where 70-80% of all births are at home or birth centers with midwives they have way way lower rates than us. It's really not as scary as it seems. If you think about it for as long as people were around before hospitals people were giving birth with midwives or by themselves, no doctors, no pitocin. Our bodies are meant to be able to do this on their own without medical intervention.
Though because I would be a little nervous at home, I would want to be at a birth center where they do have more medical equipment available in the event that something goes wrong.
Midwives are generally (if not usually, though the state's board of nursing determines that) master's degree prepared RN's. So while they don't have years of medical school training, they are advanced practice nurses, often with years of labor and delivery nursing experience, plus all the clinical practice during school. I've thought about home birth, but I'm just afraid of the emergencies that could happen, especially with the birth of a first child, where you don't know what to expect. Plus I have an occasional irregular heartbeat and don't want to risk that at home. I'm actually wondering if they'll make me do a c-section because of it.
Plus, I'm all about the epidural.
You've heard what I've done, not what I've been through.
If you were in my shoes, you'd fall the first step."
It actually is pretty scary, IMO, lol! Could you imagine even just a 15 minute ambulance ride while your unborn child isn't getting sufficient oxygen due to a wrapped cord? Every single contraction squeezes that baby toward the birth canal, tightening the cord and cutting off oxygen. That kind of thing is rarely detected prior to active labor/pushing. I am willing to wager that those babies prior to advanced medical care became a statistic.
My youngest son has a history of febrile seizures, and EVERY. SINGLE. SECOND. of those things feels like an ETERNITY. I think 15 minutes would feel like a lifetime of pure terrified hell.
I have a girlfriend who had a full term stillborn baby, she chose to have it at home and as an exception to the norm, it did not go well. Had she already been at a hospital, it may not have had that same outcome. (As an exception to the norm, please note. I know this is possible to happen whether you're home or in a hospital, but like I said, every second counts.)
All of this is of course, just my opinion, and I do agree 100% that our bodies are completely capaple of doing this without medical intervention in most cases. I think it's both a blessing and a disappointment that our medical system has advanced to the point where we depend on it the way we do, without exhausting other options first. My HH is more or less an herbalist, very natural-medicine-minded man, and even he wouldn't be comfortable with me doing a homebirth. (We've talked about it.)
Married May 1st, 2010
One in three births in the US are c-sections, so it's quite likely you'd end up with one! At some hospitals almost half of their births are c-sections, it's insane!
I was just wondering this as well...what other "factors" play into these numbers. I can think of several reasons why the US would have a high mortality rate.
I am with Tina on this one....I would never risk it and have a at home birth...too risky and anything can happen.