Featured Comment: Birth Plan Story
3 Comments on “Featured Comment: Birth Plan Story”
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#1
Did anyone get that delicious-sounding appetizer recipe with shrimp, asparagus, endive and scallops, using a red wine reduction? If so, please send. THANKS
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#2
do we get answers to our questions ? If so how and when ?
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#3
I know this comment is long in delay to the Birth Plan story. All of what Tammy said is true. In other cultures and in other countries Midwives are the norm unlike in the United States with only a small percentage of births being attended by midwives. We seem to forget that birth is not a pathologic process but it can have complications-some of which interventions like epidurals and Pitocin help to create. I am not against managing a labor and giving women options for pain relief but I agree that there should be a more judicious use of medical interventions. A birth plan helps to foster communication between an expectant couple and their providers and defines what is important for the couple’s ideal birth experience. It also helps to identify areas where there may be some additional learning needs a provider can address. During labor and birth women feel as vulnerable as they ever will, there is nothing wrong with making preferences known ahead of time and working with a provider who will respect both the individual’s goal and the process itself within the confines of safety for mom and baby.
August 14th, 2007 at 1:44 pm eI was really disappointed and annoyed with your birth plan story aired this morning. It really seemed to be one sided and defeating. There was barely any background/info given on why women are choosing to creat such things, just that they want to “micro manage.†That’s really poor. Most women who make a birth plan realize they need to have some flexibility but feel the need to set certain expectations because labor in general has turned into a drug fest. In comparison to other places in the world (i.e. Europe) the U.S. has a significantly higher epidural rate and cesarian rate. Pitocin use has also trippled in the last twenty years. It’s getting ridiculous. Our culture teaches women to fear birth and the “tremendous pain†associated with it. Other cultures don’t regard labor in such a manner and their women deliver naturally, by choice, and complication free regularly. Why is that? Doctor’s rush to cesarian delivers far to often in the U.S because they fear lawsuits. It’s better to get the baby out under their control than risk a potential complication later. While on the surface that sounds like the right thing to do, when you dig deeper you begin to realize that often times the surgeries aren’t necessary. There was a study done recently that compared the Apgar scores of babies who had cesarians after the doctor determined the baby was in distress to babies who delivered vaginally. The results showed that the babies were healthy and showed no signs of distress. Also, pitocin use to augment labor is also far too common. Labor takes time and unless there are obvious complications, a women’s body should be given what it needs during labor - time and control. I can’t tell you how many people I know that have been told things like “let’s see if we can move things along with some pitocin†after only a few hours. They get the drug, which is then followed by an epidural becaues it causes so much more pain, and then they often need more pitocin because the epidural slowed the labor, and the wheel continues to spin. Women are vulnerable, nervous, and emotional during labor. Unless they’ve educated themselves and taken a proactive role in their care ahead of time, they are left to be dictated by their doctors. It should be joint decision making, open communication, and an environment of options, not a dictatorship. Creating a birth plan allows the mother to be an advocate for herself and sets a stage of expectations and/or preferences. I think most would agree that everyone involved with the birth wants the best for mothers and babies, but that does not mean that one must succumb to drugs and surgeries when it’s not a true medical necessity. A women’s body was designed to birth. It most often has everything one needs to accomplish this taks and we should be more inclined to allow the natural experience to be just that - natural. A birth plan coupled with the appropriate support (i.e. husband coaches, doulas) often allows women to be more successful in accomplishing this goal.