Alright, you knew a post about THIS mess was coming, right?
To summarize, some doctors in France coupled new computer programming and MRI of the fetus and scored a sample set of women (24) on the predicted outcome of their individual births. An apparent success at predicting birth outcomes, the new software, Predibirth, is being cited by various doctors as a GOOD thing because it will lessen a woman's chances of undergoing an emergency C-section. The idea here is that anyone who scores in a 'less than ideal' range on the prediction software will choose to undergo an elective C-section, rather than risk an emergency C-section thereby decreasing many of the risk factors associated with emergency C-sections on both mother and child.
....
Am I the only one incredibly freaked out by this news?!
...
Yes, it's only been compared against 24 births, yes, it's going to be years before it receives approval for use, and then I'm sure it'd only be used on high risk cases anyway for a while before eventually, MAYBE, becoming a common technology utilized on all women in the name of safer birth practices. Safer....because...well, cutting into a women before her due date, before she's gone into labor, before her Baby is ready might be considered crazy and creepy and detrimental to all involved UNLESS one cited the save-all catch-phrase, 'safety of mother and child' as a viable reason.
I only know what I've experienced in birthing my own child, what I've seen in the births of the women I've attended as a doula, and what I've read and studied through commonly available sources, but really...there doesn't seem to be much call for INCREASING the elective C-section rate when we're already dealing with a national C-section rate of over 33%!!! Well, over the WHO's suggestion of a 10% rate.
There's no indication that Predibirth is intended to LOWER the overall C-section rate. No indication of that whatsoever, and if we follow through with that train of thought, one might become quite concerned that this will result in a stronger association of fear, risk, and emergency with vaginal delivery. (we're not even talking 'natural', drug-free, here...we're talking pushing a baby out of your womb along the same passageway as our ancestors.) And, with an increase in these associations, and an increase in elective C-section options, then it only follows that more and more women will choose surgery over vaginal delivery simply because it gradually (one can only hope gradually!) becomes the socially 'safer' option.
It's all very sad.
Showing posts with label research. Show all posts
Showing posts with label research. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Monday, November 14, 2011
Hats and the Newborn
One of the things I'm constantly reminded of, is that much of what I still presume to be true about fertility, conception, pregnancy, birth, and the immediate postpartum period is just as false or exaggerated (in a fearful sort of way) as those glaring falsehoods I've already come to recognize.
For instance, this one isn't a big deal, but until a day ago, I actually believed that hats on a newborn were 'necessary'. I'm a knitter, so maybe that made it easier to forego questioning when my time came to give birth...after all, I arrived at the birth center and then, eventually, the hospital with no less than FOUR hand-knit hats. But whatever the presumption, I never once in all these years thought to question the reasoning behind 'hatting' our babies from the moment of birth.
I had always seen newborns wearing a hat of some sort...generally with an anxious guardian ensuring that the hat was never off of Baby's head for longer than the seconds it took to replace. And, when I entered into my own prenatal period, I was reminded continuously to provide a hat for my babe at his birth; it was a bulleted item on every single "What should I Pack for the ______(enter place of much looked forward to Birth)" list we ever received, and I know that it was verbally mentioned to me by both my midwife and obstetrician at various points in the pregnancy.
But here I am, nearly three years after my child's birth, and three years deep into my growing obsession into all things birth-related, and I come to find that hats are relatively pointless. In fact, under normal, healthy circumstances, they may actually be more harmful than good! (think overheating and infringing upon quality mother-child bonding time)
Research has proven that 'Hatting' a baby born under normal, healthy circumstances does little in the way of benefit. In fact, it was found that the best course of 'action' regarding a normal, healthy newborn would be to leave it and the mother well enough alone. The baby's body would take care of itself.
Gloria Lemay recently published a blog post on this same issue bringing up some good points about how the obsession with placing a hat on Baby's head immediately following his birth interrupts the primal imprinting that takes place between the Mama and her child in those first moments after birth. Instead of leaving the two alone, much is made of finding Baby a hat, fitting it onto his head, and then, ensuring that said hat remains on his head. There are hands in and out of the mother's field of vision, and one of the first decisions of new motherhood (how and when to clothe her child) is removed from the Mother.
Common Sense Breastfeeding also wrote an interesting post stating many of the reasons mentioned above for why it might make better sense to "Hold That Hat".
For instance, this one isn't a big deal, but until a day ago, I actually believed that hats on a newborn were 'necessary'. I'm a knitter, so maybe that made it easier to forego questioning when my time came to give birth...after all, I arrived at the birth center and then, eventually, the hospital with no less than FOUR hand-knit hats. But whatever the presumption, I never once in all these years thought to question the reasoning behind 'hatting' our babies from the moment of birth.
I had always seen newborns wearing a hat of some sort...generally with an anxious guardian ensuring that the hat was never off of Baby's head for longer than the seconds it took to replace. And, when I entered into my own prenatal period, I was reminded continuously to provide a hat for my babe at his birth; it was a bulleted item on every single "What should I Pack for the ______(enter place of much looked forward to Birth)" list we ever received, and I know that it was verbally mentioned to me by both my midwife and obstetrician at various points in the pregnancy.
But here I am, nearly three years after my child's birth, and three years deep into my growing obsession into all things birth-related, and I come to find that hats are relatively pointless. In fact, under normal, healthy circumstances, they may actually be more harmful than good! (think overheating and infringing upon quality mother-child bonding time)
Research has proven that 'Hatting' a baby born under normal, healthy circumstances does little in the way of benefit. In fact, it was found that the best course of 'action' regarding a normal, healthy newborn would be to leave it and the mother well enough alone. The baby's body would take care of itself.
Gloria Lemay recently published a blog post on this same issue bringing up some good points about how the obsession with placing a hat on Baby's head immediately following his birth interrupts the primal imprinting that takes place between the Mama and her child in those first moments after birth. Instead of leaving the two alone, much is made of finding Baby a hat, fitting it onto his head, and then, ensuring that said hat remains on his head. There are hands in and out of the mother's field of vision, and one of the first decisions of new motherhood (how and when to clothe her child) is removed from the Mother.
Common Sense Breastfeeding also wrote an interesting post stating many of the reasons mentioned above for why it might make better sense to "Hold That Hat".
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