Natural Childbirth?

He's here! My precious new grandson made his appearance 2 weeks early on July 17, 2006. My first grandchild! How can I describe the feeling? It's like the sudden gasp you take emerging from a deep dive in the ocean. It's like the soothing warmth of stepping on the beach in spring when it's been baking in that early sun. It's like the first snow in the Rockies. It's like coming full-circle. It's wonderful. So now, I wonder why we have to inject every medical intervention invented into the birthing process. My daughter was committed to natural childbirth; she and her husband were well trained and very practiced. But from the moment they stepped onto the LRD floor the nurses were talking epidural. There was NO encouragement for the method in which she was trained. All through the night she did a superb job of breathing and relaxing through every contraction but the very moment she whispered"I don't think I can do this" the room was swarming with personnel. Prior to that point there was hardly a nurse to be found! I am convinced that she was in transition at that point and I really fault the medical comunity for being regimented and mechanized and narrow-minded. For Heaven's sake, provide your patients with support in their chosen path. This was not a case of a screaming woman in labor; it was indeed a well-practiced young woman who had reached a text-book point in her labor. By her own admission, had someone checked her dilation and stated that she was at 8cm she could have gone the distance. I'm not saying that having an epidural is a sign of weakness. Quite the contrary. I'm just saying that nurses and doctors shouldn't be so quick to take the easy way out. Work with your patients. Be an active participant. Engage. Remember all those things you went to nursing school for?
Lamaze
Women
Natural Childbirth

Hippocratic or Hypocritic?

As I told you before, my daughter is having her first baby. While it's always so exciting to await the arrival of your firstborne, it's also a very scary time. Let's face it...even thought there are hundreds of books out there not one of them can tell you if YOUR baby will be healthy, what YOUR labor will be like, exactly WHEN this blessed event will commence. My daughter has been very concientious about educating herself on the processes but she's naturally still a little apprehensive. So are you wondering why I'm telling you this? Because she has run into some of the most impolite, uncaring health professionals you can imagine!!! I bet if doctors heard how some of their staff treat patients they would send out pink slips by the dozens! And some doctors should be videotaped and tied to a chair while they are forced to watch re-runs of their bedside manner (or lack thereof!). Fortunately she found a wonderful OB/GYN whose office staff is considerate and compassionate. Likewise with a pediatrician. The point is, she "interviewed" many doctors and their staff before making her choices of providers. As an informed health consumer she was able to eliminate the services of those physicians who had rude office staff and who themselves were not empathetic enough to go a few extra steps to provide explanations for a first-time pregnancy. Sometimes I think we should change the oath to "hypocritic" from Hippocratic. Treat your patients as you would want to be treated. Nurses, doctors, let's treat our patients as if they were your favorite relative. A little kindness goes a long way. Not to mention...the word gets out......

health and wellness