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Fri Dec 11
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| posts about #cheaperbythedozen more → |
"Quiver-Fulls" Like To Deliver Dozens Of Babies Unassisted |
Cheaper By The Dozen, Belles On Their Toes: Mother Knows Best |
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Jezebel 
07/25/09
I'm not in favor of forcing adults to have medical procedures against their wishes, but I can't pretend that I understand the mindset.
07/24/09
Really, my Great Grandmother, nearly a century ago, gave birth 8 times (not mentioning the miscarriages, there were too many to count) and only 3 kids reached adulthood. 3 were died at/during birth. One died in childhood. (Remember the first influenza epidemic back in 1918? We do!) Horrible premature death was their birth control. Now we have pills, IUDs, condoms, and sterilization. Now is better.
07/25/09
07/24/09
http://www.fox59.com/wxin-unassisted-bathtub-births-072309,0,6360522.story
The midwives are clearly morons - from their website www.home4birth.com - discussing turning a breech baby:
"Use light - In a dark room, place a flashlight close to the vagina (baby should head toward the light)."
Really??? The DA wants to let these people touch other pregnant women???
07/25/09
07/24/09
My mom always said half-jokingly that modern medical care and drugs are good things that have lowered mortality rates of both mothers and children, so they must have God's endorsement and therefore the righteous thing is to take advantage of those things. I don't think some of those ladies appreciated hearing that.
I think they have the right to choose where they want to give birth, but I personally think I'd prefer the hospital. I've heard some sad home birth stories, like one girl who has severe brain damage that could have been avoided if she was born in a hospital.
A lot of these home birth, homeschooling, quiver-full people are also against vaccinations. It seems like there's a lot of distrust of modern medicine, which to me is really sad. Where does choice end and abuse start? I know a Jehovahs Witnesses can refuse a life-saving blood donation for themselves, but can they do that for their children?
07/24/09
Also, anyone who thinks that Christian women are completely subservient victims of patriarchal church/family traditions had the TV turned off, the internet down, and her ears plugged during the 2008 vice presidential debates.
07/24/09
07/25/09
07/24/09
So my question is, if the delivery is unassisted and the infant dies shortly after birth due to something that could have been prevented if a doctor of midwife had been present, does that count as allowing an infant to die because of lack of treatment?
I'm not sure, but I think it does.
Child's rights vs. parent's rights is a thorny issue. Parents have the right to say WHAT their children read, but do they have the right to say WHETHER they learn to read?
Parents have the right to say where a child worships, but what if their place of worship includes dancing with poisonous snakes, or other things that threaten the child's physical safety?
It's so complicated and difficult, and I think this is a similar delimma.
07/24/09
Hospitals have a monopoly on birth. They use this monopoly to their advantage, pushing lots of medical interventions, even ones that are not indicated. Some women want to avoid the string of drugs, episiotomies, being strapped into a bed on their backs, and C-sections when they "fail to progress." Some of them have been pushed out of hospitals after having one of those C-sections when they want to give birth without one a second time. It's not as stupid as you think it is.
07/24/09
07/24/09
07/24/09
If Carri had been getting medically acceptable prenatal care, doctors probably would have intervened earlier. Interventions may be over-used on average, but doctors are tempted to over-use them because they are acutely aware of how bad the consequences of inaction can be in those cases where intervention is needed.
07/24/09
Quite a lot of hospital birthing centers nowadays let you bring in a water tub, read your birthing plan, let you bring in midwives and doulas, and try to accomodate your wishes. OB-Gyns will tell you their practice's c-section rate if you ask. There's room for improvement, sure. But it's not 1965 anymore.
07/25/09
I know where you are coming from, having read up on all of the radical child-birth literature myself, but I don't think the situation is quite as dichotomous as you are making it out to be.
07/24/09
07/24/09
07/24/09
07/24/09
07/25/09
07/24/09
Example - my great-grandma on my maternal grandmother's side had 9 kids. My grandma was the second-youngest, and her oldest sibling was 18 years her senior. Of these 9, only 4 made it to adulthood and went on to marry and have kids of their own. She ended up being the youngest after her toddler sister was bit by a snake out on the farm and died from the poison at age 2.
But, examples aside, that was the original reason you had a ton of kids. So, if they are adhering to the No Doctors/Not Submitting Yourself To The Will of Another thing, then what about when the kids get sick and otherwise would succumb to the illnesses we have the medicine to cure today? Selective adherence to religious dogma is one of my least favorite things in the world, though, so maybe I'm thinking too deeply into this.
07/24/09
If you're going to have your kid at home, you need to do the homework, regardless of your religious following. Taking steps to ensure the health of your baby is not defiance of God's will.
07/24/09
I will, however, agree that being placed in the position against one's will is where the issue is. No woman should be forced to give birth under conditions which she has not chosen. Which is why I will vehemently refuse to birth in the supine position.
07/24/09
07/24/09
07/24/09
But maybe I'm being too logical about this.
07/24/09
07/24/09
07/24/09
07/24/09
I have mixed feelings about it all, because on one hand I support a woman's right to choose a home birth without doctors if she chooses, but I also feel that she should be able to receive medical attention if she needs it, and also be prepared to face the potentially dire consequences of her decision--losing her own life or the infant's life.
My cousin-in-law recently lost her baby during delivery, and she was in labor, on the way to the hospital when he died. She didn't do anything wrong. She had consistently sought medical care during her entire pregnancy.
We forget how difficult and dangerous childbirth can be, living in a time where people can schedule a c-section, or give birth naturally and assume no/few problems. These women are taking a huge risk (and one that women in many parts of the world would love to not be taking!), but I can't help but feel that they are entitled to take it, as much as it may break my heart to hear about it.
07/24/09
07/24/09