Mom fights, gets the delivery she wants

Wow-this is a great article. Read it here. I saw this family in an article a couple of months ago when all this first became an issue. So, here it is-they did it and the mother was able to have a vaginal birth. I have to say though that it's scary to see this happening. Why should a woman have to do this in order to give birth the way she wants?

Also, I have to comment on the quote by Dr. Flamm, about halfway down-he says, (speaking about the decision to do a C-section), "It's a tough situation," says Dr. Bruce Flamm, a spokesman for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. "Mom is tired. Dad is tired and nervous, and most people haven't spent their lives reading obstetrical textbooks and don't know all the details involved."

Here is a perfect example of the problem with allowing hospitals and doctors to make decisions for women with healthy pregnancies. They think it's all about what's written in obstetrical textbooks! Although reading and educating oneself about birth is always recommended, you're definitely not going to find all the answers in a textbook.

Big Savings?

I found this quote the other day on "Midwifery News":

"$13 to $20 billion a year could be saved in health care costs by demedicalizing childbirth, developing midwifery, and encouraging breastfeeding."
— Frank Oski, MD

It got me thinking about what is going on with the health care reform. Will women have an easier time chosing the birth they want if we have national health care or will it become more difficult? They could save a lot of money but, as it is now, medicare won't cover homebirths. What do you think?

Quote

"We have a secret in our culture, and it's not that birth is painful; it's that women are strong."

—Laura Stavoe Harm