Having your baby in an American hospital?
The movie “The Business of Being Born” exposes the corruption of hospital delivery rooms. This is just the trailer. The movie is somewhat graphic, but is important for any expectant mother to watch.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DgLf8hHMgo
Having completed a rotation in such an institution, I can safely say that I will not be having a baby in such a place, unless of course, it is medically necessary. Why? Because virtually everything that goes on in the delivery room, from the positioning of the mother to the drugs used, to mechanical and surgical interventions, are not only unnecessary for a healthy labor, but detrimental to both the mother and baby. Unfortunately, not enough American women are informed of this, and put trust in their obstetricians without doing proper research.
Literature on the topic of natural birth recommends avoiding medical interventions unless there it is a medical necessity (Lothian et al, 2004) such as fetal or maternal distress, the mother is post-term in her pregnancy, has an infection or has preeclampsia (Amis, 2007).
This is what happens upon admission. They pay no mind to your wishes, especially if you prefer a natural birth. They will hook you up to an IV and start you on pitocin, which is synthetic oxytocin. Oxytocin is a naturally occurring hormone that causes contractions and promotes maternal bonding. Pitocin
only induces contractions. So what is the need to induce labor? So the doc won’t miss his afternoon round of golf.
Here are the risks of induction of labor:
mechanically assisted birth (use of forceps or vacuum to remove baby from birth canal)
fetal shoulder dystocia
fever
fetal heart changes
babies born with a low weight
increase in admissions to the NICU and longer hospital stays (Amis, 2007)
amniotic fluid embolism
uterine rupture
prolonged labor
chorioamnionitis
nuchal cord
fetal death
and cardiovascular complications (MacDorman et al, 2002)
Evidence based practice recommends the following for normal, uncomplicated, positive birth outcomes: no unnecessary interventions, freedom of movement, alternating position changes that facilitate gravity, Lamaze breathing, hydrotherapy, non-supine positions [Stark, 2008].
This is just a taste of the expansive research done on hospital births in the US. I didn’t even touch on epidurals, episiotomies, c-sections, and the vicious cycle of hospital birthing.
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