“This movement isn’t about natural birth vs. medicated birth.

It’s not about hospital birth vs. home birth or birth center birth.

It’s about women being capable of making safer, more informed decisions about their care and that of their babies, when they are given full and accurate information about their care options, including the potential harms, benefits, and alternatives.

Then, within that choice, they are treated with dignity and compassion.”

~ Dawn Thompson, Founder of ImprovingBirth.org

We are now enrolling for our Fall 2013 Series
The Bradley Method® for New Parents:

Although World Breastfeeding Week: Close to Mothers has come to a conclusion, we continue with Breastfeeding Awareness Month in the USA.  We will be bringing back our "In Their Own Words" for the rest of the month.

This series shares chronicles from students and readers about their own breastfeeding journeys.  Each mother has a unique story, one that I trust will empower you if you are learning about breastfeeding, and inspire you if you are in the trenches, struggling as you learn to breastfeed with your Sweet Pea.

Today's "Thoughtful Thursday" is not about breastfeeding specifically.  However, since a family's birth experience precedes the breastfeeding relationship, birth outcomes tend to directly influence the choice a mother makes about breastfeeding.  My thought relates to having a dialogue with your care provider about your birth:

"My obstetrician is trained medical professional.  He has years of schooling and experience about birth.  Who am I to question them?  Is it okay to question how they do what they do?"

"THE BUSINESS OF BEING BORN touches on a number of past medical interventions that have gone terribly wrong. The film explores the use of the drug scopolamine in the 40s, 50s and 60s that put mothers into a kind of “twilight sleep” that didn‟t stop pain, but merely eliminated the memory of pain by attacking the brain functions responsible for self-awareness and self-control, resulting in a kind of psychosis, followed by post-traumatic stress-like memories in thousands of new mothers. In the 30s doctors routinely took x-rays of the pelvis, resulting in babies with cancer. In the 70s, use of the drug thalidomide, used for morning sickness, caused birth defects, while in the 90s, the drug Cytotec was used to stimulate contractions in mothers who had undergone previous Cesarean section. This was later found to cause ruptured uteruses and high infant mortality."  

Read more about the movie here:

http://www.thebusinessofbeingborn.com/press/BusinessofBeingBorn.pdf

Did you know that there is a national organization advocating evidence-based care and humanity in childbirth? 

I first became aware of ImprovingBirth.org when they held their first rally last year.  In order to bring awareness to the maternity health care crisis in our country, the organizers chose the date of Labor Day for the national event.  This year, they are truly nation-wide – there is at least one rally planned in all 50 states, and as of today, it looks like they are up to eight international locations.

What maternity health care crisis in the United States, you ask?  Here is a look at the numbers.  In the world:

• We are 34th in maternal mortality rates:  33 countries have lower maternal mortality than we do.
• We are 38th in neonatal mortality rates: 37 countries have lower neonatal mortality rates than we do.
• We are 41st in infant mortality rates: 40 countries do a better job at keeping newborns alive than we do.
• We are 66th in birth weight: 65 countries do better than us when it comes to birthing babies at healthy birth weights.
• We are 33rd in the breastfeeding: 32 countries had higher rates of exclusively breastfeeding at six months.

-International Comparisons from Childbirth Connection

“ Despite the poor international ranking, the International Federation of Health Plans recently reported that average U.S. payments for vaginal birth were far higher than all other countries reported, including Canada, France, and Australia (7).”

Quote from Childbirth Connection 

“It’s about women being capable of making safer, more informed decisions about their care and that of their babies, when they are given full and accurate information about their care options, including the potential harms, benefits, and alternatives.  It’s about respect for women and their decisions in childbirth, including how, where, and with whom they give birth; and the right to be treated with dignity and compassion.”

-Rally To Improve Birth

• Lower the C-Section Rate
• Respectful Maternity Care 
• Question Your Induction
• Informed Consent is My Right 
• Evidence-Based Birth

Donate HERE to the national organization:

http://bit.ly/19BXZ4u

Donate HERE to the local Phoenix Rally:
http://rallytoimprovebirth.causevox.com/phoenix

Disclaimer: 
The material included on this site is for informational purposes only.
It is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. The reader should always consult her or his healthcare provider to determine the appropriateness of the information for their own situation.  Krystyna and Bruss Bowman and Bowman House, LLC accept no liability for the content of this site, or for the consequences of any actions taken on the basis of the information provided.  This blog contains information about our classes available in Chandler, AZ and Payson, AZ and is not the official website of The Bradley Method®. The views contained on this blog do not necessarily reflect those of The Bradley Method® or the American Academy of Husband-Coached Childbirth®.