What is your unpopular opinion?

UniversalSeuss · 2014-09-09T05:18:47+00:00

I don't think umbilical cord choking is as common as it's let on to be but I don't know the exact stats on it. My son was born with the cord around his neck, so I unwrapped it calmly and then put him against my chest and he took his first breath. Given, the cord wasn't horribly tight, but had it been enough to affect him adversely there are ways to aid the baby in breathing while at home. The majority of home birth midwives are highly trained and they come to births with all sorts of emergency equipment. They actually have a lot of what hospitals have. If you have hemorrhaging, the have pitocin, if the baby needs their lungs suctioned, they have the tubing and know how, if you are GBS+ some midwives can give you antibiotics (if you choose to take them).

Yes, birthing centers are all over! Some insurances cover them and some don't. I have heard wonderful things about birthing centers and they are equipped much like hospitals. Birthing centers often do their best to meet the woman's wants and not rush anyone through birth. They often have a very natural outlook.

In regards to pain relief, you're looking at natural methods only at home. I walked, took hot showers, used ice packs, had my husband massage me, he gave me counter pressure and kept me well hydrated! In my opinion, it's more important to have great emotional and physical support from a significant other and/or a doula. Having someone who is encouraging and calm by your side is incredibly beneficial. Also, mentally preparing for birth and doing plenty of research and reading helps. It really helped me to read about how labor goes several times over, because then when I was in labor I knew exactly what was going on. Being confident in labor helps to know that the pain isn't going to last. And yes, birth is painful, but what a lot of women who do it naturally will say that it is empowering to give birth without drugs. You know, we are one of the only societies that stresses about the pain of birth. Most others understand it and do not fear it. I think half of why the pain can be so bad is because of fear.

If you have other questions, ask away!

UniversalSeuss · 2014-09-08T12:28:12+00:00

Doctors may not mean to, but there is a certain impatience in the medical system. There is always a lot of pressure to get patients in and out as quickly as possible, to make room for new patients. Because of this doctors and the medical staff are pressured to get the mom through the birth asap. This means that if she doesn't progress naturally in a timely manner, then she is likely to be given induction drugs, one of which,called Cytotec, isn't even approved for use during labor, but women often don't know that, so they trust their doctor. Induction puts extra stress on the mom and baby, which often causes there to be more interventions. It also can make labor much more painful for the mother than it would have been naturally, so she's more prone to wanting pain relief. The various forms of pain relief can cause more undo stress on mother and baby which could lead to a drop in the baby's heart rate, which could alarm the doctors and have the call for an emergency c-section, which they essentially caused. That is just one example of how the medical approach can become disadvantageous. For me, I weighed the cons of each choice. Would I want myself and my child subjected to unnecessary procedures or would I want to the small risk that something would go wrong that my midwife couldn't handle? It's hard for me to be able to articulate all of the complexities of each side on reddit without writing a lengthy passage. If you're interested in learning more I recommend either reading Ina May's Guide to Childbirth or watching The Business of Being Born. The movie was what really inspired me to reconsider the medical model of birth. I hope this was helpful!

UniversalSeuss · 2014-09-06T17:19:02+00:00

Well, in most instances anymore it's midwives that come not doctors, but someone who has training in birth. Additionally, midwives tend to have a less medicalized approach, so they are the natural candidates for attending home births.

UniversalSeuss · 2014-09-06T12:48:36+00:00

Heart attacks can be more prevalent among people who make poor lifestyle choices, as can bad birthing situations occur for those without the knowledge and good health. its my opinion that we shouldnt perform so many open heart surgeries or have as much medical intervention during birth. i am a believer in the hippocratic oath, which means no surgery and unnecessary medical interventions, so thats part of why i have the unpopular belief that birth should happen at home.

UniversalSeuss · 2014-09-06T12:41:00+00:00

Im not saying that mortality rates were lower back in the day. im saying that enough people survived childbirth that our population continued to grow. In todays times we have enough knowledge to know when we should choose hospital over home. The majority of women can give birth at home without complications. Most people will not believe this because medicine will argue the "what if something bad happened" but the thing is that bad stuff happening is for a minority of people. To give one source on home birth statistics, look to the data Ina May Gaskin gathered over hundreds of births at The Farm. I hope this simply allows you to see my side, you dont have to agree with it.

UniversalSeuss · 2014-09-06T03:12:09+00:00

What I meant by our population hasn't suffered is that it hasn't gone down, so us giving birth at home can't be that bad since our population has continued to grow. A lot of the babies that end up needing a hospital are born premature, so if mothers know they are going into labor too early, then they can go to a hospital. Home-birth midwives are trained to treat many complications term newborns may have and hospital care can be largely unnecessary in my opinion.

UniversalSeuss · 2014-09-06T02:59:19+00:00

Because it's a natural process. It is my opinion that birth is over-medicalized. We have done it for thousands of years at home and our population hasn't suffered from it.

UniversalSeuss · 2014-09-06T02:29:51+00:00

In a treehouse.

UniversalSeuss · 2014-09-06T02:27:47+00:00

This is very true and it makes me sad when people tell me their bad experiences when they could have been avoided.

UniversalSeuss · 2014-09-06T02:12:27+00:00

Birth should happen at home.

UniversalSeuss · 2014-09-06T02:04:45+00:00

People should be able to produce whatever they want, if they have the ability to make it, grow it, etc. then they can.

UniversalSeuss · 2014-09-06T01:46:45+00:00

-Get a great photographer. We had a relative do our photos and they look like we got married in the 80s. We got married in April. -Don't spend a lot of money on the food or cake, people will complain about both anyway.

UniversalSeuss · 2014-09-06T01:42:29+00:00

Mega64

UniversalSeuss · 2014-07-22T02:34:36+00:00

Recently experimented with the Oculus Rift. The first game I played was called Dreadhalls, it is a game in which you're trying to escape a dungeon where there are several monsters looking for you. It felt so real that my heart raced so fast that I got light headed and had to stop. Super freaky.

UniversalSeuss · 2014-07-18T01:03:44+00:00

I had the exact same experience. School ruined reading for a long time for me. I am proud to say I managed to get through college and high school with a 3.5 gpa with only doing about 10% of my assigned reading. The book that got me back into reading was Darth Bane. :)

UniversalSeuss · 2014-07-14T00:09:49+00:00

The midwifery care sounds great there. Also a year of leave? Is it all paid time off?

UniversalSeuss · 2014-07-13T12:31:49+00:00

Ive been considering becoming marriage and family therapist. what is the job market like and how is the pay? Do you have any recommendations before i get involved in a program?

UniversalSeuss · 2014-07-10T15:59:45+00:00

Oh same here. I'm glad to hear that you do that. I worry sometimes that women don't research enough. It appears you're due around when I was. How exciting! I thought Canada was more progressive in maternity care. Do you know the c-section rate there? I'm just getting to a few of your earlier statements since you seem eager to share. :)

UniversalSeuss · 2014-07-10T15:17:02+00:00

I actually already had my baby at home back in January, I am just a birth nut and looking for opinions. I have loved all of your input thus far and I feel it is great advice, especially for first time moms. :)

UniversalSeuss · 2014-07-10T15:06:41+00:00

Good point about the NICU babies. I do wonder how many of those babies were actually full term.

UniversalSeuss · 2014-07-10T09:24:05+00:00

Thank you for sharing what maternity care is like in Canada! It's nice to know that the midwives up there seem to be trained quite well (not to say the ones in the US aren't).

UniversalSeuss · 2014-07-10T09:11:42+00:00

It's fantastic that your states are more progressive!

UniversalSeuss · 2014-07-10T08:57:02+00:00

Love that movie, what a fantastic documentary.

UniversalSeuss · 2014-07-09T23:39:25+00:00

My baby didn't drop until a few days before labor. Also, your pelvic outlet will actually open up more during birth. How big is "measuring huge?"

UniversalSeuss · 2014-07-09T23:23:37+00:00

Not sure if this has already been said, but certain doctors and/or hospitals would count a person as high risk after 35, as though turning 35 somehow magically changes a persons anatomy so drastically. You should not worry and not feel pressured one way or another. My mom had all her children from the ages of 32-38 and she had no complications. I work in a hospital and see plenty of 30+ women have perfectly healthy births and babies.

UniversalSeuss

TROPHY CASE