More US Women Dying in Childbirth!
More U.S. women dying in childbirth
Death rate highest in decades; obesity and C-sections may be the cause (thanks Shay!)
U.S. women are dying from childbirth at the highest rate in decades, new government figures show. Though the risk of death is very small, experts believe increasing maternal obesity and a jump in Caesarean sections are partly to blame.
First off, I totally forgot to tell you about this in time for Labor Day, but there is still time to see one: Birth on Labor Day
Birth is a play based on over one hundred interviews Karen Brody conducted with mothers across America who gave birth between 2000-2004. It tells the true stories of 8 women painting a portrait of how low-risk, educated women are giving birth in America today.
In the play we meet Jillian, a stay-at-home mother of four children, who always sees the humor in life, especially in her mixed-bag of birth experiences; and Beth, a 35-year-old successful, high-powered computer systems manager from New Jersey who confidently planned a cesarean.
We are introduced to Vanessa, a buyer for a major department store who never had a doubt that she wanted an epidural. We hear from Janet, a lesbian in her 40s, who despite her feminist background wanted a medicalized birth, fearing the safety of herself and the baby; and Lisa, an African-American who felt intimidated and used by her midwives and the medical system after her birth.
We get to know Sandy, who thought birth was “just one day,” but found out that having an emergency c-section on that day changed her world. We hear Natalie’s intimate story of physical betrayl; and Amanda, an athletic, confident stay-at-home mother who believed her birthing mantra–”My Body Rocks”–gave her the attitude she needed to give birth naturally in the hospital.
Moving between first-person monologues, some dialogue, and the voices these women heard on the day they gave birth, Birth confronts, what City Lights Theater Company has called, “The naked truth about childbirth in America.”
there’s still time to see it in Florida (thanks Shay!) BOLD in Florida
and in other birth news, coming at the end of this month is the GENTLE BIRTH CONFERENCE in Portland, Oregon. Which looks like a whole lot of fun…
Also, Iowa is having a Workshop to help midwives prepare for legislation (heaven help us, how many centuries does this sh*t have to go on? Enough with the persecution of midwives already!)
Dear Friends,
As you may be aware, midwifery is under attack in Iowa. Midwives in
our state face criminal investigation and prosecution for practicing
medicine without a license — a felony charge that carries a sentence
of up to five years in prison.Many of you are familiar with Melanie Moore, a Certified Professional
Midwife and mother of six, who was recently charged. Her case is but
one example of this disturbing trend, and unless something is done, we
face the very real risk of losing this vital community of holistic
health care providers.Midwives like Melanie have upheld the rights of Iowa women to have
safe home births for many years, under the constant threat of
unnecessary prosecution. With midwives practicing legally in 24
states, and legislation pending in 10 others, it is clear that Iowa?s
approach to midwifery is outmoded and ineffective.Now is the time for supporters of childbirth options to come together
to preserve the rights of Iowans to give birth where and with whom
they choose.Please join Friends of Iowa Midwives at a Preparing for Legislation
workshop to learn how you can help ensure that Iowa’s families have
access to safe home birth with legal midwives.Workshop Details:
Date: September 22, 2007
Time: 9:00-5:00 (Check-in and registration 8:30-9:00)
Place: Saddlebrook Clubhouse, 120 Paddock Blvd., Iowa City
(Off Heinz Rd, south of Hwy 6 on the East side of Iowa City)Registration fee: $15 (low-income $5)
Continental breakfast and lunch will be provided.Topics:
The legislative process: how it works
Timeline for legislation: what to do and when to do it
Effectively presenting your point of view to your legislator
Organizing volunteers for lobbying
Writing a bill: what goes in and what stays out
Addressing concerns about your bill
Dealing with the opposition
Writing press releases and educational flyersPresenter: Ida Darragh is one of the nation’s foremost authorities on
midwifery law. She is a Certified Professional Midwife and testing
director for the North American Registry of Midwives.To Register: email
register@friendsofiowamidwives.org.
Please include your name, phone number, and mailing address.For more information, please visit:
www.friendsofiowamidwives.org
www.cfmidwifery.org
Phew! that’s a lot to remember…enjoy!
Love,
Heather
sewathomemama said,
September 6, 2007 @ 11:33 pm
i love your agenda, hathor! keep pushing it… i’ll help.
amykids said,
September 7, 2007 @ 5:48 am
I must agree - awareness needs to be brought to these issues - keep it up!
:o) Amy
yellowthundersmama said,
September 7, 2007 @ 9:26 am
I also reciently saw on the news that there is a study being done on the link between overweight and obese women having lower success rates with breast feeding. Scientists believe that they will find a gene that explains this. HOW ABOUT A LITTLE COMMON SENCE HERE! Anyone with 2 neurons to rub together could fingure out after thniking for half a second that lower breast feeding success rates in overweight and obese women is due to “body shame issues.” I am absolutely flabberghasted!
Now getting back to the original subject. I would like to tell you all a great story that happened over the LABOR DAY
yellowthundersmama said,
September 7, 2007 @ 9:31 am
WEEKEND. My husband and I sang at the Two Moons Memorial powwow in Shartlesville PA. The last day of the powwow a woman gave birth on the powwow grounds aided by 4 midwives who just happened to be there. The baby boy is perfect and beautiful. The birth went well. The mother is in perfect health and the baby was taken into the circle and as a song was sung for him after he was born then quickly back to Mom.
Blessings!
abowser said,
September 7, 2007 @ 10:32 am
The video on the BOLD website really moved me. I am considered “high risk” (even by the midwives), so birthing at home is sadly not really an option my husband and I feel comfortable with…though I still dream about it.
Anyway, getting women who need a hospital birth the right to BE mothers, to BE bold, to BE loud, to MOVE as their body dictates…all of that needs to be done. We deserve to be treated with respect and care even if we DO need medical intervention…in fact I’m going to be so bold as to say we need respect, tenderness, and care ESPECIALLY if we need medical intervention!
Those BOLD stories brought me to tears…for their power and especially the one women who said she felt like her body failed her…I’ve felt that ache inside.
As for lower success rates with breastfeeding in large women…someone might want to tell nurses not to say to the mother about to attempt breastfeeding “you really need to be careful, you’re so big you could easily suffocate your baby.” And I speak from experience there. My daughter was 3pounds 14ounces (premature, but fine, more fine than *I* was!) when I first got to try to nurse her and one moron said that. Thankfully, my LLL leader is my best friend and she called bullshit
Since then I’ve heard MANY other larger women say the same or similar was said to them…sometimes by “well meaning” friends or relatives, but most often by NURSES! There is, in my humble opinion, no comment that could be more detrimental to the breastfeeding relationship.
BTW, my daughter is now rapidly approaching 13 months (and 18.5pounds!!) and we’re still happily nursing strong.
I have to say, yellowthundersmama, that birth makes my soul sing. How beautiful!!
yellowthundersmama said,
September 7, 2007 @ 12:45 pm
I too am a large woman with very large breasts and I was warned on numerous occasions about what a hard time I would have. What a bunch of hogwash! My son and I had great success. He continued to nurse until he was ready to stop at 19 months. It was truely a child-led experience. He is now 2 years old (29 months) and 3′4″ and 40 lbs! Happy to hear of your success too abowser and I knew that the Labor Day story would be most appreciated here.
Blessings…
thordora said,
September 7, 2007 @ 3:11 pm
As a large breasted chubby chick, I’ll throw my hat in with the body shame issues not helping, as well as the “baby flailing for a nipple in a sea of boob” problem. I hated feeling too fat to BF sometimes. I “knew” I wasn’t but still….you don’t see too many fat breastfeeders….
wiffersnapper said,
September 7, 2007 @ 7:29 pm
On the other end of the spectrum, sometimes we women with the tiny boobies are discouraged because, “I don’t know if you’ll be able to make enough milk,” (said the nurse.) Not only did I make enough for my daughter, I donated the “extra” to the milk bank! It all goes back to the same thing- if as many people who THINK they can’t breastfeed actually couldn’t, the human race would’ve died out long ago. Breasts are designed to feed babies. Left alone, they will do what they’re meant to do. Period.
nivchek said,
September 8, 2007 @ 4:01 am
I suspect the deaths due to clotting and heart attacks, and High BP are deficiency-related. SO MANY pregnant mothers are seriously deficient in magnesium and Omega-3. And that adds up to serious risk. Problem is, neither of these is fixed by eating “healthy”. This is probably also a factor in milk supply problems, but that I don’t know about.
janaki said,
September 8, 2007 @ 12:48 pm
Unfortunately, my husband won’t let me do a homebirth
shinybutton said,
September 8, 2007 @ 9:59 pm
“My husband won’t let me…”!!!!! Please, please, say “My husband and I don’t agree on a birth plan yet,” or “I’m not convinced it’s best to give birth at home” or “The threat of violence, divorce, or extended yelling and pouting prevents me from placing the health of my child and myself above his wishes, blah blah blah.” I can swallow all that, but the American Woman’s years of fighting for our rights demands we not use or tolerate the phrase, “My husband won’t let me…” ever again. I’m not trying to scrap with anybody, especially not you, janaki, because you absolutely need serious support, but that just shook me right out of my lurkdom! I used to let men overshadow me and it took a long time to get strong but you owe it to the child within you to get a grip and get as strong as you can. I’m no homebirth pusher. I had both my kids in the hospital with epidurals and I don’t regret it. But I also learned that my high risk label and past history didn’t apply to my second child. I was healthier pregnant at 40 than I ever had been before in my life and her snappy 3 hour delivery was uneventful and it probably would have been so at home, (though a bit more painful). I’m admittedly a total wuss when it comes to pain. But I also think we have gone overboard in this country with c-sections and forcing babies to be born before they are ready, all for profit and to conveniently fit into everyone’s allotted schedules. Nobody can tell me any germ-factory hospital is cleaner and less risky than my own home. One of my nurses actually took a cotton gauze and wiped the floor where my blood had spewed from her botched attempt at an IV insertion and then she wiped my arm at the injection site with the same dirty gauze!!! Needless to say, I got her out of there fast and reported her. They had the gall to try and tell me I had a “personality conflict” with the nurse and they would be happy to get me one that would better fit my personality, (read “Type-A, paranoid, high needs”) They would not let me keep my baby with me and kept her for two hours in the nursery doing all kinds of “required tests”. We had it posted on her bassinet and chart that she was Not To Be Bottle Fed as I was going to nurse, but my Mom still had to bang on the nursery window to keep a nurse from feeding her a bottle of formula. That part was nightmarish both times and I couldn’t wait to get me and my kids out of there each time. I won’t be giving birth again, but I think the way hospitals treat mothers and babies in this country is shameful and the way it treats women who want to birth at home is even worse.
amyphilo said,
September 10, 2007 @ 11:56 am
I have a hard time with stories that try to pass the blame to the mothers about the rates of death in childbirth. I have had a hospital and a home birth. No, I am not my ideal weight. And the reason I had a bad reaction to hospital birth, drugs in labor, and steroids, et cetera is not because I’m fair skinned or chemically sensitive. When I gave birth at home everything was fine. Sometimes if you go to a certain hospital or doctor then you automatically get treated as high risk, other times you become high risk because of their procedures.
I think we need to trust our bodies and stop shaming our bodies and just use them as they were designed.
angelohara said,
September 10, 2007 @ 7:14 pm
I’m a BBM (Big beautiful mom!) and had a lovely, healthy homebirth and nursed for 2 years. It really ticks me off that the OBGYN industry wants to risk out *all* obese women. Nonsense!
One reason I RAN to a midwife was because of my experiences with fat-phobic OBs (who, ironically, were obese themselves!)
Heaven forbid the medical community take a long, hard look in the mirror at why women are dying.
Federal Government and Politics said,
September 21, 2007 @ 9:20 pm
Federal Government and Politics…
I couldn’t understand some parts of this article, but it sounds interesting…
Slingnmom said,
October 7, 2007 @ 11:40 pm
Obesity a factor for higher maternal death rates? Ha!!! It’s doctors who have a phobia of “catching” babies from bigger women and thus make up things to force them into a c/section.
I am the mother to currently 7 children. I am also an “obese” woman, according to medical professionals. I however have given birth unassisted, at home, and almost all in water, to 5 of my children. That’s right obese woman here gave birth and lived to tell about it 7 times. 4 times I had waterbirths, and 1 time I tried it on land.
My first was a c/section due to breech presentation. My second I changed doctors and did a hospital VBAC, and from there on out I gave birth without a doctor’s aid and have lived to tell about it. Statistically I should have had 3 c-sections by now. Scary!!!
Healthy Lifestyle Features said,
October 25, 2007 @ 6:39 pm
Healthy Lifestyle Features…
I couldn’t understand some parts of this article, but it sounds interesting…