The business of being born

Triathlon Forum
1

Just saw the documentary, The Business of Being Born, produced by Ricki Lake. There is a clip of the movie here:

http://www.thebusinessofbeingborn.com/

It was very compelling for me. I’m not a mom or even pregnant at this point in my life, but this film certainly made me think about what I need to start planning or researching if I do have a child.

Anyone else out there who has seen this film and your opinions?

For the many of you that are pregnant, any thoughts of what you would like to do if your labor goes as you plan? Those who are already moms, what was your experience? Anything you wish could have been done differently? Any home birth veterans out there or planning one? Did you use a midwife or doula or currently working with one?

2

I would like to see this - is it on TV? Or a rental?

I have three and I would only change one thing about the births. I wanted to have the third one at home. I was in Berkeley, there were midwives who would do it, I was near a hospital in case of emergency… but I listened to all the naysayers and let myself be talked out of it, in spite of my history of easy prior births. I had her at the hospital. I came home with MRSA, a staph infection that took nearly a year and every anitbiotic known to man to beat. She got sick from the drugs I was taking and ended up re-hospitalized.

For those that are pregnant, the only thing I recommend is Bradley Method classes (even though some of it is a little over the top, it gave me the confidence I needed for birth) and to trust your instincts/intuition. Also, Bradley made my husband the best doula ever!

RR

3

I saw it on DVD and it is available on Netflix as an “instant watch” if you are member.

It’s really interesting to hear your thoughts after three (!) births. How great that your husband was able to be such a supportive role in your labor.

I think it is sad that so many women are swayed away from giving birth in the way that feels right or best for them. Really that scares me more then the birth process. It seems that women are in such a vulnerable position when in labor, that it is easy to be talked into something that is not 100% necessary. I completely feel that there is a VERY essential role for the doctors and surgeons to be involved when extreme measures are required for small % of births which require medical intervention. However, it appears that medical intervention is put in place far more then necessary.

Interestingly, according to this film, the US appears to have the lowest rate of midwife involvement or home births in developed nations, yet has one of the highest rates of maternal death rates.

4

I had a certified nurse-midwife and delivered in a hospital. Actually a really good hospital that perhaps another ST baby was just brought into the world in (Poudre Valley). It went well, I was home 30 hours later. I did have an epidural because it was taking so long I was exhausted. As soon as I was numb I went right to sleep. They woke me up when it was time. Snackie scored 9 on the APGAR.

I wouldn’t chance a home birth in case something went wrong. I highly recommend the CNM route.

5

I wouldn’t chance a home birth in case something went wrong.

the only problem with this logic: historically, a lot more things ‘go wrong’ for mother and/or child a lot more often in hospital births than home births. and solid evidence backs this up. you can see a hint of this in the movie trailer in the OP’s link.

the film blows away medical establishment myths, one by one. a stunning documentary that should be required viewing for any human being.

6

I totally agree with their viewpoint and feel women in America are being robbed of their experience and they are put in a dangerous situation–all for the sake of convenience.

It is my opinion that every woman who wants to be a mother should see this film.

And don’t even get me started on the movement of hysterectomies…

7

Again, I am speaking from absolutely no experience, but watching this film really makes me realize that all the drugs and stuff that the doctors do to a woman in labor create a potentially more dangerous birth. Which then leads the medical staff to have to intervene even more as a result of the quickened pace of events (more drugs, c-section, vacuum extractor, etc.)

One thing for sure, that if/when my time comes I want someone who I trust to know my desires and help them be realized whether in a hospital, birth center, or home.

8

Wow, these compelling comments are going to make me see this film!!

I didn’t see it yet so I can’t comment about the film…but I do want to second RLAM’s statement that the Bradley method will teach you and your partner to succeed at your birth plan. We used the book.

During my first birth, I was pretty traditional anyway, but I walked right into the pattern of “sure you’re strong, sure sure, yep strong, …but don’t be a hero ,take the epidural”. It was OK.

After becoming a mom, I readjusted every POV (not by choice, my kid demanded it) , and started reading up on different modes of thought, and was very curious about unmedicated birth. I realized if I wanted to go through with one in my area, I had to be *very stubborn, and be *very well prepared in advance. Not only to deal with the pain and effects of birth, but the immense pressure to medicate.

The Bradley book taught my husband to be prepared for moments when I was ready to give up. It helped immeasurably, to have him calm, educated, and anticapatory rather than reactionary, in those tough moments.

ahh - thanks for reminding me how easy triathlons are!!! :stuck_out_tongue:

9

I’m going to be opposite of everyone here, I think. I had a baby boy almost 4 months ago, I had him in the hospital, had an epidural, and don’t regret anything.

I had a great dr. who stressed to me all through my pregnancy the importance of genetics, i.e. if you were big your baby will most likely be big, if your mom had a hard time you’re more likely to have a hard time, etc. Both of those things were true for me, I weighed almost 10 pounds at birth and my mom had a very hard time delivering both me and my sister, so I decided to do this in the hospital.

We took a birthing class while I was pg, and when I learned all the negative effects of epidurals I decided I was going to try and go without. This was my first baby so I had no idea what I was getting into! Will was born a week late and I had to be induced. My dr. offered to induce me early but I wanted to try and do this as naturally as possible, though in the hospital, so I waited a week. They never really finished the whole inducing process, my labor started on its own and it was like nothing I could have expected, even from what we learned in birthing class. There are supposed to be peaks and valleys to contractions, or so I thought! Let me just say I didn’t experience any valleys… I had a great nurse who knew I wanted to try and go natural, so he offered me all sorts of things, made me take off the monitor and get up and walk around, etc., and I really appreciated that. But when it came down to it I asked for the epidrual, and like another poster said, as soon as I got that I fell asleep. So comes time to push and he’s not moving. I pushed for a good 2 hours to no effect. Now I know that the epidural can cause difficulties with pushing, but I don’t think it would have mattered. My dr. finally offered me c-section or forceps and I chose forceps, I really don’t think he was moving any other way.

So it was not easy, it was much harder than I expected, and I haven’t even gone into ALL the details, I feel like I’ve given quite enough and maybe a bit too much already! But I have a couple of points. 1) Each woman needs to do what’s best and most comfortable for her, and 2) The unexpected definitely can happen. That may sound weird since my dr. warned me about this sort of thing, but I didn’t really believe him. Now I’m glad I decided to listen.

I guess maybe since I went through this so recently I’m still a little touchy about it, but it seems that when you’re pg lots of people try and force lots of things down your throat and then make you feel guilty when you make your own decision. Bottom line is this is the most personal choice you’ll ever make, and you need to make it on your own. Be informed, find out all you can, and then make up your own mind. Hats off to all the home births and natural births out there, really. I just want to throw in another story and point of view to anyone who may be going through this now or soon.

And the next time I post I swear it is not going to be related to pregnancy, birth, or babies!

10

I don’t believe I was “robbed” of any experience. I had 23 hours of contractions prior to getting the pain relief. I clearly remember them now, more than 8 years later. I was exhausted. I tried all kinds of natural methods, including the whole water thing. I was glad to have the epidural and finally get some rest so when it came time to push I had some strength do so. Like I posted above, my baby scored 9 on the apgar. I challenge you to find a healthier baby upon birth.

You know what the natural experience is? Its fucking painful.

Everybody likes to tell you what you should do, blah, blah blah. I remember I worked with a Lebanese guy who was constantly lecturing me that should not have an epidural, his mom have 9 kids w/o it, yada, yada, yada. One day I had enough of him. “Nasser, you’re mom gave birth in freaking poverty! When you want to squeeze a kid out of your body, feel free to do it however you want. I’m going to have an epidural and a ham sandwich!”. At that point I had not even decided on the epi, but I just wanted to shut him up. And being me I threw in the extra jab about the ham since he was muslim.

Call me crazy, but I’m going with medical science on this one.

11

I certainly hope I didn’t offend - it’s definitely a sensitive subject. I should add that I’ve done it both ways. My first was induced and I did the epi-nap-push method and it was awesome.

I think all that really matters is a healthy baby and a healthy mom.

Congrats on your new little one!

12

wow… that looks really interesting. i’d love to see it.

it’s funny because i think most people associate midwives, doulas, water births, home births, etc etc with yuppies-types. i feel like there is some kind of stigma linked to ‘alternative’ methods that implies you are a rich, well-off, yoga-practicing, organic food-eater. frankly, ‘alternative’ methods make a lot more sense to me than conventional ones, and i hope that we see a shift in childbirth practices soon…

i think it’s great that c-sections and painkillers are there for people who want them, but i think that everyone should have a choice - regardless of their income or location. and i think that the doctor should understand and abide by that choice as long as it’s medically safe.

13

I had three children in 3.5 years. Everytime we moved I had a baby. I told my husband after the third I’m not moving again. I had them in three different hospitals. I’m a critical care nurse and my husband is a surgeon so we are very comfortable in the hospital and I wanted to be there. I wanted an IV,an epidural and my bladder drained before I started pushing. I had an epidural with each of them and really am glad with my decision. My second was actually the easiest and it was the most what I would call “old fashioned”. I had my epidural and was ready to push soon after that. They brought out these long stirrups that went all the way up to my thighs. It was awesome! It was my easiest birth and he was my biggest baby.

14

how good for you to have the experience you wanted. that’s what it’s about. you made your choices and you’re happy with that; it’s great!

personally i know 5 friends who wanted natural childbirth only to end up with C-sections. i find that strange; the pregnant women i know, nearly all of them have scheduled C-sections. it’s very weird, IMO.

in my original post, this is what i was referring to, there seems to be a majority of C-sections, planned way ahead of time.

but i think it’s great you had what you wanted, several of my friends don’t feel the same way, which is unfortunate.

lastly, kuddos to you and all Moms for all you do and have done. the thought of being preg terrifies me, let alone the delivery, and that is just a starting point. you womens are major, i admire you all!

15

No, not offended at all, I promise! Like we both said, it’s a sensitive subject, especially for me, just coming out of it. I actually ran into a few people that had never even had a baby and never will, but felt pretty good telling me how I should do it and it really bothered me. If I hadn’t been in the hospital with my dr. I’m not really sure what would have happened, so I’m very glad I was there and just thought I’d share my side, too. I was kind of worried that maybe I went too far with that, nothing was directed at you or anyone else, I promise!

And thanks, it’s really amazing have this little guy in our lives, it changes your perspective, for sure. Even if it wasn’t that easy getting him out he was worth every second and it’s crazy how fast you forget about all that part…

16

I’m not a member of netflix but I’d be very interested in seeing this once the DVD goes on sale online. I’m trying to figure out what to do right now. I love my doctor and am supposed to give birth at Prentice here in Chicago, which is one of the newest and best maternity wards in the country. I’d like to give birth naturally but every friend I’ve had who has said they wanted to give birth naturally ended up getting drugs. I feel like the more I know the more I’ll either be determined to stick to my guns or be okay with using drugs but I’m having a hard time finding finding materials out there to read that aren’t biased one way or the other (same way with breast feeding, it all seems pretty biased). My mother was in labor for me for over 40 hours (which she reminds me every year on my birthday) so I may have some serious pain coming my way.

17

Oh ok. I thought you were refering strictly to the use of pain meds. I get what you’re saying about the scheduled c sections. That’s weird and the recovery time is way longer if they cut the baby out of you.

18

if you’ve got a broadband connection, you can join netflix *today *for a month for under 10 bucks, and see the film on a computer or laptop right now via netflix’s “watch instantly” service. and you can see as many of netflix’s other ‘watch instant’ films as you want (with unlimited viewing). and they’ll send you other first-run dvds in the mail too. then, in 30 days, if you don’t want to continue just cancel.

your total cost = less than 10 bucks.

trust me, if you are going to be giving birth soon, it’ll be the best $10 purchase you’ve ever made.

this film is powerful, in that it clearly shows that the motivation of most u.s. medical birth interventions is simple expediency, because of some truly insane traditions, a “perceived” cost savings, and pretty much for the convenience of hospitals and medical staff; not at all for the benefit of the mother or child. but yet the film also makes the effort to show in a remarkably balanced way a case of necessary intervention.

about women planning natural births but in the end getting all the drugs, this film shows how in a hospital birth a ‘perfect storm’ of very powerful factors conspire together to make it nearly impossible for a woman to follow through on those intentions, and it is by design. the jaw-dropping images of the film speak for themselves. the filmmakers give many many examples of this and show how one, administering pitocin (for artificially inducing contractions) causes a cascade of serious complications: vastly increased birthing pain for the mother, greater fetal distress and trauma; and then of course hugely increasing the chance that the woman will be sliced open with a C-section.

but then, in the film, you also get to see in living color the unforgettable videos of 5 or 6 babies being born including the labor of their mothers. and you get to see some born by C-section. overall, it was an intense and beautiful documentary.

knowledge is power.

19

I hear you girl! What is up with friends telling you what you should do? And why all the negativity toward medicine? While I was trying to get pregnant I had all sorts of friends asking me if I was getting a doula, where was I giving birth, etc. and it felt like I was making some political decision.

I love my OBGYN, she presents me with options that she fully explains and then waits for me to make a decision. I’ve been with her since the beginning, through fertility treatments and a miscarriage and now we’ll be back at it again here soon, and I feel like her care and the medicine she has provided have been great for me! I even knew the cause of my miscarriage due to some testing (ultrascreen) she did at week 10. Some of my friends didn’t understand why I was getting testing done at all, I have a close friend who wouldn’t get an ultrasound because of potential harmful effects to the baby, but knowing the cause of my miscarriage was a great relief to me.

We all have different risks going into pregnancy and some women may need more medical assistance than others. I may get a doula or a mid-wife someday, that’s my business and women shouldn’t cluck at each other luck a bunch of old hens for making decisions about their pregnancies.

20

OH man… I was my OB’s star patient, she had me lined up for the low-risk/easy-peasy labour. Well. My little redhead turned out to be stubborn and clever. Get this: Sunday all day, contractions all day but too far apart to mean anything (about every 20min). 10 days before due date. Monday morning, I get out of bed after barely sleeping and get the wet dribble that says “water may have broke”. Call OB, she says, come in, we’ll check you out. She does, says give it 24hrs, if no further contractions, we’ll have to induce. I have contractions, about 10-20min apart for the next 24hrs, so we’re at almost 2 days worth of contractions, but no more frequent than 10min apart. After that, I am in the hospital, getting the hormone shots and trying to stay comfy waiting to be induced. I was in heavy contractions for the next oh 10hrs or so. OB keeps checking on me, says “hmm… dilation is pretty slow, do you want to keep going?” I tell her hell yes, I really wanted a natural birth, and told myself to suck it up. A few more hours of this and the OB says “OK, that’s odd, bebe’s moving back UP - you need a c-section”. I reluctantly agree. Turns out it was a great decision as K was breech AND her umbilical cord was only about a foot long. If I had pushed her out the normal route, she would have ruptured my uterus and I would have needed an emergency c-section.

I have this horrible scar from the c-section. For a few years I hated it. I eventually came to realize it was like a badge of honour… and in order to celebrate it, I got a tattoo right above it: the two blue waves for Aquarius (K’s sign) and above that a little blue star (for my little star). I love it, she loves it, BF thinks it’s hot haha.

AP