Letters to the Editor
Black Sheep
Published Letters: 34
-
High risk pregnancy
[Read the article: Extreme childbirth]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Dairy Queen:
You can't seriously tell me that high risk pregnancies such as mine should be delivered at home. Perhaps you missed what I said: one of my babies has prematurely ruptured membranes, meaning there is NO AMNIOTIC FLUID around him. That's why I'm in the hospital, have been here for several weeks and will be until I deliver. Not only is it a twin pregnancy, but it is a high risk twin pregnancy.
The real statistics on Ceasarean births for twins: 50% of twins are delivered by C-section. That is hardly slim to none being born vaginally, as you stated! Even in my case, where there are several high risk issues, my perinatalogists are willing to let me try to deliver vaginally. That is because my placental abruption has resolved and preterm rupture of membranes does not necessarily contraindict vaginal delivery. If it turns out I can't for risk reasons, and I will need to give birth by Ceasarean (it is still giving birth, by the way, no matter how you do it) then I accept that. And yes, I will be proud of myself no matter what happens.
I don't know much about floppy baby syndrome, but I do know that my mother gave birth to my younger brother breech in the early 70's, and had to have an epidural. I was an unmedicated birth 3 years earlier. My brother and I (both breastfed) turned out just fine. We were happy, healthy babies and are happy, healthy adults. My brother, who was medicated during birth, is a surgeon and shows no ill effects 30 something years later. Countless other people I know, children and adults, were born in the hospital, birthing centers or at home. All of them are doing just fine.
Oh and I am friends with moms who have given birth all kinds of different ways, so I don't appreciate your smug insinuations. The bottom line is, most of us try to do what is best for our babies. In the end, what is most important is parenting and loving your child!
-
Not to blame for complications
[Read the article: Extreme childbirth]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Dairy Queen:
If you knew anything about pregnancy, which you clearly don't, you would be aware that perfectly healthy women have complications all the time. In addition, in my line of work, I have seen mothers who were drug addicts have complication free pregnancies and births. (Of course, the babies were addicted to drugs, but they had otherwise "normal" pregnancies. Since you like to twist people's words around, I should point out that I obviously don't endorse this behavior.)
I certainly don't appreciate your extremely rude assertion that I must be unhealthy to have had so many complications. And the fact that you haven't known anyone to have these complications just proves that you do know very little about pregnancy, as I suspected. I would be interested to see how parents whose babies are in the NICU would react to your implication that they are somehow to blame for their situations. It is pretty cold and heartless to blame the mother for things that are quite often out of her control.
The point is, it can't always be predicted who will have complications or not. You can do everything you can to have a healthy pregnancy, but things just happen. Women can even have normal pregnancies up until the moment of delivery, and something could go wrong. A woman I know of had a healthy, complication free gestation, and when giving birth the cord wrapped around the baby's neck and he died. Does that happen often? No, but it can and does happen.
I said: "Even in my case, where there are several high risk issues, my perinatalogists are willing to let me try to deliver vaginally."
You said: "Those words are extremely revealing. They're going to "let you" try, eh? Why is it up to them? Don't you have any insight or intuition about your own body? Do you only listen to what the machines are telling you? That's the first step in the downward spiral that leads from one intervention to another (but I'm sure I don't have to tell you that; you already know)."
Perhaps my choice of words was wrong. My perinatalogists are not pressuring me to have a Ceasarean. They are supportive of a vaginal birth, quite in contradiction to everything I have heard about OB/GYN's and perinatalogists.
And yes, I have had plenty of friends who have had both unmedicated births and home births. Most recently, my best friend had to be rushed to the hospital after laboring for over 24 hours at home. Her baby got stuck and her midwife did the right thing and got her to the hospital. But I also know of many success stories. I never said I was against home birth per se, I am against PLANNED unassisted births. Oh, and people I know who did have epidurals had perfectly healthy and strong babies. Even if that were not true, I don't think a baby being slightly "floppy" at birth is such a huge deal. The medication wears off, you know. The baby isn't going to be "floppy" for the rest of her life.
-
LOL, that is hilarious
[Read the article: Extreme childbirth]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Now the unassisted birth advocates that have been posting on this board are showing themselves to be completely nutty with their paranoid conspiracy theories!
First of all, it ultimately doesn't matter whether the poster is a doctor or not. It doesn't make what she is saying any less valid. Secondly, since when do you need to verify your credentials to post on a board? I don't think Dr. Tuteur or anyone else on this board needs to prove themselves to you!