information. what a revolution it is.
Last night I sat in on a revolution and those taking part were unaware of their involvement in something so subversive. It took place in Dix Hills at what I guess you would call a "birthing class" which is where you pay someone to teach you all about babies and giving birth. Technically, I believe it is called a "Bradley Method Class". I don't know what, exactly, the "Bradley Method" is, but it seems nice.
The teacher was talking about epidurals and their associated risks and benefits. She is very balanced in all of her information, and her goal is to give people the knowledge they need to have their birth the way they want it to be, regardless of what that is. She gives a very fair view of everything so that people can make informed decisions about the health of their family. In this age where simply degrading the opposition has become the basis of our political and social decisions, balanced information has definitely become a rarity on all battle fronts.
Basically, the weigh-in on epidurals is this: the benefits are that it takes away the pain, which can be quite considerable when pushing a large object out of the body. Also, if a c-section is necessary, using an epidural means the woman is awake during surgery, and completely aware of her surroundings, which is a very good thing. On the "risk" side, is the fact that it can cause cardiac arrest, in the mother or the baby that is still inside her, severe allergic reaction (again, in mother or child), inability to push (which means you will then need a surgical delivery which carries its own set of increased risks), "fetal distress" (also meaning a definite c-section), possible paralysis (temporary or life-long), headaches that last days or weeks after delivery (not much fun with a new born baby in the house), and the list goes on. Plus, nobody knows the long-term effects of the small amount of the drug coctail that reaches the baby.
The possible inability to push, and the definite inability to move around to aid in delivery are both proven to greatly increase the risk of c-section in mothers receiving epidurals. It isn't only the pain-killer's fault. After an epidural, the mother must be strapped to a fetal monitor (proven to increase c-section rates), receive an IV of fluids, and possibly receive a catheter to drain urine, because feeling the need to pee is impossible with a numbed bladder. Also, headaches lasting several days or weeks after birth, and fetal distress (which is why the constant monitoring is now necessary) leading to c-section delivery are all very common after receiving an epidural. However, the other much more serious side effects are obviously extremely rare.
In the case of a surgical delivery, an epidural or some numbing agent has to be used. The body was not built to feel itself being cut open. But in a normal delivery, the epidural has no physical medical need. It solves no actual physical threat to the body, rather it solves a mental one. Pain of any kind is hard for the mind to overcome, but it is simply that - a mental hurdle. Pain alone cannot kill you. An epidural, no matter how rare an occurence it may be, can. Giving it arbitrarily to millions of mothers leads to cesarean rates as high as 40% of births in many hospitals, and is an unnecessary added risk factor in many births.
Confronted with that information, and the time to "think it through", I would bet my life things would be different. The fact is that pain from birth will not kill you. It is not physically dangerous. Simply put, it is nerves firing off signals to the brain that to say that "this hurts - a lot." Most women are not adequately prepared for the pain, nor are they encouraged and coached through it in order to avoid a possibly dangerous medical procedure. Instead, in the midst of terrible pain, the doctor offers them an immediate way out and rambles off the possible "side effects" and information about a highly increased risk of c-section is always left out (because it is just heresay, despite the overwhelming amount of research supporting the view). It's the same reason why torture yields mounds of information that is almost always wrong. People experiencing intense pain cannot be expected to make rational decisions.
Sitting there last night, I realized that these un-suspecting people (NYC cops, accountants, lawyers, Republicans, Democrats, conservatives, and progressives alike) were taking part in a revolution. By giving us the information we need to make informed decisions, the teacher was taking power over our lives away from the drug companies and placing it back where it belongs. This is a power they have arduously worked and schemed to achieve for many generations. And with a little un-biased information, we could very well destroy them.
The revolution is beginning.
The teacher was talking about epidurals and their associated risks and benefits. She is very balanced in all of her information, and her goal is to give people the knowledge they need to have their birth the way they want it to be, regardless of what that is. She gives a very fair view of everything so that people can make informed decisions about the health of their family. In this age where simply degrading the opposition has become the basis of our political and social decisions, balanced information has definitely become a rarity on all battle fronts.
Basically, the weigh-in on epidurals is this: the benefits are that it takes away the pain, which can be quite considerable when pushing a large object out of the body. Also, if a c-section is necessary, using an epidural means the woman is awake during surgery, and completely aware of her surroundings, which is a very good thing. On the "risk" side, is the fact that it can cause cardiac arrest, in the mother or the baby that is still inside her, severe allergic reaction (again, in mother or child), inability to push (which means you will then need a surgical delivery which carries its own set of increased risks), "fetal distress" (also meaning a definite c-section), possible paralysis (temporary or life-long), headaches that last days or weeks after delivery (not much fun with a new born baby in the house), and the list goes on. Plus, nobody knows the long-term effects of the small amount of the drug coctail that reaches the baby.
The possible inability to push, and the definite inability to move around to aid in delivery are both proven to greatly increase the risk of c-section in mothers receiving epidurals. It isn't only the pain-killer's fault. After an epidural, the mother must be strapped to a fetal monitor (proven to increase c-section rates), receive an IV of fluids, and possibly receive a catheter to drain urine, because feeling the need to pee is impossible with a numbed bladder. Also, headaches lasting several days or weeks after birth, and fetal distress (which is why the constant monitoring is now necessary) leading to c-section delivery are all very common after receiving an epidural. However, the other much more serious side effects are obviously extremely rare.
In the case of a surgical delivery, an epidural or some numbing agent has to be used. The body was not built to feel itself being cut open. But in a normal delivery, the epidural has no physical medical need. It solves no actual physical threat to the body, rather it solves a mental one. Pain of any kind is hard for the mind to overcome, but it is simply that - a mental hurdle. Pain alone cannot kill you. An epidural, no matter how rare an occurence it may be, can. Giving it arbitrarily to millions of mothers leads to cesarean rates as high as 40% of births in many hospitals, and is an unnecessary added risk factor in many births.
Confronted with that information, and the time to "think it through", I would bet my life things would be different. The fact is that pain from birth will not kill you. It is not physically dangerous. Simply put, it is nerves firing off signals to the brain that to say that "this hurts - a lot." Most women are not adequately prepared for the pain, nor are they encouraged and coached through it in order to avoid a possibly dangerous medical procedure. Instead, in the midst of terrible pain, the doctor offers them an immediate way out and rambles off the possible "side effects" and information about a highly increased risk of c-section is always left out (because it is just heresay, despite the overwhelming amount of research supporting the view). It's the same reason why torture yields mounds of information that is almost always wrong. People experiencing intense pain cannot be expected to make rational decisions.
Sitting there last night, I realized that these un-suspecting people (NYC cops, accountants, lawyers, Republicans, Democrats, conservatives, and progressives alike) were taking part in a revolution. By giving us the information we need to make informed decisions, the teacher was taking power over our lives away from the drug companies and placing it back where it belongs. This is a power they have arduously worked and schemed to achieve for many generations. And with a little un-biased information, we could very well destroy them.
The revolution is beginning.
posted by adampaul at
3:59 PM
0 Comments
