Well, he is correct to tout midwives and the errors of automatically relying on c-sections. So many births in the US could be done at home, away from flesh eating streptococcus, away from MRSA bacteria, away from hospital-borne pneumonia and a host of other things. The average birth goes quite swimmingly, according to my mom (a former nurse). That doesn't mean that ALL births should be done at home. That's when a good midwife will know when to call for help, reducing the chance of infant/mother mortality.
I also think that c-sections are overdone in this country, at least. My mom (a retired Labor & Delivery nurse who worked in L&D for 40 years or so) used to decry the overuse of c-sections because doctors were trying to avoid malpractice suits, needed to get a head start on their vacation, felt the mother was taking too long, or some other reason. There's a valid need for sections, for sure. To use them to the degree the modern medical world does now is perhaps a bit much.
Thing is, what drives doctors to advise their patients to head to the hospital over home birth has to be the fear of being sued. The average American has become suit happy. If the slightest thing goes wrong, opinion is automatically against the doctor(s) unless he/she/they can prove they ran every test known and provided every procedure they could think of. Until we can convince the average bear that with health stuff, shit just sometimes happens even though the medical field did it's best, doctors and nurses will still advise people to go to the hospital to have their babies.
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Date: 2009-10-21 01:09 am (UTC)From:I also think that c-sections are overdone in this country, at least. My mom (a retired Labor & Delivery nurse who worked in L&D for 40 years or so) used to decry the overuse of c-sections because doctors were trying to avoid malpractice suits, needed to get a head start on their vacation, felt the mother was taking too long, or some other reason. There's a valid need for sections, for sure. To use them to the degree the modern medical world does now is perhaps a bit much.
Thing is, what drives doctors to advise their patients to head to the hospital over home birth has to be the fear of being sued. The average American has become suit happy. If the slightest thing goes wrong, opinion is automatically against the doctor(s) unless he/she/they can prove they ran every test known and provided every procedure they could think of. Until we can convince the average bear that with health stuff, shit just sometimes happens even though the medical field did it's best, doctors and nurses will still advise people to go to the hospital to have their babies.
But anyway, go Blade! :)