The Family Journey

This article from The Reader’s Digest, written by Eleanor Lake, was frustrating and enlightening. Here we are, 59 years later, and many of the same points are being disputed. Some of my favorite parts:

“Babies have always obstinately preferred their own mother to any cow, however contented. But during the past 25 years they have had to take a bottle and like it. Busy hospitals preferred to run through a crop of newborns on a routine ‘house formula’ delivered on a four-hour schedule, instead of encouraging the time-consuming art of breastfeeding.” This same statement has been mentioned at BirthChat – has nothing changed in five decades, or are we having to redo the work that our grandmothers did in the 50′s?

It appears that, even then, it was known that “breast-fed babies gain more consistently [[is this true nowadays?]], have fewer allergies, a longer natural immunity to many diseases, notably fewer skin and digestive disorders. More important still, the baby of a mother who enjoys nursing is likely to be bursting with good humor as well as pink-cheeked health.”

I was particularly surprised that this kind of information was presented as common sense. It seems we are still (or again) being told to overlook the perfection of the physiological processes of pregnancy, birth, breastfeeding, and new parenthood. “For months, many organs of her [the mother] body — uterus, ovary, pituitary, nerves and blood stream as well as breasts — have been involved in a tremendous and intricate effort to produce milk. When a mother’s breasts are ‘dried up’ in the hospital, this process is cut short as abruptly as pregnancy is by a miscarriage. Dr. F. Charlotte Naish, British expert on the subject of breast feeding and herself the mother of five babies…”

[[Hold the phone! A mother of 5 babies AND a doctor in 1950? I have got to learn more about this woman.]]

“…points out that a new mother whose body is already trying to move from the cycle of pregnancy into the next natural one of lactation is thrown completely out of gear by skipping lactation altogether. Mothers of bottle-fed babies often complain of feeling dissatisfied, nervous and depressed. There are fewer cases of ‘maternity blues’ among nursing mothers.”

This part sheds light on the perception of women and mothers. Interestingly, some are still in this same situation (less the stilbestrol): “Mothers who have been brought up to believe that a clever girl can toss off a few babies while running the League of Women Voters, redecorating her house and giving the smartest dinners in town are due for a severe inner struggle when they try to slow down to the peaceful rhythm of breast feeding. A woman who can’t decide whether she was meant to be a mother, glamour girl or career woman will solve her inner conflict by having no milk or else by finding breast feeding painful and difficult.
“Most disappointed mothers, however, can blame our hospitals for their lack of breast milk. Some hospitals still give mothers stilbestrol — ‘drying-up pills’ — as routine, sometimes without even telling the mother. Many hospitals start supplementary feedings at the first sign that a new mother is not a positive artesian well of milk, even though experts say that babies will not nurse properly if they are given supplementary feedings.”

I really love this explanation for why ‘ad libbing’ (feeding on demand) made so much sense: “Life is a startling and even terrifying adventure to a newborn baby. To make him feel that this new world is a friendly and welcoming place, he needs a great deal of warm and intimate contact with this mother. During his first few weeks, especially, he wants the smell and feel of his mother, the closeness of her arms. Nursed and cuddled when he is hungry or upset, he begins to feel that the world is a pretty fine place after all.”

The article concludes by saying: “Like any other career, real motherhood demands a great deal of time at first. But it pays off a thousandfold later on, in happy and responsible children and in mature confident mothers, enjoying their motherhood.”

When our granddaughters stumble upon our breastfeeding advice books and articles, what will be different? The same? Do you find this unsettling or comforting?

Preconceptional Folate Supplementation Reduces Risk for Spontaneous Preterm Birth – Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine

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While cleaning out a hope chest that used to be my grandma’s, I found several books and articles on birth, breastfeeding, sex and even circumcision, with copyrights ranging from 1919 to the 1950s. Over the coming weeks I’ll be posting some excerpts and asking for your thoughts about what’s changed, what hasn’t, and whether we’re better off in 2009 than we were 60 years ago.

Here’s a teaser from Expectant Motherhood, by Nicholson J. Eastman, (c) 1951 (original copyright 1940). Eastman was Professor of Obstetrics at Johns Hopkins University and Obstetrician-in-Chief to the Johns Hopkins Hospital.

On Cesarean Section: “During the past quarter of a century the incidence of cesarean section in this country has increased more than fivefold and today approximately one American baby in fifty is delivered by this means. So common has the operation become that a number of women have gained the impression that this is the easiest way of having a baby and even ask the doctor if it is not possible for them to be delivered in this fashion. Such implicit faith in cesarean section is based on misinformation. Although it is true that modern surgical methods have greatly reduced the seriousness of the procedure, it is not as safe for the mother as normal delivery through the birth canal; cesarean section is a major abdominal operation and such operative procedures are always associated with a certain small risk which is somewhat greater than that of ordinary childbirth.”

UPDATE: According to PVH, the policy is being changed but does not specifiy that someone with multiple cesareans is restricted from having a VBAC. The language in the policy leaves the discretion up to the provider.

According to this same source at PVH, the success rate is high for attempted VBACs. I am still trying to secure exact statistics.

This leads to so many more questions… Why would this OB tell his or her patient that PVHS is restricting VBA2Cs? Is the provider choosing not to attend this type of birth? Has it become too costly for OBs to insure themselves against litigation? Was the provider trying to pass the buck? Did the OB have misinformation?

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We just heard through the proverbial grapevine that our local hospital network, Poudre Valley Health System, no longer permits a woman who has had two or more cesareans to have a vaginal birth in their facilities.

If you are currently pregnant, ask your provider detailed questions about your specific situation, and how or if this policy will affect you.

Women who have had two cesareans without a vaginal birth in their history do not have the option of choosing a homebirth attended by a Certified Professional Midwife in Colorado due to legal regulations. If choosing a VBA2C at the local hospitals is not available, a woman in this situation will be left with the “option” of having a potentially unnecessary c-section, or she may “choose” an unassisted birth at home. This is the birth climate we will be facing should a ban be put in place.

If this policy were to go into effect, northern Colorado birth culture would be taking a huge step backward. Let’s get in contact with PVHS and figure out just what is going on, why, and change what we can. Please take a few minutes over the next couple of days to do some research and share what you find out.

Please contact
Public Relations (970) 495-7427 or (970) 237-7003
Director of Women & Family Care, Pat Bohling Smith, (970) 495-8252.
And for general questions regarding Women’s Health, please call (970) 495-7000 or 1-800-252-5784

These photos show the details of what happens during birth. If you are uncomfortable with birth images, please view at your own discretion.

For those who think we don’t need a strong focus on improving infant mortality rates here in the U.S.:
“Discussions of the U.S. infant mortality rate are often countered with criticism that the U.S. records data differently than other countries, reporting very premature babies as live births. While this is true for five of the 19 European countries whose data was analyzed, 14 of the 19 European countries require that all live births at any birth weight or gestational age be reported.”

» CDC Releases New Report Comparing U.S. and European Infant Mortality Rates.

And, if this ignites a fire within you to talk about it, please join us for BirthChat on November 16th at 6:00 p.m. We meet at the Tap Room @ Catalyst, 3501 S. Shields St. in Fort Collins. We’ll show the film Reducing Infant Mortality and discuss it afterward. Invite your neighbor, your doctor, your senator, your brother, your doula, your teacher, etc. We want everyone to understand that this is a big issue with affordable, credible, common sense solutions.