My birth, my choice? Why women are medical puppets in the birthing room.

This is going to be one of my favorite posts because it's about consumerism! Call me what you like, but I have to talk about being a woman again, crazy I know. This time; however, I want to talk about having babies. In the birthing room, there is a lot of medical intervention; that means there are a lot of unnecessary medicines and medical devices/procedures used in the birthing room.

Consumerism is knowing what we consume and why we consume what we do and how media affects our choices. A lot of my classmates agreed that consumers need to be more aware of the choices they make. They also said that we should ask ourselves first: "do I want this?" and second: "do I need this?" before we make any purchase. I think it's safe to say most people forget to ask whether they "need" something before they make a purchase.

I want to go off of this conversation and talk about the birthing room for women in labor. A lot of decisions are made during the process of giving birth. Some decisions are simple like whether you want a specific type of room, but when you are in labor your first instinct is to do what the doctor tells you.

 Some types of common medical intervention include: an unnecessary epidural procedure, an unnecessary cesarean section (c-section, whether it's planned in advance by the mother or doctor, or to fit a doctor's schedule during the actual delivery), the use of Pitocin (a hormone that jump-starts a woman's labor, it's what doctor's use to "induce" women) in the birthing room, and the list goes on. 

Here are some links about c-sections and medical intervention in the birthing room. Take a look and see what you think when you're done reading.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1122835/

http://www.choicesinchildbirth.org/choices/birth/interventions

http://harvardmagazine.com/2012/11/labor-interrupted

http://www.ourbodiesourselves.org/book/companion.asp?id=21&compID=75

I just want to point out that the cesarean rates in the United States compared with other countries is through the roof! One-third of child births in this country are now done by cesarean. The main reasons? 1) Doctor's won't allow their patients to deliver vaginally after a cesarean (VBAC), 2) doctor's stop labor in its tracks with Pitocin and Epidural procedures, causing the baby to be stressed!!! Thus leading to a cesarean!, 3) If the baby isn't born quickly enough, they will tell you your only option is a c-section. 4) Women are actually choosing a c-section ahead of time!!!

Just take this as a final note: yes, there are times when these medical interventions are necessary. I am not a doctor (yet), and I do not claim to be one. Always, always, always discuss any medical concerns you have with your OBGYN and make your birthing wishes clear.

If you are dead set on avoiding an epidural there is a waiver you can sign that takes away your right to ask for one. Also, if you are dead set on using an epidural discuss the pros and cons with your doctor and make sure it is the right decision for you.

Finally, keep in mind that a c-section is a major abdominal surgery that requires six weeks of healing time. If it's not medically necessary, do you really want to take that bonding time away from you and your baby? Just like with any other major surgery, there can be serious complications with c-sections, so again discuss this thoroughly with your doctor.

The same goes for Pitocin. In case you were wondering, Pitocin is the hormone cows release when they are in labor. It's much stronger than our natural hormone (oxytocin) and it causes your contractions to be longer, stronger, and closer together (increasing your pain). If you can avoid being induced, then I say avoid it!

I think women need to be more conscious in the birthing room. We need to think before we go along with what the doctor ells us to do. We need to be AWARE of the medical services we are consuming.