OB Wrap Up

We all survived our five week OB rotation despite some of our alarm clocks looking like this!

After seeing my first birth, my instructor asked me how it went.  My initial reaction "It was interesting, but DEFINITELY not my thing."  The later became a bit of a running joke, but I was able to get a lot out of the experience; I am waiting for the day when friends start becoming pregnant and the questions start pouring in.

We learned that L&D and postpartum nurses are very possessive of their moms and babies.  In many cases, you speak to friends and family as if you are going through the process yourself.  It does allow for some fun moments and mix ups like this one:

Midwives attend 70% of births in European countries and Japan compared to only 8% in the United States.  It is crazy to see how much the birthing process has changed in the US over the past few decades.  There are very few "natural births" today i.e. no inductions, no epidurals, no meds, no c/s c-sections.   What is interesting is once you start one of these interventions, lets say for example oxytocin (pitocin) is given to increase contractions, how a cascade of interventions will be needed (i.e. medications to manage pain because contractions are stronger and coming more frequently than they would normally, need for a vacuum/forceps assisted birth, c/s, etc).  In some instances these interventions can impact bonding between mother and child, as well as serious impacts on breastfeeding.  Now I am not knocking these interventions because sometimes they really are needed, but it is interesting to see how much the birthing process has changed since there was a switch between midwives and doctors.

1 in 3 births in the US today is a c/s.  While many are because of emergency cases, elective c/s are on the rise.  We are currently live in a society where "there is a pill for that," we like to have everything scheduled and follow a plan.  Planning the birth of your child works right into that mentality.

To see the opposite side of birth check out The Business of Being Born.  Many will see it as a bit granola, but gives an interesting perspective that many people don't see.  There needs to be a move towards reminding women that they have been doing this for thousands of years and this is what their bodies are supposed to do.

Anyway just some food for thought.