HW 39 "Born in the USA" Part II

Born in the USA - How a broken maternity system must be fixed to put women and children first.

1. 

a) In the second half of the book, the author talks more about midwives and their practices. In "The Business of Being Born" we heard two opposing views: doctors talking about how home births may have their consequences and that giving birth in a hospital is much more safe, and midwives promoting natural home birth, arguing that women should have control over their labor. In his text, Wagner agrees with the midwives and shares their point of view. What interested me most in this chapter is the reason why stressless births go by more smoothly, "Any intervention that increases a laboring woman's fear or anxiety will interfere with, slow down or even stop the birth process" (Wagner 104). He explains that this is because the part of the nervous system which controls labor is the parasympathetic system. Stress, on the other hand, wakes up the sympathetic system, which, being the opposite, shuts down the parasympathetic system, making labor more difficult. This was also mentioned in the film, however was not explained as well as in the book, and I think I wouldn't have understood it if I hadn't read the book beforehand.

b) What the author mentions in the book and keeps bringing back is the continuing conflict between doctors and midwives. The movie however, does not show all the hate between the two professions. "In many cases, these attacks on midwives are simply attempts by doctors to eliminate the competition" (Wagner 115). This is not exactly what is shown in the movie. We can see a disagreement, however the movie just shows opposite points of view. The author of this book shows us what the whole business looks like behind the scenes.

2. The first chapter in the second half of the book is entitled "Where to be Born". In it, the author talks about the pros and cons of giving birth at home versus in a hospital. He highlights the fact that midwives and home births are often seen as a crime for no apparent reason and shows an example, "They ordered the midwife and her children to stay in the living room while they ransacked the house. Ms. S was not permitted to leave the living room to see what the police were doing" (Wagner 127). The author criticizes the fact that midwives are seen as criminals and I have to agree with him. Choosing the type of birth is a woman's right and no one should take that away from her, neither doctors or the police and midwives are only there to allow for home births to take place. 

3. 

> I think the aspect of stress during labor (p.104) deserves wider attention. If articles on the topic were published, people would, or should, start paying more attention to women in labor, and obstetricians would start looking at giving birth as something that happens a woman does rather than an illness she is going through.

> What also struck me as important was the list of rights that all patients, including pregnant women, have. The first, and probably most important, right which is mentioned by the author is the fact that a patient has the "autonomy in making all medical decisions, including the decision to refuse treatment" (Wagner 173). I think every woman should know these rights by heart before she goes into labor, or even before her first obstetrician's appointment.

4. The topic of inducing labor with Cytotec scrolls on throughout the whole book. Wagner wants to make the reader believe that Cytotec is one of the worst things a doctor can do to natural labor, unless it is necessary, which should be only around 10% of all births. The author repeats that Cytotec is a drug which has not been approved by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration). I did research to find out if what the author is saying is actually correct and found out that Cytotec is, indeed, not approved due to lack of data and research considering dosage of the drug "More research is needed into the safety and best dosages of Misoprostol [Cytotec]." (Hofmeyr)

What I found shocking was that, researching the safeness of Cytotec, I came across a link saying "cytotec - Buy Online Here! No prescription needed." (http://prime-result.com/search.php?r=med&q=cytotec) This link scared me, after all I have read about the drug. If 'medicine' like this spreads so easily, should we start worrying about psychopaths randomly injecting mysterious drugs into our veins on the streets of New York City?

Bibliography:

Wagner, Marsden. Born in the USA - How a broken maternity system must be fixed to put women and children first. 1st ed. Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press, 2008. Print.

Hofmeyr, GJ. "Vaginal misoprostol for cervical ripening and induction of labour." Cochrane Reviews. The Cochrane Collaboration, 29 May 2009. Web. 21 Mar 2011. <http://www2.cochrane.org/reviews/en/ab000941.html>.