Are we dominated by doctors in the delivery ward????

Love2love

http://www.birthinternational.com/diary/index.html

I was on the magicmums website and I came across a link to this article. Just wanted to know others experience and if you agree or disagree. She calls Ireland and uncivilized country because of our lack of options when it comes to birth and labour. She feels that the women of Ireland are being dominated by Doctors here in Ireland and forced to take epidurals and other 'unsafe' drugs to aid us in labour because we cannot say NO for ourselves.

Now, I personally am aware of my options and I tell you, I will be taking the epidural when the big days comes, in fact I want ALL THE DRUGS!!!!!

Ladies, did you feel that you had no options when it came to labour? We're to too afraid to speak out or ask questions?
Gentlemen, do you feel that Irish women are wimps?

ArthurDent

Although there are some very valid points in that article - especially around breasfeeding, lack of choices in type of delivery (midwife-led, birthing pools,home births, even birthing balls etc) the tone of it drives me friggin scatty. It puts an artificial "them and us" mentality forward that there are only two types of women - those that "know" and are happy clappy , no meds, no intervention, hippies and those that don't give a rats arse about their baby and want an epidural in the carpark and will lie there with their legs up in stirrups and give over their birth experience to a Dr who will manage it for them.
Most women i know take pregnancy and birth very seriously and read up on all their options, most want a happy healthy baby first and foremost, probably have an idea of their ideal birth experience but reasonable enough to know that birth can be pretty unpredictable and things can happen to throw your plans out the window.
Had one drug-free, intervention free birth with just a midwife present and one very high intervention birth (DS ended up in distress, and could have died if not delivered with forceps immediately) and you know what- both were very positive experiences (ok maybe not quite at the time!) because on both occasions I got to bring a beautiful healthy baby home.
Now overdue with number 3 (anytime now little one, wheever you're ready!) and although I'd love this one to be more like my second intervention-free birth than first delivery, I'm realistic enough to know that holding a healthy baby is what its all about.
I really hate people (and it's nearly always women) that make birth into a political war zone, why can't we support each other instead of insisting that "one size fits all" for birthing options.

Ickle Magoo

I think the article makes many good points but the author refuses point blank to accept that there are many woman who want to have hospital births and be guided by their obs as to the route to take.

There should be more options, more support, better education on the choices out there whether they be related to birthing, breast-feeding or whatever. However, these really "preachy" us & them articles manage to undermine & turn into public ridicule the very points they are trying to promote by treating women with all the contempt & blinkered attitudes that they accuse the medical profession of using. As far as I am concerned they are just opposite ends of the same spectrum but Drs are capable of saving a mother and/or childs life. Not something to be sneezed at.

embee

God, this article incenses me.

As a woman who has given birth in Ireland this year (February), I just don't know where she gets her notions from.

Irish women are, of course, used to being given information that someone else has deemed “allowable”. Feminism has not really surfaced in this country, where for generations, women’s lives have been ruled first by the Church and now by the doctors.

What?!

I delivered my daughter drug-free, I wasn't on the flat of my back, no-one once tried to bully me into an epidural... what is she pranging on about?!

OP - No, I most definitely did NOT feel I was bullied and told what to do during my labour, and Irish women (or any woman who has a child, drug-free or not) is NOT a wimp for delivering a baby!! Anyone who thinks that needs to have their bumps felt.

Crea

To be honest I kind of agree with her. Some Irish women do make decisions about their childbirth without looking at the longer term (beyond the delivery room) consequences for them and their babies. I also agree that when offering interventions the doctors should point out the side effects. I wonder if the people opting for elective sections think about the pain, discomfort and lack of mobility afterwards. There are also risks to the baby which no one every mentions.
That said, I did my reading up (a bit) and wanted a hospital birth. When I got there I was perfectly happy to stay in bed. I nearly killed the nurse when she suggested I walk to the loo because I didn't want to get up. I wanted a positive birthing experience - not being terrified and panicking which I thought would be worse for the baby than a shot of epidural (which in the end I was too late for anyway). Both births were assisted by midwives who let me off except on my first they were pushing pethidine because I declined the epidural at the start.
I made all the decisions relating to my births and had the final say on what was done. Thank goodness I didn't need any intervention but if I had I would have known what I was getting myself into.
Her suggestion that women who get epidurals/sections don't naturally bond with their babies is mind boggling. The good natural mammy raises her ugly head again.

Ayla

Interesting article...I have mixed opinions about what it says, and I'll try to explain some of them here.

At the risk of sounding like one of those "good natural mammys" (thanks Crea), I'll say that there are surprisingly few options out there for the hospital birthing experience. I'll be birthing in Sligo General, and my hubby and I met with a senior midwife for a tour & Q/A session...I was pleased with how much time and attention she gave our questions, but was somewhat surprised with some of the responses she gave.

For instance, one of my first questions was how many women have a natural (ie: no drugs or interventions) birth at her hospital, and she nearly rolled her eyes when she looked at me and said with a laugh "almost none". Like I was being overly idealistic to even imagine such a thing was possible. She did say that it was up to me, and nothing would be forced, but that practically everyone does it (as if to say "everyone else is doing it, so why shouldn't you?")

Now I know most women take their pregnancy, labour and the health of their newborn very seriously, and many do some type of research to learn about what they're getting into. That said, if women are being so careful about this, why is the intervention rate so high in this country? Why are so many opting for the drugs/voluntary surgeries/etc if they know the possible consequences of them? Why is it the accepted norm to have interventions and so abnormal to have a natural birth?

Please don't jump on me for saying this, I know each woman's experience is different. I'm just looking at the general trends, and as such, birth is becoming more medical and less natural.

So I see the article's point in that thread. Of course, I think the author also goes way too far with some of the other things she says:

"Fear is rampant, women are afraid to speak out and leaders who are willing to take up the challenges are ostracised or even punished. For this to happen in poor oppressed nations struggling to provide the basics for human survival might be almost understandable, but to see it in a wealthy first world country which claims to be affluent and progressive is unacceptable."

Yeah, that's just insane, and more than a little unfair. But I don't see a reason why the maternity world can't improve and become more open-minded as the health system evolves.

Ickle Magoo

Ayla wrote:

Why is it the accepted norm to have interventions and so abnormal to have a natural birth?

I know what you mean & I agree with most of what you say....I would say that the majority of women choose to have pain relief because they can. There are no prizes for having a birth with no pain relief/no medical intervention & there are many women & babies that would be dead if it wasn't for the medical treatment they received (myself included). I know a woman who had a 3rd degree tear thanks to birthing naturally which could have been prevented with an episiotomy...there are always two sides to every story & while I agree unnecessary surgery is not a good thing, I would have to say that "modern medicine" is just that...I don't get teeth pulled without anaesthetic because in this day & age there is an alternative & altho many women don't like the medical intervention now commonplace in childbirth, many others are delighted that we have moved forward from biting a leather strap & praying nothing goes wrong.

That said, every woman should be able to choose the birthing method they wish & I completely agree that the choice & support for those choices is just not there.

scrattletrap

I had my first son drug-free and pretty much how I wanted it, I wasn't bullied into anything.
My second son was a different kettle of fish entirely, I was ill during the entire pregnancy and had to be induced in the end but I didn't have an epidural as the thought of having anything in my back terrified me. I didn't use any drugs during his delivery though. With him I wasn't in the mood to breast feed him (had a touch of post-natal depression) but the nurse pressured me into feeding him and I'm glad she did (I had fed my older boy)

Nevyn

I think you have to take the time to read and inform yourself of what you want during your pregancy and labour and how you want your birthing process to be managed.

Everyone woman is different and while there are not as many option in this country as there may be in others it is up to the women to educate themelves on what will happend and what thier options are.

TempestSabre

Ayla wrote:

...I'm just looking at the general trends, and as such, birth is becoming more medical and less natural....

Each to their own and all that. But remember its getting safer. Look at the death rates of baby and mother in places that only have natural birth, like Africa. Not only is every woman different, every birth is different. You might have 3 normal births then a very tough one. That might colour a persons opinion a little.