http://www.theage.com.au/national/maternity-units-herding-yards-20090219-8cnr.html?page=-1
This doesn't stop in Australia. It is happening here. Our mothers need more information and the medical system isn't giving it to them. We need to be the change.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
My opinion on double standards of societies perceptions on birth and breastfeeding.
These are things that have recently started to bother the heck out of me.
Double standards.
It is ok for people to be quick to tell women that deciding to give birth at home with or without the assistance of a midwife is unsafe, not smart, selfish, lining up for death of yourself or your baby, and if something goes wrong it is your fault for choosing to birth at home.
On the flip side, it is rude and supportive to tell a woman that by choosing an elective C-section for non-medical reasons that she is making a very uninformed and dangerous decision.
Both these things are backed by fact. A healthy woman who is experiencing a low-risk pregnancy is actually safer to birth at home with a midwife, the germs in her own environment are safer for a newborn, and birth is normal and doens't need medical interventions 98% of the time. Countries who use midwives for over 70% of their births have better out comes and have lower infant and maternal mortality rates.
A woman who has an elective C-section, especially before she goes into spontaneous labour, is more likely to have an infant with respiratory problems, infections, problems nursing, bonding with mother, being seperated from the mother for extended periods of time, and death. The risks increase everytime you have a C-section. The risks to mother are terrifying, infection, bladder injuries, blood loss, injuries to the intestines, death.
So why the double standard. Why am I unsupportive if I am against elective C-sections for non-medical reasons? I support the what good science says, homebirth is safe for low-risk pregnancies, C-sections are for emergencies and aren't any where near as safe.
Another Double Standard.
It is ok to tell woman who are breastfeeding their child/children in public that what they are doing is wrong. It is also ok to ask them to leave a store or a restaurant or to cover up (actually it isn't and is protected by law, but according to the majority of society). Whether or not she is covered up doesn't seem to matter to some people. The know what you are doing and are disgusted.
But it is not ok for me to express my opinion against choosing to formula feed your baby. Formula isn't very good for babies, it doesn't change with the needs of your child like breastmilk, it doesn't have the immunological protection breastmilk has, baby doesn't bond aswell with mother, formula babies are sick more often and accoding to a study in the U.S. are 50% more likely to die in infancy.
I understand that someimes formula is necessary, but I also know that with the proper support more women would breastfeed for longer. According to Dr. Jack Newman formula is 4th best for your baby. 1st would be breastmilk from the breast directly, 2nd is your breastmilk in a bottle, 3rd is breast milk from a milk bank and 4th is formula.
So again, why am I unsupportive for believing in good science?
Studies have said again and again what I believe is best, so I am the unsupportive one for thinking that with more support women would breastfeed for longer periods of time.
Like I said in the title, these are my opinions, you don't have to like it. I have read many notes and statuses on Facebook that I don't agree with and I don't say anything. So just read, if you like it great if you don't, that is great too.
Double standards.
It is ok for people to be quick to tell women that deciding to give birth at home with or without the assistance of a midwife is unsafe, not smart, selfish, lining up for death of yourself or your baby, and if something goes wrong it is your fault for choosing to birth at home.
On the flip side, it is rude and supportive to tell a woman that by choosing an elective C-section for non-medical reasons that she is making a very uninformed and dangerous decision.
Both these things are backed by fact. A healthy woman who is experiencing a low-risk pregnancy is actually safer to birth at home with a midwife, the germs in her own environment are safer for a newborn, and birth is normal and doens't need medical interventions 98% of the time. Countries who use midwives for over 70% of their births have better out comes and have lower infant and maternal mortality rates.
A woman who has an elective C-section, especially before she goes into spontaneous labour, is more likely to have an infant with respiratory problems, infections, problems nursing, bonding with mother, being seperated from the mother for extended periods of time, and death. The risks increase everytime you have a C-section. The risks to mother are terrifying, infection, bladder injuries, blood loss, injuries to the intestines, death.
So why the double standard. Why am I unsupportive if I am against elective C-sections for non-medical reasons? I support the what good science says, homebirth is safe for low-risk pregnancies, C-sections are for emergencies and aren't any where near as safe.
Another Double Standard.
It is ok to tell woman who are breastfeeding their child/children in public that what they are doing is wrong. It is also ok to ask them to leave a store or a restaurant or to cover up (actually it isn't and is protected by law, but according to the majority of society). Whether or not she is covered up doesn't seem to matter to some people. The know what you are doing and are disgusted.
But it is not ok for me to express my opinion against choosing to formula feed your baby. Formula isn't very good for babies, it doesn't change with the needs of your child like breastmilk, it doesn't have the immunological protection breastmilk has, baby doesn't bond aswell with mother, formula babies are sick more often and accoding to a study in the U.S. are 50% more likely to die in infancy.
I understand that someimes formula is necessary, but I also know that with the proper support more women would breastfeed for longer. According to Dr. Jack Newman formula is 4th best for your baby. 1st would be breastmilk from the breast directly, 2nd is your breastmilk in a bottle, 3rd is breast milk from a milk bank and 4th is formula.
So again, why am I unsupportive for believing in good science?
Studies have said again and again what I believe is best, so I am the unsupportive one for thinking that with more support women would breastfeed for longer periods of time.
Like I said in the title, these are my opinions, you don't have to like it. I have read many notes and statuses on Facebook that I don't agree with and I don't say anything. So just read, if you like it great if you don't, that is great too.
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