NPR coverage
I didn't listen to it in real time. Every local station around here is doing fundraising and I can only stand so much gimme gimme. Even if it does help pay my husband's salary.
Oh, and NPR's blog is also starting to heat up. Join the battle here
Midwifery: March 2006 Archives
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Consensus Development Program: >Cesarean Delivery on Maternal Request
I think I'm going to puke.
The pre-existing bias from the panel was incredible. The voices of the public who tried to contribute any alternative point of view were being ignored. About the only thing that was semi-reasonable was that they acknowledged that the risks of repeat cesarean increase with each one - but my cynical side sees this as being a method of bringing those of us who want large families into line with the ZPG crowd.
Continue reading NIH conference proceeding.
119 page pdf file
Happy slogging. I haven't read it yet. I have to finish putting together a presentation I'm giving Saturday on Menopause. Why did I let myself get talked in to that?
This is one of the puzzling complications of pregnancy that can cause otherwise staunchly pro-life women consider abortion. Ashli is an expert on H.G. - having acquired her expertise the very hard way. A friend of my daughter's contacted me years ago for info on the subject - here is the article that he ultimately wrote. Lots of good background information but no real help in understanding the emotional and psychological impact.
I tend to be pretty aggressive at treating nausea and vomiting of early pregnancy. That is because I would like to break the cycle before it can turn into H.G. I use a lot of different therapies. My practice has been blessed that we haven't had a really serious case for a couple of years (and we care for around 240 pregnant women a year). The last really bad one we ended up hospitalizing for a while and putting in a nas0gastric feeding tube - because, paradoxically, the best therapy for this is to have food in the gut.
One thing that is sometimes overlooked is that there can be other reasons for a person to be pukey besides H.G. - and those other causes should be investigated. Infection with h.pylori (the ulcer bug) or giardia can also cause the same symptoms - and intestinal obstruction (a rare complication after abdominal surgeries, including cesareans) needs to be ruled out.
I just learned that one of my regular blog readers is suffering horribly from H.G. - please throw out a prayer for her when you can.
And also pray for her husband and other children, too - because they also suffer when mom is that sick.
Why mothers should be offered (elective) caesareans
This editorial conveniently ignores the very real increased risk of death and disability following cesareans (especially many and repeated cesareans). I think that one would need to be sure that the benefits outweigh the risks before having major surgery. However, I get the feeling that I am in a distinct minority to have that opinion.
Placenta previa, for example, is a good reason to endure the risks and added pain of recovering from a cesarean. Convenience or anxiety probably isn't.
Our culture worships at the altar of choice, radical autonomy. It shows up in all kinds of seemingly unrelated ways. I've recently seen a virtual epidemic of young women who had breast reduction surgery done during their high school years. Not having known these women before their surgeries, I can't even begin to understand their motives. But I do have to wonder if a 15 y/o could truly give informed consent or if her parents could really understand the life-long consequences of such surgery.
Prisons Often Shackle Pregnant Inmates in Labor
(Registration may be required - see bugmenot in R column)
