Artificial Labor--Is It Necessary?

Just sharing a link for a great article summarizing the different reasons doctors cite for necessitating an induction, as well as the risks associated with each one.  It also discusses the different methods used to induce, including Pitocin, sweeping and/or rupturing membranes, and cervical ripening agents.  Please check it out!


http://www.dare-to-give-birth-naturally.com/labor-induction.html

Lies Doctors Tell Women In Order To Induce

There are a few reasons doctors are very commonly using (of which are very rare and unlikely complications) in order to get women to concede to induction.  Among the most common are:

• Going past 41 weeks gestation
• Fetal Macrosomia (Baby suspected to be too big for vaginal delivery)
• Breech babies are too dangerous to deliver vaginally
• Presence of Meconium

We will cover each of these briefly to determine how this reason is not usually enough to necessitate an induction and/or cesarean:


Going Past 41 Weeks

The first thing doctors fail to remember is that the due date is "estimated."  It is not an expiration date.  A baby is considered "term" or mature if it is born between 38 and 42 weeks gestation.  40 weeks in and of itself is not a magic number.  It's just a midpoint.  A due date should rather be expressed more accurately as a "due month." 


The Wall Street Journal covers the growing shift to keep babies growing until at least 39 weeks if possible.  They tell the story of one mom whose attempts to have her baby before her husband was deployed (at 37 weeks) resulted in years of respiratory problems for their son.

"According to the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, infants born at 37 to 38 weeks face problems with brain development and function, including psychological, behavioral and emotional problems." 

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704615504576172291331227676.html

This is another great article that discusses why 41 weeks is not reason enough to warrant induction.  

“…it is uncertain that routine induction at 41 weeks will reduce the number of fetuses who die, and it is arguable that such practice could increase perinatal mortality and morbidity.”

“Approximately one-quarter of pregnant women have not laboured by 41 weeks. Their stillbirth rate in the subsequent week without fetal surveillance is approximately 1 in 1000. Routine induction at 41 weeks is ritual induction at term, unsupported by rational evidence of benefit. It is unacceptable, illogical and unsupportable interference with a normal physiologic situation.”  

Read the full article with much more great information here: http://www.glorialemay.com/blog/?p=83

Fetal Macrosomia


Ultrasound Diagnosis of Fetal Macrosomia Found Inaccurate:
Just because a doctor says the ultrasound baby is too big doesn’t mean a c-section is necessary.  In fact, it means nothing.  In most cases (this does not include cases of gestational diabetes), a healthy mom can deliver a large baby if her body grew it!  


And unfortunately, many doctors tend to overestimate the predicted size of the baby, once again, for their convenience.
http://www.familypracticenews.com/news/more-top-news/single-view/ultrasound-diagnosis-of-fetal-macrosomia-found-inaccurate/36fa34152d.html

Breech Babies

This one hits close to home with me.  Towards the end of my fourth pregnancy, my obstetrician (or one of them) told me out of the blue at an appointment that the baby was breech.  He said he was feeling baby's butt down there at the bottom.  At the next week's appointment, he said the same thing.  A week later, I went in because I was feeling sick.  Apparently, I was in labor and they admitted me to the hospital.  They were scheduling a cesarean for me.  After having 3 vaginal deliveries without medication, this broke my heart.  

Fortunately, a different obstetrician was on duty that day.  She decided to do an ultrasound just to double check.  Turns out--the baby was not breech.  Either God performed a miracle while I walked from the clinic's parking lot to the hospital that day (which I believe in miracles, don't get me wrong) or the first doctor was wrong.  Very wrong.  So my advice is to first make sure the baby's breech through the use of an ultrasound!

If the baby still appears to be breech and it is immediately before labor (because remember--babies can turn!), check out this article.

C-Section NOT Best for Breech Birth

http://www.drmomma.org/2009/11/c-section-not-best-for-breech-birth.html

Breech Babies Are Another Variation of Normal

This very concise article describes various breech positions, as well as suggested safe practices to attempt baby to turn, and recommended resources for moms with breech babies.

http://birthwithoutfearblog.com/2010/10/29/breech-babies-is-another-variation-of-normal/

Meconium

Some things every pregnant woman MUST know in case there's meconium in her water before or during delivery. The methods taken in hospitals as a result of the appearance of meconium unfortunately often causes baby to breathe in more meconium-stained fluid.  Too bad docs don't know this. . . :( 

http://midwifethinking.com/2010/10/09/the-curse-of-meconium-stained-liquor/

Membrane Sweeping--Assistance or Assault?

Here are a list of provoking articles on the topic of an all-too common medical procedure of which the side effects are not usually known to pregnant women:

Does it work?
A Cochrane review of membrane sweeping suggests that this procedure provides little clinical benefit. For the minuscule benefits it may offer, it also carries a much larger amount of risks, including prelabor rupture of membranes (rupture of membranes before the onset of labor and occurs) which can result in complications including emergency c-sections.
http://journals.lww.com/greenjournal/Fulltext/2008/06000/The_Effect_of_Membrane_Sweeping_on_Prelabor.11.aspx?WT.mc_id=HPxADx20100319xMP

Being Done Without Consent
Membrane Sweeps Without Permission--A much too common form of assault?

This blogger describes the all-too common practice of obstetricians conducting membrane sweeps without permission and says:

If this woman were in an empty parking lot at midnight, loading her car with groceries and approached by a stranger who attempted to rape her, this would be assault. But because the man is her obstetrician, that's supposed to make it okay, I guess.

Unless you bring this up first with your ob, chances are likely that it could happen to you as well. . . Read the rest of the article here:
http://thederangedhousewifeonline.blogspot.com/2011/02/obstetrical-bs-series-membrane-sweeps.html

It's Unnecessarily Dangerous!
This article discusses the dangers of labor induction procedures, such as stripping membranes, and how they greatly increase the likelihood of c-section and dangerous complications.
http://www.dare-to-give-birth-naturally.com/labor-induction.html

Stripping the membranes have been determined to be the cause behind healthy babies' deaths.  These “simple” procedures are dangerous as they cause a mom’s body and a baby that’s not ready to be born to be born anyway.  Pregnant women, especially those with Group B strep, should adamantly refuse this procedure before doctors can do it without consent.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0CYD/is_20_36/ai_80744157/

This is just another way doctors make childbirth revolve around their schedule for their own convenience.  Please do your research before allowing this to be done to you.

Pitocin--What You Need to Know

I've compiled a list of articles on Pitocin by midwives and other experts rather than writing my own article on it.  Here are some links for great information on this artificial hormone used so prevalently in America:


Unwarranted Use
"Studies have found that in recent years, up to 3 out of 4 inductions weren't even medically indicated. Being a few days, or even a week past your due date is not a medical indication for induction. Being tired of being pregnant is not a medical indication for induction. Suspecting that baby is getting big, is not a medical indication for induction. Having fast or slow labors is not an indication for induction. Even ACOG themselves, along with many other national and world-wide health organizations have acknowledged that the high number of inductions and augmentations that are done is out of control."

http://midwiferyramblings.blogspot.com/2010/03/what-pitocin-does-to-your-baby.html

ADHD

Results of this study revealed a strong predictive relationship between perinatal Pitocin use and subsequent childhood ADHD (ADHD occurred in 67 percent in cases with Pitocin and in 35 percent of cases without.  The study concludes that further study is warranted.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21527574

It's Not Natural

Pitocin Is NOT the same as your body’s oxytocin!  It's not a "natural" hormone, it's a synthetically-created version of the natural hormone, but does not have the same effects on mother's or baby's body.

http://pregnancy.about.com/od/induction/a/pitocindiffers.htm

Babies Born Blue

Ever had a baby born blue?  Could it have been the Pitocin?  This is a very good in-depth article on the use of Pitocin and its complications, including babies being born blue, with a compressed cord, and other oxygen problems for the baby, often causing fetal distress during and immediately after labor.

http://www.natural-pregnancy-mentor.com/pitocin-induction.html

 

So why is the use of Pitocin so prevalent among hospitals?  In Pushed, Jennifer Block quotes Kathleen Rice Simpson, PhD and professor of nursing, "Most physicians were concerned with increasing the oxytocin rate to 'keep labor on track' and 'get her delivered.' They repeatedly used 'aggressive' to describe their preferred method of nurse administration of oxytocin."  

Block goes on to say, "One physician said, 'The main thing is to have a nurse who is not afraid of Pit, who can actively manage the labor and be aggressive in turning it up on a regular basis.'  Another remarked, 'When I hear I've got a nurse who will go up on the Pit, I know it's going to be a good day.' "

Yes, women, in the large majority of cases where Pitocin is being used, it is for the convenience of doctors.  Do not become a victim to a doctor's schedule!