An OB blogger is on a tear again ....

and banning people who attempt to have a real dialogue and debate about maternal childbirth care.

In November, I was banned five times from certain non-practicing OB's blog and now she is continuing to ban anyone who challenges her -- anyone with evidence to confront her is ridiculed and banned. She has left a wake of injured women -- those who attempt to share their own positive birth experiences with a midwife and at home are ridiculed and told, "It's simply not true; there is no scientific evidence to prove it." It is time for women and doctors to come together to create healthy, safe birth for women and babies. The science is clear that there needs to be a system that gives the responsiblity for birth to women and that supports-- no, insists on healthy, low risk women to either birth without drugs, interventions, or disruptions in the hospital environment or to birth at home with access to medical care.

Midwife, Maribeth has recently been banned and here is what she wanted to post in response to an attack on her previous post, a quality study that shows that midwifery care is safer for women and babies.

From the research that she posted: The cesarean section rate was 13% among women in the midwife group versus 34% in the physician group, a difference that also was not explained by health status alone. (The rates were 5.6% and 15.6% respectively after excluding women with preexisting chronic medical conditions.)

THERE IS NO SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH to show that CESAREAN birth is safe and there is plenty to show that it is emotionally, physiologically, financially, and spiritually detrimental to the mother and baby. It is known to have serious respiratory, heart, and ear issues for the baby, as well as serious separation and attachment issues, all of which persist throughout the lifetime. It's 'bout time the OB's started showing care for the health of women and babies and led the way in creating safer, evidence-based hospital care, and providing homebirth women with respectful, caring, and quality medical care WHEN they need it. It's about time legislators intervened in money and peer-driven medical machine called maternal care. Why is that pregnant women, the consumers, must fight for what is right, logical, ethical, and scientific?

Maribeth:

And you still haven't answered the only question which continues to interest me, and that is why, on a personal level, homebirth/natural childbirth is SUCH an issue to you, why it makes you feel so angry and defensive and why you want to see it deconstructed and defeated. The answer to this question is at the very root of this blog. I beg you Amy to answer the question, and better yet, honestly. Saying that you're trying to provide information isn't good enough, because of course you could be dedicating your life to educating women about the risks of, say, episiotomies. (Which might offer you some emotional absolution for past wrongs). But why this issue? Frankly, why do you care what women do with their own vaginas?

In response to a negative response to:

Pilot Study Suggests Midwifery Care is Optimal for Moderate-Risk Women
Cragin L, Kennedy HP. (2006)

Linking obstetric and midwifery practice with optimal outcomes.
Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic and Neonatal Nursing, 35(6), 779-85. [Abstract]

Summary: This study compared the pregnancy, birth and postpartum care practices and outcomes experienced by 196 moderate-risk women receiving nurse midwifery care with those of 179 similar women receiving physician care in the same hospital-based faculty practice. Each woman was assigned an "Optimality Index - US" score, calculated from 40 variables measuring optimal health status, care practices and outcomes. A companion "Perinatal Background Index" (PBI) score that captured demographic and health history was also assigned. Together, the two scores provide a valid measure of the process and outcomes of care within the context of the clinical situation of the individual woman.Women in the midwife group had significantly higher optimality scores than women in the physician group (79% versus 70%). While some of this difference was attributable to differences in baseline medical risks (as measured by significant differences in PBI score), statistical analysis revealed that the provider type (i.e. midwife or physician) was twice as predictive of optimality scores. The cesarean section rate was 13% among women in the midwife group versus 34% in the physician group, a difference that also was not explained by health status alone. (The rates were 5.6% and 15.6% respectively after excluding women with preexisting chronic medical conditions.) In various statistical analyses, only type of provider accurately predicted cesarean rates in the two groups.Women in the midwife group were more likely to drink or eat (95% versus 80%), maintain mobility in labor (68% versus 28%), and use non-pharmacologic methods of pain relief (88% versus 51%). Epidural use was lower in the midwife group (31% versus 51%), as was use of any pharmacologic pain relief methods (64% versus 82%).

Significance for Normal Birth: Traditional measures of maternity care outcomes have focused on morbidity and mortality indicators. This approach has several drawbacks. In the United States morbidity and mortality are fortunately rare, so studies assessing these outcomes must be large in order to demonstrate significant differences. Furthermore, these "negative" indicators are poor measures of the effectiveness of care that is intended to promote "positive" outcomes like health and wellness in population experiencing a physiologically normal process.

The Optimality Index - US has emerged as an important new tool for measuring maternity care to capture both the process and outcomes of different styles of practice. In this and other studies, midwifery care has been associated with high optimality, demonstrating appropriate use of interventions and good outcomes given the individual women's clinical situations. Midwives are often assumed to care for only low-risk women but many midwives also care for women at moderate or high risk. This study finds that midwifery may be optimal for moderate risk population by promoting good outcomes with less reliance on technological and surgical intervention and a greater attention to the care practices that support normal birth.


Baby Keeper says:

NOW, let's look at what drugs, technology, and surgical interventions do to the baby!! It's the BABY's birth --- and the baby gets to live with the consequences for his or her life.


Baby Keeper: One who Keeps the Baby as the focus of the soul's journey of birthing into this world.