Damn you, ACOG.

Okay. So yeah, I'm mad at ACOG [American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, for those who don't know what the acronym stands for]. Regardless of whether their influence is direct or indirect, I'm still mad at them. Why? I'll tell you why.

I'm 22; my first nephew was born when I was 9, and I wasn't there for his birth. I was there for 2 siblings' subsequent births [#s 2 and 4] and witnessed a direct-entry midwife in action. [The other 6 were UP/UCs. Yes, I said it, 6.] I kind of kept it to myself but I was really curious about the role of a midwife and I was always excited when my sister had her babies.

Then, almost 2 years ago my husband and I found out WE were having a baby. I did everything I could to make sure I was doing right by my unborn, and sometimes I know I did a little too much. I kept what I learned from my sister in mind, all the while trusting the Certified Nurse-Midwives completely. On the morning of January 17, 2010 I was induced at "42w1d" and wasn't even 2 cm dilated. [Reason: Baby wasn't ready - not quite browned :P] The induction worked but then they decided to use pitocin. Pitocin is an artificial form of oxytocin, the "love" hormone, and it stimulates contractions. The difference between real and fake is that pitocin  causes, stronger, harder, faster contractions. The contractions hurt more than if you were to go into spontaneous labor, they are faster, and they can [and often do] put baby into distress. I remember my friend Kelsey telling me, "Sara, whatever you do, if you get the epidural do NOT let them anywhere near you with pitocin!" Well, needless to say I didn't listen. I was started on pitocin around 8  and my waters broke at about 10:30 pm. I was hooked up to a FHM and a pitocin IV drip; I tried the warm portable pool they had; I went to the bathroom several times; I tried hands and knees; the CNM on-call had eaten peanut butter and graham crackers and I thought I was going to vomit; the contractions hurt so much that I accepted an epidural at I believe between 6-7 cm [definitely past 5], and it slowed down my labor. The reason "E" wasn't coming out is because he wouldn't fit through my pelvis, because I was induced when he was too high; he wasn't ready to be born. At one point I had to tell the CNM to slow the pitocin - contractions were too fast. I was sectioned for failure to progress, and possible distress on baby. E was born at noon on the 18th of January, perfectly healthy.

 If I had just stayed home and refused an induction, or just gone in when I started labor on my own, I would have been able to go around that cesarean. Instead I did what my CNMs thought was best. All of these medical interventions are not necessary. Not as often as they are used, anyway. Many hospitals have high epidural rates. The national cesarean rate in our country [U.S.A.] is above 30%, where the WHO recommends a minimum of 10-15% cesarean rate nationwide.

Obstetricians are trained as pathologists. That is, they try to fix what ain't broken. They look for something to go wrong, and they can often find something when really it's not there. They try to keep things from happening before they do. Except, birth is a physiological process. It is a normal part of life. It is NOT [necessarily] a medical occurrence. Ladies, we have been having babies for over 200,000 years. Why, all of a sudden, do we need technology to get these angels out of our bellies? Why do we need drugs that often do more harm than good? We have severely deviated from natural when it comes to pregnancy, birth, and babies. It's not just my story; there are more severe cases where women don't get the care they want and need when it comes to their prenatal and birth experiences.

So... what does this have to do with ACOG and OB/GYNs and the health care industry? My state, Indiana, introduced pro-midwifery legislation early this year. Senate Bill No. 342 was read for the first time on January 11, 2011. Today is the last day. It has not made it past the Health Committee. I called and told them my support, asked a few questions, and the rep on the phone told me it's not looking good. This is why I am bummed out. It had been an ongoing thing in the back of my mind, but ever since the birth of my son I was determined to explore a midwifery career. I still can, but there won't be legal protection for certified direct-entry midwives in my state.  And when they aren't legally protected, they're often not used. The good news is that there are 27 states that legally authorize Certified Professional Midwives. :/

Silly Romans

So I don't have a whole lot of time, but I wanted to make a post. I was trying to think of an idea for my blog title, and I was hell-bent on something mythical. Didn't turn out that way. But, I did remember watching an episode [please don't ask me the title of the show or the channel because I don't remember] on ancient Rome.  I purposely digress... ever wondered why it was considered unladylike to wear your hair down instead of up and in a bun? It's not just a fashion statement. I could be wrong about the emperor, but, I believe when Augustus took power, prostitutes were legal but they had to register and could never, ever change their occupation. They had to dress a certain way in order to make their occupation clear. Part of the dress code: They were not allowed to wear their hair up, it always had to be down. So, please don't think I'll always be posting about prostitutes, but I thought it was interesting. :)