Choose a headline from The Today Show website and write up an opinion post based on the story you chose.
So I went to the site to see what I could find. I hit the link for "Today's Moms" and found this article.
http://community.todaymoms.com/_news/2010/07/13/4668690-who-controls-childbirth-expectant-moms-or-doctors-
Just having a baby 3 months ago this hit home. The article is discussing birthing plans and who has the say in how a baby is born. With both of my boys this was a big discussion in my house and between my mom and I . My mom is a labor and delivery nurse at the hospital that I delivered both of my boys at. I chose to use an Ob instead of a midwife with both boys. Now I went back and forth with switching with my second because I knew more about what I wanted and what to expect with baby number two. I will have to say that I don't have long labors, 4 hours with both boys, and my body is good at having large babies so I had perfect labors and deliveries. But with that being said with baby number two I knew how I wanted to do things as long as both baby and I were healthy. Now having my mom work as a nurse I believe helped me to do the things I wanted to do. I was up walking around and off the monitor a little quicker than most other moms. The doctor and nurse did work with me and my wishes to be up out of bed and no IV until the very end. I did not want the IV at all but it was a compromise. With my first child I labored at home and got to the hospital just in time to push; so the fact that I was at the hospital an hour before I pushed with baby number two was a compromise also. I did not have a written birth plan but I did make my wishes clean and compromised with the nurses and doctors to have a great birth experience.
I do believe that in toady's world the doctors can be very pushy and don't always stop to listen to what the mother is saying. I sometimes feel that women in labor are seen as "sick" and have to be in the hospital. I always felt that labor and delivery are a natural thing and that unless there have been complications, which there were not in my case, I was a healthy woman with a healthy baby and I wanted to be treat as a healthy person. I think because my labors were so fast the doctors did not have much time to make decisions for me nor did they have to take the time to explain or convince me to do something I did not want. I did hear the doctor's argument for the IV and was ok with it since she listened to me with my argument for not having one a compromise was made and we moved on. I only saw the doctor when I check into the hospital and then when I asked for her to come check me since I felt like I had to push. Since I was right with my feeling pushing was what we did and my son was born. But with mothers who have much longer labors and have to deal with a doctor much more than I did, they need to have a good relationship with the doctor and be able to sate their wishes. If we decide to have baby number three I think I will really consider using a midwife and take the time to do the switch. At that point my mom will have retired and I know that as long as the pregnancy has gone well that I can deliver this baby on my own and I will want the opportunity to do so the way I want to do it. I have always said that I will do what ever is needed if the baby is endanger or needs some interventions to help him/her survive, but if we both are healthy I can deliver this baby without the interventions and I can make my choices to how I want it done.
I think this article brings up a good discussion about labor and delivery and makes a new mom to be stop and think. The author's labor story was one that made me stop and gasp, but I know not all labor stories are like this one so I hope that it does not scare a new mom. My suggestion to a new mom is to educate your self, make sure you can openly talk to your doctor and that you have some sense of what will take place at your delivery. Make your choices carefully and have an understanding that things may change as you move through this time. No two labors are the same!
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