So I am chilling in Union Square, a place where all us grimy filthy rats don’t seem to bother me. I sit with joy on the grime soaked steps; what came to follow was a miracle. I saw Peggy Vincent across the way spinning on her head while smoking a j at the same time. This is when my interest in her turned into infatuation, so I decided to give her a heart felt praise about her book.
“Hey girrrrl! I loved your book, Baby Catcher. Your belief that "Childbirth is normal, until proven otherwise." and different for every women, inspired me. Your chronicle of being a mid-wife really made me realize the overwhelming percentage of un-natural childbirths that occur in America is oppressing women. This made me re-evaluate American culture for the ump-teenth time, further questioning how else we dis-empower women."
"OH SNAP, thanks! That means sooooo much to me! Gee-wilikeers, what was your favorite part?"
"Well I am currently up to the second third of the book where you are deliberating the impact of being a lone practicing mid-wife upon being a mother, and an array of different birthing stories. I find this part of the book further develops your beliefs stated in the first third of the book. For real though I found when your wrote, “I’d been avoiding the central point of intensity, staying on the brink of the primitive surrender that’s required to get a stubborn baby out. I’d talked hundreds of women into taking that leap of faith, that shut-your-eyes-and-jump moment of bravery. Like a girl standing on the high dive, walking back and forth the length of the board, shivering, going to the brink again to stare down into the water so far below—and then she’s off, airborne. Free. With sudden clarity, I knew it would have to hurt more before it got better. I wouldn’t be able to circumvent the pain. I had to go through it, enter willingly into the void, holding nothing back. I had to jump off the diving board.” (138) To be the climax of book! You really express the empowerment of women versus being in the back seat when you are describing the duties of your job. It really gave me a real sense of sisterhood. The understanding as to why women have the character we do, and why we can be so strong minded. Later you state ”The woman’s eyebrows had shot up when she heard me use the words “placenta” and “vagina” without whispering. Like many midwives, I’m inclined to discuss casually topics that most other people never hear mentioned outside of a doctors office.” (153) I found this to be great evidence to the fear and disapproval women have fostered of there own bodies. Sunning the organs, and life providers of our race. The fact that what makes us females, should be whispered so no one can hear. I found this sad and sickening but important to acknowledge. I find it similar to the fact that when one watches television and they are shooting those RIDICULOUS pad commercials, to prove the absorbency they drop water with blue food coloring, NOW why the heck isn't it red, like we all know it is?! Later you stated “I felt like offering drugs to a laboring woman sent a message that she wasn’t handling labor well, and I didn’t want to impose those feelings”(187) I found this to be the proof of how the institutions do not support our women, versus discourage them."
"But what could I have done to make this a better book - that would more effectively fulfill its mission?"
Well, let's be clear - your text sought to provide narratives, and a little journalistic/policy analysis from the perspective of a mid-wife for the book-reading-public to better understand pregnancy & birth in our culture. Given that aim, and your book, I would say; Give a more grueling image of birth, utterly describing every inch. To provide the reader of a clear image of what a baby looks like when crowning, I think such images would help the readers connect to the moment with depth. I would also attempt to avoid Cartoonzation of the issues, and situations. Lastly I would exaggerate the text a little less, a lot of the use of dialogue seems like cliché to simply convey your point. But I don't want you to feel like I'm criticizing. I really commemorate you for putting such labor into such an important topic FOR WOMEN, for making ME think about my capability as a women and the attitude I might have when giving birth. Your text really validated my instinctual desire to have a baby and I really question how my character might change during labor. I also find myself innately thinking of my animalistic intent every time I see a baby no matter where or how, I find myself thinking HOW CUTE, and observing women around me doing the same. The next question I‘ve been pondering in result of reading your text is why are we in such denial that we are animals? I feel that the rudimentary disapproval of natural childbirth, being “to posh to push” is the ultimate attempt to cover up our true, wild gory, strong, powerful traits. I also have come to the conclusion that Science is a religion. My conclusions from this came from the passages with the Christian Scientist. In result of reading your book I am trying to be more positive when it comes to my health, and attempting to shy away from seeking with passion and intensity for health issues, because it is simply leading me to find what I am seeking. I am also highly considering not visiting an oncologist unless absolutely necessary, I mean if they don’t support vaginal birth then why would they support me as a woman in there normal practice?"
"Thanks a lot young lady! You New Yorkers sure know what ya’gotta say. Have a nice day "
“THANK-YOU.. ADIOS”
And so I returned to my grime induced steps and merged into my imaginary pregnancy.
March 29, 2011
March 22, 2011
HW #39
Vincent, Peggy. Baby Catcher : Chronicles of a Modern Midwife. 1st. New York, NY : Simon & Schuster, 2002. 1-326. Print.
1.) Mainly Baby Catcher goes into the deep eerie blue depths of being a mid-wife. Peggy provides detailed story after story of the trials and tribulations of being a midwife. She illustrates the mothers emotions, the midwife's, that of the assistance and that of the labor and birth process. Versus The Business of Being Born that glimpses over the process contrasted with economical interstices behind hospital births. She also exemplifies the belief of the high importance of a support system surrounding the woman during birth, whereas the movies really just shows the baby being born and mostly skips of labor. Peggy creates a vigilant image that EVERY birth is different for every woman. Peggy includes the intricate list of items provided at a home birth (pg.328-329). Peggy also sheds light that a breech baby does not mean a necessary c-section, the child can be born vaginally but it is a delicate process. Peggy also describes a previous practice called the Leboyer Bath, which was introduced by a French doctor (Leboyer) that a baby should be placed in a warm bath right after birth. Peggy divulges with great detail the major popularity during the 70's of women taking charge of their health by going to the holistic extreme and creating hospital environments meeting their demand, simply by their change in daily life style creating a different demand. Vincent gives a different approach for the reasoning of doctor’s disapproval of home-births, stating that there belief: birth is a retrospective diagnosis until proved normal. They feel that they have gone to medical school to intervene and be of importance, versus the money guzzling approach which is inevitably tied in with a doctor's schooling but that is beside the point.
2.) "Childbirth is normal, until proven otherwise." - Peggy Vincent. I believe that this is true, but the way the author proves this is in a glorified cartoony, and exaggerated manner. I also believe normal is a very abstract term for such a statement, and she could also prove her belief with more insight if she truly described every detail of a baby coming out of a vagina; with the purpose of doing such as well.
3.)
• the beauty of vaginal birth (pg. 26)
• the facility in which teenagers give birth (pg. 103)
• bliss must come with pain (pg. 56)
• What in the hell is a "Christian scientist"? and why is birth so easy for them ? (pg. 111-113)
• Why does our society impede people without a certifications/college education, when the knowledge already exists? (Pg. 76)
4.) The author makes the claim that "The more rigid the birth plan, the higher the incidence of cesarean section." This claim is very hard to prove, I believe it is questioning the spiritual attitude of a women and probably why it has not been researched, emotions and science don't mix. I think the manner in which the evidence was used is valid because it comes from her personal experience as a midwife and is attempting to support the belief that a mother must be sure of her woman bodies' capabilities. Previously in the book she states the birth becomes complicated when the mother begins to think too much, versus letting her body take control. A Government Public health site states "it's important to be flexible — if you know one aspect of your birthing plan won't be met, be sure to weigh that aspect against your other wishes." This addresses the variety and un-predictability of the birth, divulging in the necessity of an open mind-frame trusting that the process will go well. The Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, conducted a study on maternal fear associated with pregnancy the results concluded that "Regarding the various manifestations of fear, "stress symptoms" and "wish to avoid pregnancy and childbirth" ranked highest. Twenty-two percent of participants had considered requesting an elective cesarean section due to fear of childbirth." This exemplifies that many women non important the source are very fearful of giving birth so much so that they want to have a c-section. One could imply that if one's fear is un-consciously so strong that one does not even want to give birth it could lead to major complications. My last source is the African myth divulged in one of the birth books in class, stating that when women were unsure of their births they would have very serious birth complications, I myself find this a very reliable source in the context that these women gave birth alone in forest. Based on the research I have conducted this evidence is not per say FACT, but Theory and is valid in the context used.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17456465
http://kidshealth.org/parent/pregnancy_center/preparing_parenthood/birth_plans.html#
* she golrifies exagerates, carrtonizes, and does not give enough detail of the actual birth
March 15, 2011
HW #38
1. The way she has structured the book is oranized, logical, coherent, and supports her claim. She de-veils cesarean sections and machines, the pros and cons; discuss women's role in supporting such ceremonies, and then reveals the consequences of such actions. She begins by "attacking" the industry, and then reflects upon how women’s actions have lead to such outcomes.
2. What is the childbirth reality in the U.S.A, and what say are mothers-to-be granted as the center of this procedure?
why do doctors seek the necessity in their patients?
What does the contract a women sign’s when going into labor at a hospital state?
3.Childbirth is rapidly becoming industrialized; an event that the authority can "control", "predict", "charge", with the gift of convenience. Women are being pushed by mother culture, insurance companies, and doctors to follow the model procedure.
I believe what has been stated above is very true and very scary but I believe it is partially at faulty of the women for not taking control of her body. I think that pregnancy (like many other things in our culture) have become soo scientific and have lost the beauty of spiritual beliefs. Such as if the women are not sure of her pregnancy she will have a complicated birth. I think women should become more in-tuned with their connection with the "thing inside them", and less preoccupied with the ultrasound every week. I also believe humans are sooooooo scared of death and this is where most of this nonsense sprouts.
4. Women need to be empowered, given the resources to be knowledgeable about their body, since we seem to not trust them. Humanity, (including me & author) must understand the reality that we can only be in control to a certain extent, the rest is up to nature. Insurance companies & the government need to support women’s capability of Physiological birth. Women have the right to decide what medical procedures they want conducted. My personal ever lasting question, is WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS ON THE EMOTIONAL/MENTAL STATE OF BABY, and the babies relationship with mother when born with drugs, and does not receive immediate mother skin to skin contact?
5. The book is written like a newspaper article. The sources are derived from statistics, interviews with doctors/patients, historical books, and her own experiences (greatest-least). She uses all her quotes in a manner that seems very bias, not reveling the whole truth. All the sources are footnoted and a bibliography is in the back. The way she places information I am not sure how creditable it is for her manner of piecing things together, a jigsaw like manner. She uses A LARGE AMOUNT of statistical facts and a slight amount of interviewed evidence to back this up; and all her topics become redundant rapidly. Her style of writing is deprived of BEAUTY, and is quite trying for the reader!
2. What is the childbirth reality in the U.S.A, and what say are mothers-to-be granted as the center of this procedure?
why do doctors seek the necessity in their patients?
What does the contract a women sign’s when going into labor at a hospital state?
3.Childbirth is rapidly becoming industrialized; an event that the authority can "control", "predict", "charge", with the gift of convenience. Women are being pushed by mother culture, insurance companies, and doctors to follow the model procedure.
I believe what has been stated above is very true and very scary but I believe it is partially at faulty of the women for not taking control of her body. I think that pregnancy (like many other things in our culture) have become soo scientific and have lost the beauty of spiritual beliefs. Such as if the women are not sure of her pregnancy she will have a complicated birth. I think women should become more in-tuned with their connection with the "thing inside them", and less preoccupied with the ultrasound every week. I also believe humans are sooooooo scared of death and this is where most of this nonsense sprouts.
4. Women need to be empowered, given the resources to be knowledgeable about their body, since we seem to not trust them. Humanity, (including me & author) must understand the reality that we can only be in control to a certain extent, the rest is up to nature. Insurance companies & the government need to support women’s capability of Physiological birth. Women have the right to decide what medical procedures they want conducted. My personal ever lasting question, is WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS ON THE EMOTIONAL/MENTAL STATE OF BABY, and the babies relationship with mother when born with drugs, and does not receive immediate mother skin to skin contact?
5. The book is written like a newspaper article. The sources are derived from statistics, interviews with doctors/patients, historical books, and her own experiences (greatest-least). She uses all her quotes in a manner that seems very bias, not reveling the whole truth. All the sources are footnoted and a bibliography is in the back. The way she places information I am not sure how creditable it is for her manner of piecing things together, a jigsaw like manner. She uses A LARGE AMOUNT of statistical facts and a slight amount of interviewed evidence to back this up; and all her topics become redundant rapidly. Her style of writing is deprived of BEAUTY, and is quite trying for the reader!
March 02, 2011
hw #27
FEEDBACK FOR OTHERS
To Devin: Devin I think you made a very valid point, parents should really take into consideration the huge amounts of work that entail child care. I even neglected these thoughts with all my interviews. I like how you tied all your interviews back to the focal point that you grasped from your inquries. I want to know why you think women should have children when they are 30, their bodies can have them with more facility at a younger age. I think your strongest line was "Then she was told she had something called Maple Syrup Urine Disease (you can’t make this stuff up), which if not treated could cause coma and death for the baby.". I think that this line had great character and I could really hear your voice. I belive to make this part stronger you could have illustrated the point with more fluidity rather than just stating and then this happened and then this. I thought over all this was an interesting piece, you should just read over your work before publishing ! :D
_______________________________________________________________________________________
FEEDBACK TO ME
MENTOR: Loreli
Eloise! First my apologies for this post being late...my day blew up in my face and i just couldn't get to it until now.
For me the most stimulating point here is about the cost of childbirth...that a natural childbirth is less expensive than a medical one, yet our system pushes medicine and doctors and a less natural experience of birth. The thing is, as I mentioned in your last post, that every woman is different and honestly, I am sure that Carolina would not have lived (umbilical cord was around her neck), and Sofia may not have made it either, had we not been in a hospital, with a lot of medical intervention and surveillance. The other bit is that of our system...a big issue that you have been tracking down all year. The thing is that if our government has been hijacked by corporate bodies (which I believe it has), then our political actions are serving to make money, not take care of citizens. The French paradigm with job security, financial support, and five (!) days in the hospital to recover and rest sound like a utopian dream compared to our system, where a mother can be discharged a single day after delivering a baby, with very little education or practical guidance. It does feel that we have very much gotten away from the wisdom of the ages, that Bill so impressively continues to perpetuate. Great post, really interesting.
What is DSP?
I would love more exploration of what it is to "dis-empower", vs. simply not having empowerment as related to motherhood and the birthing experience.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
DEVIN: STUDENT
You wrote three highly detailed birthing posts. I found them all interesting but the first one was the zinger! Bill Hill is not your run of the mill midwife. I think your best line(and there were several of these)was, "When Bill speaks about the birthing of his wife he said,'she just pushed it out, but I did most of the work', when previously he had stated that if there aren't complications all there is to do is catch it. I believe such contradiction and prejudice towards the strength of his wife comes from the fact that she left 3 weeks after the birth of their second daughter." Its as though his wife said to him, "You did all the work so you keep them." It seems really tragic that she left him and her two babies. I'm sure has a point about hospitalsbeing a sometimes negative part of the "birthing industry." On the other hand, if there are complications, it's obviously better to be in a hospital. Even in this country, when a lot of poor people had babies at home, a lot of the mothers and babies died. The section about your own birth in France was really interesting too. My mother wishes she could have had my brother and me in France. The services are so good. She was lucky that she worked for the French American Foundation here when my brother was born and had a year of paid maternity leave. I think you wrote the way you talk, and this makes the writing lively. You just need to edit it more and I think you meant "relevant" when you said of "prevalent."
To Devin: Devin I think you made a very valid point, parents should really take into consideration the huge amounts of work that entail child care. I even neglected these thoughts with all my interviews. I like how you tied all your interviews back to the focal point that you grasped from your inquries. I want to know why you think women should have children when they are 30, their bodies can have them with more facility at a younger age. I think your strongest line was "Then she was told she had something called Maple Syrup Urine Disease (you can’t make this stuff up), which if not treated could cause coma and death for the baby.". I think that this line had great character and I could really hear your voice. I belive to make this part stronger you could have illustrated the point with more fluidity rather than just stating and then this happened and then this. I thought over all this was an interesting piece, you should just read over your work before publishing ! :D
_______________________________________________________________________________________
FEEDBACK TO ME
MENTOR: Loreli
Eloise! First my apologies for this post being late...my day blew up in my face and i just couldn't get to it until now.
For me the most stimulating point here is about the cost of childbirth...that a natural childbirth is less expensive than a medical one, yet our system pushes medicine and doctors and a less natural experience of birth. The thing is, as I mentioned in your last post, that every woman is different and honestly, I am sure that Carolina would not have lived (umbilical cord was around her neck), and Sofia may not have made it either, had we not been in a hospital, with a lot of medical intervention and surveillance. The other bit is that of our system...a big issue that you have been tracking down all year. The thing is that if our government has been hijacked by corporate bodies (which I believe it has), then our political actions are serving to make money, not take care of citizens. The French paradigm with job security, financial support, and five (!) days in the hospital to recover and rest sound like a utopian dream compared to our system, where a mother can be discharged a single day after delivering a baby, with very little education or practical guidance. It does feel that we have very much gotten away from the wisdom of the ages, that Bill so impressively continues to perpetuate. Great post, really interesting.
What is DSP?
I would love more exploration of what it is to "dis-empower", vs. simply not having empowerment as related to motherhood and the birthing experience.
________________________________________________________________________________________________
DEVIN: STUDENT
You wrote three highly detailed birthing posts. I found them all interesting but the first one was the zinger! Bill Hill is not your run of the mill midwife. I think your best line(and there were several of these)was, "When Bill speaks about the birthing of his wife he said,'she just pushed it out, but I did most of the work', when previously he had stated that if there aren't complications all there is to do is catch it. I believe such contradiction and prejudice towards the strength of his wife comes from the fact that she left 3 weeks after the birth of their second daughter." Its as though his wife said to him, "You did all the work so you keep them." It seems really tragic that she left him and her two babies. I'm sure has a point about hospitalsbeing a sometimes negative part of the "birthing industry." On the other hand, if there are complications, it's obviously better to be in a hospital. Even in this country, when a lot of poor people had babies at home, a lot of the mothers and babies died. The section about your own birth in France was really interesting too. My mother wishes she could have had my brother and me in France. The services are so good. She was lucky that she worked for the French American Foundation here when my brother was born and had a year of paid maternity leave. I think you wrote the way you talk, and this makes the writing lively. You just need to edit it more and I think you meant "relevant" when you said of "prevalent."
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