tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1762736094770946238.post1062612695689756069..comments2024-03-20T04:26:10.510-07:00Comments on Married to Medicine: Five Mommy Myths I Believed.ElleMurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01585481665526225076noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1762736094770946238.post-28029605337129637372015-01-20T09:52:52.639-08:002015-01-20T09:52:52.639-08:00If you've ever watched your infant's heart...If you've ever watched your infant's heart rate flatline on the monitor during labor, as I have, you would suddenly become very, very grateful for the modern stat c-section. I have two healthy children today because of a skilled surgeon who did everything reasonable to support my vaginal birth attempts and, when those proved dangerous to my children, did everything reasonable to deliver them safely.Katiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02239333147994966983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1762736094770946238.post-36602735459208194732014-07-25T05:39:12.582-07:002014-07-25T05:39:12.582-07:00If you think that c-sections have increased mortal...If you think that c-sections have increased mortality, sorry, I'm not even writing this for anyone who is that far gone. It's clear you didn't even read my post - if you had, you'd know that "infant mortality" is not the relevant statistic to this discussion; perinatal mortality is, and ours is excellent.ElleMurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01585481665526225076noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1762736094770946238.post-29799610912335725302014-07-24T20:04:51.778-07:002014-07-24T20:04:51.778-07:00women have been having v birth since the beginning...women have been having v birth since the beginning of mankind. humans are the only animal that has elected C-sections. We have tried 33%-35% C-section rate and our infant mortality rate has increased and so has our maternal mortality rate. 59 other countries have lower rates. Oxygen deprivation is rare in natural childbirth.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1762736094770946238.post-10867153357971840512014-03-24T10:38:55.268-07:002014-03-24T10:38:55.268-07:00Loved this - thank you!!!!!Loved this - thank you!!!!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1762736094770946238.post-31742335952418890232014-03-12T12:36:31.310-07:002014-03-12T12:36:31.310-07:00It's also worth noting that there are risks to...It's also worth noting that there are risks to *not* getting an epidural as well. Epidurals given later in labor can relax your pelvic muscles to help you dilate - here's a link on that from a midwife, and another link to a book on this topic that explains that many natural childbirth courses teach outdated information on outdated forms of anesthetics. With my epidural I got to control how much I felt, by clicking a button if I wanted more medication or not clicking it if I felt too numb.<br /><br />http://thestir.cafemom.com/pregnancy/163076/everything_youve_ever_wanted_to<br /><br />http://www.amazon.com/Epidural-Without-Guilt-Childbirth-Pain/dp/0975993933/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1394652918&sr=8-2-fkmr0&keywords=pregnancy+childbirth+pain+medicationElleMurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01585481665526225076noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1762736094770946238.post-34220116835215641562014-02-03T08:57:06.271-08:002014-02-03T08:57:06.271-08:00Thank you so much for this post. I agonized over ...Thank you so much for this post. I agonized over getting the epidural (until I was in so much pain that I didn't care) but shouldn't have since I went into the hospital at 4cm and was 6cm when they gave me the epidural. I felt amazing, dilated the remaining 4cm within an hour of getting the epidural, and was able to feel my contractions before the monitor picked them up so pushing was a breeze. So much for epidural definitely slowing down your labor and taking away your ability to help push.<br /><br />Also, amen re: breastfeeding. All the LCs I've encountered are well intentioned but the myth of "it should be a painless miracle that requires no effort" may inadvertently make women give up on EBF when it doesn't happen that way for them. In my case, it made the first week of getting established and waiting for my milk to come in even more emotionally fraught than it would have been - I felt so guilty / incompetent, to the point of thinking that I had post partum depression, then my milk came in, we figured out the latch with the help of a nipple shield, and my little guy is gaining weight and EBF-ing like a champ.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1762736094770946238.post-86977261830627897572014-01-22T05:19:09.913-08:002014-01-22T05:19:09.913-08:00Thank you for your post, and that would drive me n...Thank you for your post, and that would drive me nuts too! My mom went into "labor" with me but after two days had no cervical progress. Once there was meconium (one indication of fetal distress) and she was dehydrated from exhaustion, I was delivered by c-section. The myth that all births work out perfectly if left to nature is simply not true, and is grossly ignorant of how dangerous childbirth was for women (and their babies) up until relatively recently. It's a false and increasingly dangerous myth, propagated by an industry targeted to new moms. Here are two important links for anyone considering a home birth:<br /><br />http://hurtbyhomebirth.blogspot.com<br /><br />http://whatifsandfears.blogspot.com/2014/01/7-myths-about-home-birth-no-for-real.html<br /><br />http://whatifsandfears.blogspot.com/2013/07/home-vs-hospital-equipment.html<br /><br />The latter two links are from the blog of a friend of mine who is a doula and who almost became a home birth midwife, until during her training she watched a child almost die and got no good answers for the questions it raised from any of her home-birth superiors.ElleMurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01585481665526225076noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1762736094770946238.post-56574750761817950552014-01-22T02:27:10.774-08:002014-01-22T02:27:10.774-08:00Thank you so much for this post. My baby just neve...Thank you so much for this post. My baby just never came on its own (42 weeks and still no dilation and the baby hadn't dropped!), and although my OB let me wait past 40 weeks - he said induction was unlikely to work because my body had done little to prep on its own. After a lot of research and a second opinion, we ended up with a C-section and no labor. It drives me nuts when people come at me with things they've heard in natural birthing class. "Your due date must have been wrong." (pretty sure it wasn't for many reasons) "Our bodies don't make babies that are too big." it just drives me nuts! Thank you for this post.skyhighhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11343178777054614776noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1762736094770946238.post-48142769744896025792014-01-18T11:32:00.337-08:002014-01-18T11:32:00.337-08:00YES! Thank you Maria, I couldn't agree more. ...YES! Thank you Maria, I couldn't agree more. Honesty is always the best policy. Knowledge is always empowerment, and giving women "choices" without giving them the *real* facts isn't giving them choice at all.ElleMurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01585481665526225076noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1762736094770946238.post-33666512462373043742014-01-18T09:11:27.245-08:002014-01-18T09:11:27.245-08:00Thank you for this. As a second time mom-to-be, w...Thank you for this. As a second time mom-to-be, when I went back to the baby boards I realized just how much mythology there is about birth and it started to drive me a bit batty! My biggest pet peeve is the "if you are doing it right, nursing shouldn't hurt." My nipples were on FIRE for several weeks and I was using ice packs on my boobs after most feeds just so I could make it to the next one. No fun. But my daughter was gaining weight, was healthy, and clearly was getting what she needed from me. We were doing it right and it still hurt. I think this myth actually backfires for those who want to increase breastfeeding. It makes women feel they are failing at it and they then give up. There needs to be honesty in the discussion of what to expect when breastfeeding.Marianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1762736094770946238.post-48578280912157107392014-01-17T16:37:34.724-08:002014-01-17T16:37:34.724-08:00I'm commenting on my own blog now based on a q...I'm commenting on my own blog now based on a question asked on Reddit. The first point of this entry dispels the myth that getting an epidural will increase your chance of a c-section. It won't. From the study:<br /><br />4. Caesarean section<br />Twenty-nine trials (Bofill 1997; Chen 2000; Clark 1998; Dickinson 2002; El-Kerdawy 2010; Evron 2008; Gambling 1998; Grandjean 1979; Halpern 2004; Head 2002; Hogg 2000; Howell 2001; Jain 2003; Lian 2008; Long 2003; Loughnan 2000; Lucas 2001; Muir 1996; Muir 2000; Nafisi 2006; Nikkola 1997; Philipsen 1989; Ramin 1995; Sharma 1997; Sharma 2002; Shifman 2007; Thalme 1974; Thorp 1993; Volmanen 2008), in- volving 8895 women, reported this outcome. Data were not avail- able to include in an analysis from two trials (Chen 2000; Lian 2008). In the remaining 27 trials (N = 8417) there was no evi- dence of a statistically significant difference in the risk of caesarean section (RR 1.10, 95% CI 0.97 to 1.25, Analysis 1.3).<br /><br />-and-<br /><br />"Nor were there effects of the epidural on the baby soon after birth." <br /><br />That said, epidurals have side-effects all discussed in the study I linked to, most of which are anticipated and easily dealt with (urinary retention, low blood pressure) and risks you'll have to sign off on if you choose to have one. And while not increasing your risk *of* a c-section, there is an increased risk of a c-section for "fetal distress." Fetal distress is a common reason for c-section, for example, the OB feels the baby's heart rate is dropping too low. In fact, many natural child birth proponents oppose fetal monitoring because they believe it results in unnecessary c-sections, but for obvious reasons most people want their baby monitored. It isn't clear even in the full 124 page version of the study why that would be. I have heard it speculated that because maternal exhaustion is another big reason for c-section, perhaps those with epidurals have fewer exhaustion c-sections, and that's why the overall rate isn't any different. I don't know, but again, the point was to dispel the myth that you increase your chance of a c-section by getting an epidural.ElleMurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01585481665526225076noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1762736094770946238.post-26267517872658296642014-01-17T13:57:58.441-08:002014-01-17T13:57:58.441-08:00I just watched your cuddle video and thanks for re...I just watched your cuddle video and thanks for reminding me about those precious moments of pure love that I shared with my own kids as babies. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1762736094770946238.post-17770127306373981932014-01-17T11:51:48.966-08:002014-01-17T11:51:48.966-08:00That is EXACTLY what happened to my sister-in-law,...That is EXACTLY what happened to my sister-in-law, too. Everyone is surprised by the story but my milk supply waxed and waned, as I described above, seemingly dependent on my children's growth spurts. Babies take in more milk volume as they grow so our breasts must be able to produce more as we go along, to at least some degree. Mine seemed to produce more and less, depending. ElleMurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01585481665526225076noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1762736094770946238.post-48500937588917293192014-01-17T11:49:29.592-08:002014-01-17T11:49:29.592-08:00Haha, yes. Thanks for posting.Haha, yes. Thanks for posting.ElleMurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01585481665526225076noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1762736094770946238.post-52451984139095269282014-01-17T11:48:15.199-08:002014-01-17T11:48:15.199-08:00Thanks Bekah!Thanks Bekah!ElleMurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01585481665526225076noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1762736094770946238.post-32926692576640607472014-01-17T11:46:52.182-08:002014-01-17T11:46:52.182-08:00There is also evidence that in certain circumstanc...There is also evidence that in certain circumstances, supplementing with formula can actually help the mom and baby to achieve exclusive breastfeeding later.<br />http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/13/how-formula-can-complement-breast-feeding/<br />This was definitely the case with my baby. She lost a little too much weight in those first crucial days, and we had to start supplementing in the hospital. We supplemented for two months and then never needed the formula again. Believe me, nobody was more surprised than I was. The important thing is that she got enough calories and grew properly before we got the hang of nursing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1762736094770946238.post-7208172184204721392014-01-17T11:44:08.592-08:002014-01-17T11:44:08.592-08:00Yeah, I truly don't know and am not pretending...Yeah, I truly don't know and am not pretending to know the real deal on initial supply issues. I'm just making the point that there's a lot of fear of milk supply dropping later on, which to me doesn't seem to mesh with the line that we're all perfectly capable of producing enough as long as we don't supplement. <br /><br />ElleMurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01585481665526225076noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1762736094770946238.post-39322480449966010342014-01-17T11:29:58.585-08:002014-01-17T11:29:58.585-08:00this is interesting to me, too - when g wasn't...this is interesting to me, too - when g wasn't gaining weight fast enough, our doc urged me to use formula. i talked her into letting me live a hellish week attached to baby and pump, and it worked out fine. in retrospect, i don't think i had ANY supply issues, i had a baby who, as i read in a book later, is one of the few who just doesn't complain about being hungry, and i didn't know how often breastfed babies ate. nobody told me every 2 hours, they told me "she'll let you know." i'm glad i talked our doc into letting me try w/o formula, for several reasons, not the least of which is the expense. Rachel Martinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1762736094770946238.post-15331576434796986222014-01-17T08:58:03.815-08:002014-01-17T08:58:03.815-08:00As someone who had such problems and guilt with nu...As someone who had such problems and guilt with nursing, thank you for this comment: "And so yeah, vulgarity aside I pretty much completely agree with this Jezebel article: Far from blissful, nursing is often excruciating. Physically, mentally, and emotionally."LAWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08893545711139634339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1762736094770946238.post-3327656439399187542014-01-17T07:54:35.792-08:002014-01-17T07:54:35.792-08:00I interpreted that quoted part as being about LCs ...I interpreted that quoted part as being about LCs or b/f'ing activists rather than the moms themselves so I was responding to it that way. But the rest of the section I totally agree with, as that was my experience as well. I messaged you on fb : )Sample Sale Momhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16003459119739156164noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1762736094770946238.post-66498804409267531462014-01-17T07:06:31.829-08:002014-01-17T07:06:31.829-08:00Copying my FB response here - PS can't get cof...Copying my FB response here - PS can't get coffee today but next week??<br /><br />"But Sarah, my point is that women are worrying that their supply has dropped *without* or *before* introducing any formula. I think we're both saying the same thing here." ElleMurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01585481665526225076noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1762736094770946238.post-77015687685799811182014-01-17T06:56:45.235-08:002014-01-17T06:56:45.235-08:00I put this on facebook, but figured I'd put it...I put this on facebook, but figured I'd put it here as well - <br /><br />"It's strange to me that many of the people who so strongly believe that almost all moms are capable of exclusively breastfeeding their babies are also hyper-obsessive about supply maintenance..."<br /><br />This doesn't seem strange to me at all - Yes, the majority of moms would be capable of exclusively bf'ing their babies. IF there were no formula. But once women encounter problems they are, in general, quick to rush to formula. Once formula is introduced, your supply goes down in response (unless you were pumping for those missed feedings, but even then the pump doesn't get as much milk as the baby does). LCs don't want women to go over to formula because the usual progression is that more and more formula replaces the breast-feedings and eventually women give up b/f'ing and go over to formula entirely. I've watched this cycle happen with several of my friends who had originally planned to EBF.<br /><br />But I would agree that yes, the biggest mommy myth I believed, at the beginning, was "you're not making enough milk." - It turned out it just took me a week or two to catch up with my very hungry son's needs. A baby losing or not gaining weight is the only reason to worry that you're not making enough milk. No one seems to know that beforehand!Sample Sale Momhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16003459119739156164noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1762736094770946238.post-66548217115279636562014-01-17T06:17:02.027-08:002014-01-17T06:17:02.027-08:00YES. I couldn't agree more.YES. I couldn't agree more.ElleMurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01585481665526225076noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1762736094770946238.post-57076842714776039642014-01-17T05:09:06.356-08:002014-01-17T05:09:06.356-08:00I'm not sure I understand the "AVOID A C-...I'm not sure I understand the "AVOID A C-SECTION AT ALL COSTS" mentality of some natural childbirth activists. Looking at c-section rates is really not helpful to mothers or babies. We should be looking at perinatal mortality rates and the rate of children born with brain damage caused by oxygen deprivation at birth. A low c-section rate is nothing to brag about if a few children died or had brain damage because of the quest for vaginal birth. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1762736094770946238.post-40589361993567167112014-01-17T01:44:34.954-08:002014-01-17T01:44:34.954-08:00My Granma could have saved you that 70 bucks ! Com...My Granma could have saved you that 70 bucks ! Coming from a generation that had to nurse, because no one could afford formula made her the best 'just get on with it any way you can" consultant. She taught me & my sisters to feed when you want, for as long as you want and where you want including getting back into bed. <br />My Mom's generation messed it all up. She actually used a baby-book sponsored by a formula company where the baby health nurse had noted "5 mins each side, baby not happy, recommend supplementary feeding" <br /><br />I'm not a Breast Nazi though. Do it if you can, as long as you can is all I tell people. Because the majority of benefits are delivered in the first 3 days. After that it's just more convenient, portable and a great way to make people get you things while you control the remote.<br />Bottle feeding Moms are just as capable of reading to their kids, making healthy snacks and establishing a bedtime routine: all the things that are attributed to higher intelligence and better progress in school.<br />Correlation does not equal Causation - and the breast evangelists need to remember that when they are attributing supposed benefits of the boob. <br /><br />As for C-section vs the Zipper job* I had as a result of 'natural' birth? (30 friggen hours of natural birth) - When it comes to that first wee after birthing, I know where I'd rather have stitches. <br /><br />*zipper job = episiotomy Lisamareehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18445509438246694219noreply@blogger.com