Given that I still know very little about the U.S. system of taxation I don’t feel that I have much of a right to rant and rave about how bad it is…but I have a feeling that it isn’t working very well considering the vast number of people in poverty today under our system of taxation and government. From what I can tell though, in the U.S., most of our taxes are actually regressive, why that is, I don’t know. We pay a federal income tax that helps to fund various public services and we pay a social security tax that I believe helps to pay for our insurance. People are given money based on their level of economic stability and others are taxed for having greater wealth. Relative to Denmark, we pay fairly low taxes.
In Denmark, there is a similar system set up but it leans slightly more towards the socialist side of socialist democracies. They have sales tax, income tax, and social security tax just like we do, but they have a substantially higher tax on things that harm the environment, and to help the less fortunate. In Denmark, housing is a right and the government pays for your housing and some of your living expenses if you are down on your luck. As a result the people don’t live in fear of poverty and are much more willing to help people out in order to maintain their status of life.
The key difference I noticed between these two systems is the reason and motivation behind paying the taxes. Here people begrudgingly pay taxes and whine about having to pay for those in poverty that we believe are selfishly living off the hard work and good nature of the wealthy. In Denmark kids are substantially more educated about their own system of government as well as those of other countries so they grow up aware of the reprocussions of selfishness and the virtues of collectivity. The conservatives have put it in our heads that the poor just want to steal from the rich and we believe such fallacies as a result. Whereas in Denmark the poor have just struck hard times and must be assisted in any way possible.
As of right now I think that we should take a step towards a more extreme social democracy with a revolutionary move towards socialist anarchy. My main problem with the Danish system of taxation is the reliance on the government. While all may seem well and good at a glance it takes one rotten egg to spoil the bunch. The fact is, people can be greedy and if given a spot in the government can corrupt it with their greedyness. Because of people that are willing to exploit such an idyllic system for their own personal gains we need to be cautious not to give the government too much leverage over its people. What would the people of Denmark do if all of a sudden their government had a draft of sorts and threatened to deprive them of food and housing if they didn’t join? IN a social anarchy, the people have more control over everything and it gives them the right to say no.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
AWOB Synthesis 3/17/09, first draft
In all my criticism of the AWOL, I have neglected to even once mention the effect of birth on the rest of ones life. Supposedly, upon turning three infants lose all memory of past events in their lives, but the impact of our birth stays eternally with us. Something as simple as being born in a bath-tub could have a profound effect on ones experience. So one could probably see why people feel the need to manipulate every little factor. What other miniscule factors could alter the life of a child? In our society, natural birth is looked down upon by mothers and Obs alike and all the while people are becoming more and more reliant on medical technology. But why when our own bodies provide us with all the tools necessary to give birth to a child. Just as we rely on our corrupt politicians to straighten things out we rely on doctors to heal us. Yet in doing so we lead ourselves astray and lose sight of the ultimate importance of birth. The Techno-medical way of birth alienates us from our bodies and perpetuates the same mindless capitalist system that is the driving force behind the rest of our culture.
The whole concept of birth is still iffy to me. I believe that all of the world’s many problems branch from the fact that there are just too many people. But this doesn’t stop couples, date rapists, lonely mothers, and Catholics from reproducing at a rapid rate. But why do people have babies? They leak from every orifice on their bodies, they are loud, and above all, they are expensive. But for some reason in our clean, perfectionist culture people feel the need to have more and more kids. It appears to me that there are three main reasons why people continue to have kids: Some people want a baby that will love them eternally with godlike devotion. Other people force their kids to have kids that will love and adore them. And then there are those who just want to have sex: people who appreciate the process (sex) but not the product (the baby).
Regardless of their cause these all result in the same thing; a baby that will, if treated properly, love, adore, and take care of you in your old age. “Sounds like a sweet deal. I just have to wait 9 months, go through a few hours of physical pain and take care of the thing for a few more years and I’ve got me my own personal servant.” Of course, this is an exaggeration but does not stand far from the truth. People in our society love to watch other people live; doing so gives their dull lives some meaning. Seldom, however, do we see people like Brad Pitt or other tabloid celebrities reading shallow and low-brow magazines like “People,” “Vogue,” or “Elle.” Those with money can live their own fantasies while those without watch and try to experience the affluent lives of the very people that keep our capitalistic culture going for gold.
Back to babies; children provide more or less the same sort of entertainment. A child’s life is essentially a soap opera that parents can sit back and eat pop-corn to while watching, occasionally stepping in to assure that they turn into what they always wanted to be. They watch their children grow up and develop like Stephanie from “Full House.” When their little angels hit puberty, parents buckle down while trying to maintain a friendly relationship with their child and relive those first episodes of “The Gilmore Girls.” Finally they release their kids into the world after having hypnotized them into becoming everything and more than they (the parents) were as children. Sound familiar? Vicariously living through ones offspring is quite common in our culture.
Of course, some people may not agree with me on that. Looking at birth statistics, mothers, more often than not, use epidurals during labour to relieve themselves of pain. However, evidence proves that epidurals drug the baby as well which can make it reluctant to breast feed, an important factor in the mother child bonding process. Breast feeding soon after birth helps the mother to release oxytocin, a “bonding” chemical, that the child then absorbs into his body through the breast milk. If mothers are willing to sacrifice their bodies and their entire lives for their unborn children, one would assume they would be willing to endure a few hours of pain to ensure the healthy and un-stoned birth of their baby. This being said, why then do most mothers use epidurals and other birth intervention drugs? It’s not that I believe that most mothers don’t love their babies, but there has to be something, aside from the pain, that would encourage a mother to take such a risk.
Being fairly familiar with the way our culture works I feel that I can adequately assess what may possess people to use these drugs. Who other than the multi-billion dollar business that holds the lives of millions of Americans at stake for money; big pharmaceutical companies. Epidurals can run up to $1000 on top of the outrageous fees that come with most hospital births. Having searched around online, looked at blogs, and heard my mothers own personal birthing experience, it seems to me that most Americans believe that these drugs are basic essentials in the birthing process. Observing the normal way of birth, one can see why many mothers may believe this. My own birth was very typical, and was archetypal of the American way of Birth.
My mother’s water broke on august 10th, 1991. She went to the hospital where she was told to return home and wait for 24 hours. The following day she went back to the hospital where the doctors gave her Pitocin to help induce labor. From this point on there were about 15 hours of labor before I was actually born, so it was a fairly long wait. The Pitocin made her contractions more frequent and they grew stronger each time. To pass the time my parents walked around the hospital until the contractions got to be so painful that she had to be confined to her bed. My father helped her through each contraction until, finally, she began crowning. Shortly before she was given Darvon, a light sedative to reduce the pain, but it was ineffective so she had an epidural. In an attempt to make the environment more welcoming for me my mother had very relaxing music playing in the background. When she finally began crowning a surge of doctors appeared in the room; she recalled there being no medical figures there up until that point. She had an episiotomy to stop any inevitable ripping from happening and shortly after I was born.
It was a pretty standard birth. The key thing, however, that I questioned upon hearing this was why so many drugs? At that point I had to come out because if a mother doesn’t go into labour within 12 hours of her water breaking it puts the lives of both mother and child at risk. The doctor, however, neglected to warn my mother of the drugs harmful side-affects. Everyone is told that birth will be painful, but few are told of Pitocin’s more gentile and natural cousin. Believe it or not turning the birthing process into an orgasmic experience can mimic the effects of Pitocin. Pitocin helps the body to release Oxytocin which helps to induce labour, but because it is taken through a constant IV drip it gives the body far more than necessary, putting her in far more pain than she need be. Not only are orgasmic births more pleasurable and cost effective, but they help to release the very same chemical into the mother, her very own, internal Oxytocin IV drip. If I am aware of this then I am certain that most doctors are; why then do most doctors not encourage such an approach? These drugs are insanely expensive, and what better way to make money off of anxious pregnant mothers than to shamelessly give them some drug without any alternative treatment. Doctors tell people like my mother of this magical drug that can save their baby’s life while failing to mention that our bodies can produce the same substance for FREE.
People make sex and birth out to be very separate things, thus robbing people of the sexual aspect of birth and instilling this artificial need for drugs, doctors, and hospital. People are afraid of anything outside of the norm, for it upsets the balance of their lifestyle; the same can be said of birth. Even though many aspects of our culture are sexual, for some reason we cannot combine the two. Doctors, like all other capitalists, want to make a profit and by lying and telling mothers that birth will be painful they can make more money off drugs. Similarly to sex, drugs are demonized. For a culture that so heavily uses drugs like pitocin, Epideurals, alcohol, and cigarettes on a daily basis, people demonize drugs such as marijuana, codine, steroids, and LSD with a curious amount of enthusiasm. “A Rod can’t take steroids, but mothers are given epidurals on a whim.” This just goes to show how contradictory our societies image of whats right and wrong is.
It doesn’t stop there; after giving my mother Pitocin, they had to counter-act the pain with an Epidural. Birth is bound to be painful, especially without an epidural, but when induced with Pitocin it becomes a necessity. Having a natural, home birth is less painful; people have all they need (in cases where the birth is normal and healthy) right at home.
The setting plays an important role in natural birth as well. The standard birth takes place in a sterile hospital room with the mother propped up in lithotomy position, legs agape, surrounded by complete strangers and bright spotlights shining on her vagina. How sexual does this sound? If anything it sounds nerve-wracking, whereas a home birth allows one complete privacy, sensuality, and, above all, comfort. A natural birth with inborn labour inducing chemicals suggests that the woman should sit naked in a tub next to her husband in a warm and loving environment. If one chooses, one can have a midwife coach the mother through the birth. The husband may gently stroke his wife’s breasts or something of that sort to get the Oxytocin flowing, while the midwife helps the mother through each contraction. Unlike standard birth procedures, the mother is allowed privacy and has complete control over the entire situation. When the baby finally comes out he is born into water or the loving arms of his/her family, which allows them to transition from the womb into the outside world . All in all, this sounds far more appealing and humane than the birth that most doctors would like people to believe is necessary. Its astounding to see how much Capitalism and the profit motive permeate our culture to the point where people designated to provide us remedies and treatments deceitfully trick us into paying for drugs and procedures that could potentially harm or affect the life of an unborn child.
In recent times, four Missouri physicians sued the state over a midwifery law allowing “certified professional midwives to deliver babies without collaborating with a physician” or having an “emergency plan” (amednews.com). When asked why in regards to their opposition to the law, one of the physicians (David Redfern, MD and OB-GYN) responded, saying that “a midwife doesn’t have the skills to handle the complications that can happen instantaneously during birth.” According to him, roughly “10% to 15%” of women who deliver at home need to be transferred to a hospital due to complications. First off, certified professional midwives are required to have prior, out of hospital, experience, to have taken classes accredited by the Midwifery Education Accreditation Council, to have passed rigorous written exams on the topic of birth, and to have been administered by the North American Registry of Midwives. What about this doesn’t check out? The fact is, most women even considering having a home birth have been scared into believing that birth outside of a hospital is dangerous, so chances are that most women in such a situation will do extensive and in depth research to find a midwife suitable for their wants and needs. Not doing so would be unwise. The likelihood of someone picking an unqualified midwife for their birth is extremely low. Also, in an emergency situation almost anyone would have themselves rushed to a hospital, after all, half the mothers that have home births pray to all around them for an epidural as it is. And as the majority of expecting mothers already get ultra-sounds and amniocentesis’ they are often aware of any complications in their pregnancy and would doubtfully go through with the home- birth were there anything severely wrong with their unborn child.
Aside from the doctor’s fallacious observations there is something even more important to take from this reading. Most modern day doctors have been to taught to cure and treat everything as an illness, and birth is just another one of these illnesses. They have been taught to fear for the worst when in fact birth is quite simple. Thanks to the “cascade of medical interventions” encouraged by most doctors birth has become far more complicated than it need be. Instead of just having the baby and allowing the mother and child to experience the beautiful experience of birth doctors have convinced us that if there is pain something is wrong so women believe the use of pain medication and doctor intervention to be indispensable parts of the birthing process. The fact is, most OB- GYNs or birth doctors haven’t ever experienced a home birth so they cannot rightfully speak against it. When ones entire education is clouded by fear and the possibility of death passed on generation to generation of doctors its understandable why they feel as such. But one should trust their body to handle birth and not just the doctors, after all women and animals have been giving birth for quite some time now. Its thanks to people like Dr. Redfern that women now don’t trust their own bodies to be able to give birth even though it is perfectly modeled for being able to do so.
I had the opportunity to watch a certain skit done by The Monty Python acting troup, that perfectly epitomized the Techno/Medical method of birth. The video takes place in a cold hospital room with two doctors getting dressed for a birth. In the short skit they cover all of the aspects of birth that I have just talked about: they deal with all of the formalities of birth; bringing in the expensive machines that legitimize their practice and please the almighty hospital administrator. Most importantly, the mother is dealt with as an object and is barely acknowledged as part of the process. When she asks what she should do the doctors reply with a resounding “nothing dear, you aren’t qualified!” It seems that the current world of birth and pregnancy works in a similar way; women and patients in general are pushed along by each doctor and told what to do with out any questioning on the patients behalf. We have become passive as a people and we accept the word of the “qualified” as the word of the holy father. Not even the female form, which has been specially selected by thousands of years of evolution and development, is seen as being qualified enough to birth a child. Doctors just like those in the Monty Python skit have perpetuated the business of birth and encouraged the removal of the self from the creation of life.
For better or for worse I watched a documentary called “The Business of Giving Birth” that was very informative helped to give me further insight into the world of birth in America. It would be pointless for me to reiterate all the points brought up throughout the film because I have already more or less outlined them in this paper, but what I got from the film was, “we, as Americans, seriously need to revise the normal way of birth because mothers are removed from the experience and if we don’t people will miss out on the beautiful experience of birth.” I agreed with most of what was said there were however a few points that I thought could use some revision. The whole film was more or less, anti-hospital, anti-doctor…except for when it’s an emergency. This seemed to me a case of cognitive dissonance; mothers are still just as reliant on these supposedly evil, money-grubbing hospitals. They look to the very people that attempt to remove them from their birth proceze for mid pregnancy checkups, amniocentesis’, and other such treatments/check-ups. This is not to say that I believe these proceze to be unimportant, I just think that if one must have a baby, they should be accompanied by someone who has been trained in medicine, like a doctor, but with the care and compassion that often comes with a midwife. Call me an idealist, but I believe that if people want to continue giving healthy natural birth that we should have doctors who actually care about their patients. Even though this new form of doctor/midwife has a position similar to that of the standard doctor, the patient should be kept as an important role in the birth process and not treated like a leper.
Just as we educate teens about practicing safe sex, I believe we should educate mothers about birth. Women’s subservience to doctors is largely due to the fact that they have no clue what they are doing. Doctors and pharmaceutical companies get filthy rich off of mothers who haven’t been properly advised of the many basics of birth. Doctors have, according to the video, tricked women into believing the lithotomy position is the best to give birth in, that they shouldn’t move around, and that they should take drugs like pitocin, and darvon to aid them in giving birth. Women need to be able to see through the “cascade of interventions,” and make the right decisions for themselves; if you don’t care about the birth process and just want your baby, then give birth in a hospital, but if you do care you should be informed enough to be able to make such a decision.
I would have to argue that ignorance to the process of giving birth devalues the entire life of ones child for birth is one of the most important experiences of one’s child’s life. Doctors merely interfere with the mothers organic flow of emotion and physical sensations and end up turning the birth process into an artificial, and impersonal experience just as the Monty Python skit portrayed. Within the first few moments after giving birth, the mom and her baby are attached to one another through this “cocktail of love hormones,” and without them there is a divorce between mother and baby. Doctors simply haven’t been given the training necessary to view birth from a natural perspective thus perpetuating the current method. Any mother who cares about their child would have as loving and natural a birth as possible.
The whole concept of birth is still iffy to me. I believe that all of the world’s many problems branch from the fact that there are just too many people. But this doesn’t stop couples, date rapists, lonely mothers, and Catholics from reproducing at a rapid rate. But why do people have babies? They leak from every orifice on their bodies, they are loud, and above all, they are expensive. But for some reason in our clean, perfectionist culture people feel the need to have more and more kids. It appears to me that there are three main reasons why people continue to have kids: Some people want a baby that will love them eternally with godlike devotion. Other people force their kids to have kids that will love and adore them. And then there are those who just want to have sex: people who appreciate the process (sex) but not the product (the baby).
Regardless of their cause these all result in the same thing; a baby that will, if treated properly, love, adore, and take care of you in your old age. “Sounds like a sweet deal. I just have to wait 9 months, go through a few hours of physical pain and take care of the thing for a few more years and I’ve got me my own personal servant.” Of course, this is an exaggeration but does not stand far from the truth. People in our society love to watch other people live; doing so gives their dull lives some meaning. Seldom, however, do we see people like Brad Pitt or other tabloid celebrities reading shallow and low-brow magazines like “People,” “Vogue,” or “Elle.” Those with money can live their own fantasies while those without watch and try to experience the affluent lives of the very people that keep our capitalistic culture going for gold.
Back to babies; children provide more or less the same sort of entertainment. A child’s life is essentially a soap opera that parents can sit back and eat pop-corn to while watching, occasionally stepping in to assure that they turn into what they always wanted to be. They watch their children grow up and develop like Stephanie from “Full House.” When their little angels hit puberty, parents buckle down while trying to maintain a friendly relationship with their child and relive those first episodes of “The Gilmore Girls.” Finally they release their kids into the world after having hypnotized them into becoming everything and more than they (the parents) were as children. Sound familiar? Vicariously living through ones offspring is quite common in our culture.
Of course, some people may not agree with me on that. Looking at birth statistics, mothers, more often than not, use epidurals during labour to relieve themselves of pain. However, evidence proves that epidurals drug the baby as well which can make it reluctant to breast feed, an important factor in the mother child bonding process. Breast feeding soon after birth helps the mother to release oxytocin, a “bonding” chemical, that the child then absorbs into his body through the breast milk. If mothers are willing to sacrifice their bodies and their entire lives for their unborn children, one would assume they would be willing to endure a few hours of pain to ensure the healthy and un-stoned birth of their baby. This being said, why then do most mothers use epidurals and other birth intervention drugs? It’s not that I believe that most mothers don’t love their babies, but there has to be something, aside from the pain, that would encourage a mother to take such a risk.
Being fairly familiar with the way our culture works I feel that I can adequately assess what may possess people to use these drugs. Who other than the multi-billion dollar business that holds the lives of millions of Americans at stake for money; big pharmaceutical companies. Epidurals can run up to $1000 on top of the outrageous fees that come with most hospital births. Having searched around online, looked at blogs, and heard my mothers own personal birthing experience, it seems to me that most Americans believe that these drugs are basic essentials in the birthing process. Observing the normal way of birth, one can see why many mothers may believe this. My own birth was very typical, and was archetypal of the American way of Birth.
My mother’s water broke on august 10th, 1991. She went to the hospital where she was told to return home and wait for 24 hours. The following day she went back to the hospital where the doctors gave her Pitocin to help induce labor. From this point on there were about 15 hours of labor before I was actually born, so it was a fairly long wait. The Pitocin made her contractions more frequent and they grew stronger each time. To pass the time my parents walked around the hospital until the contractions got to be so painful that she had to be confined to her bed. My father helped her through each contraction until, finally, she began crowning. Shortly before she was given Darvon, a light sedative to reduce the pain, but it was ineffective so she had an epidural. In an attempt to make the environment more welcoming for me my mother had very relaxing music playing in the background. When she finally began crowning a surge of doctors appeared in the room; she recalled there being no medical figures there up until that point. She had an episiotomy to stop any inevitable ripping from happening and shortly after I was born.
It was a pretty standard birth. The key thing, however, that I questioned upon hearing this was why so many drugs? At that point I had to come out because if a mother doesn’t go into labour within 12 hours of her water breaking it puts the lives of both mother and child at risk. The doctor, however, neglected to warn my mother of the drugs harmful side-affects. Everyone is told that birth will be painful, but few are told of Pitocin’s more gentile and natural cousin. Believe it or not turning the birthing process into an orgasmic experience can mimic the effects of Pitocin. Pitocin helps the body to release Oxytocin which helps to induce labour, but because it is taken through a constant IV drip it gives the body far more than necessary, putting her in far more pain than she need be. Not only are orgasmic births more pleasurable and cost effective, but they help to release the very same chemical into the mother, her very own, internal Oxytocin IV drip. If I am aware of this then I am certain that most doctors are; why then do most doctors not encourage such an approach? These drugs are insanely expensive, and what better way to make money off of anxious pregnant mothers than to shamelessly give them some drug without any alternative treatment. Doctors tell people like my mother of this magical drug that can save their baby’s life while failing to mention that our bodies can produce the same substance for FREE.
People make sex and birth out to be very separate things, thus robbing people of the sexual aspect of birth and instilling this artificial need for drugs, doctors, and hospital. People are afraid of anything outside of the norm, for it upsets the balance of their lifestyle; the same can be said of birth. Even though many aspects of our culture are sexual, for some reason we cannot combine the two. Doctors, like all other capitalists, want to make a profit and by lying and telling mothers that birth will be painful they can make more money off drugs. Similarly to sex, drugs are demonized. For a culture that so heavily uses drugs like pitocin, Epideurals, alcohol, and cigarettes on a daily basis, people demonize drugs such as marijuana, codine, steroids, and LSD with a curious amount of enthusiasm. “A Rod can’t take steroids, but mothers are given epidurals on a whim.” This just goes to show how contradictory our societies image of whats right and wrong is.
It doesn’t stop there; after giving my mother Pitocin, they had to counter-act the pain with an Epidural. Birth is bound to be painful, especially without an epidural, but when induced with Pitocin it becomes a necessity. Having a natural, home birth is less painful; people have all they need (in cases where the birth is normal and healthy) right at home.
The setting plays an important role in natural birth as well. The standard birth takes place in a sterile hospital room with the mother propped up in lithotomy position, legs agape, surrounded by complete strangers and bright spotlights shining on her vagina. How sexual does this sound? If anything it sounds nerve-wracking, whereas a home birth allows one complete privacy, sensuality, and, above all, comfort. A natural birth with inborn labour inducing chemicals suggests that the woman should sit naked in a tub next to her husband in a warm and loving environment. If one chooses, one can have a midwife coach the mother through the birth. The husband may gently stroke his wife’s breasts or something of that sort to get the Oxytocin flowing, while the midwife helps the mother through each contraction. Unlike standard birth procedures, the mother is allowed privacy and has complete control over the entire situation. When the baby finally comes out he is born into water or the loving arms of his/her family, which allows them to transition from the womb into the outside world . All in all, this sounds far more appealing and humane than the birth that most doctors would like people to believe is necessary. Its astounding to see how much Capitalism and the profit motive permeate our culture to the point where people designated to provide us remedies and treatments deceitfully trick us into paying for drugs and procedures that could potentially harm or affect the life of an unborn child.
In recent times, four Missouri physicians sued the state over a midwifery law allowing “certified professional midwives to deliver babies without collaborating with a physician” or having an “emergency plan” (amednews.com). When asked why in regards to their opposition to the law, one of the physicians (David Redfern, MD and OB-GYN) responded, saying that “a midwife doesn’t have the skills to handle the complications that can happen instantaneously during birth.” According to him, roughly “10% to 15%” of women who deliver at home need to be transferred to a hospital due to complications. First off, certified professional midwives are required to have prior, out of hospital, experience, to have taken classes accredited by the Midwifery Education Accreditation Council, to have passed rigorous written exams on the topic of birth, and to have been administered by the North American Registry of Midwives. What about this doesn’t check out? The fact is, most women even considering having a home birth have been scared into believing that birth outside of a hospital is dangerous, so chances are that most women in such a situation will do extensive and in depth research to find a midwife suitable for their wants and needs. Not doing so would be unwise. The likelihood of someone picking an unqualified midwife for their birth is extremely low. Also, in an emergency situation almost anyone would have themselves rushed to a hospital, after all, half the mothers that have home births pray to all around them for an epidural as it is. And as the majority of expecting mothers already get ultra-sounds and amniocentesis’ they are often aware of any complications in their pregnancy and would doubtfully go through with the home- birth were there anything severely wrong with their unborn child.
Aside from the doctor’s fallacious observations there is something even more important to take from this reading. Most modern day doctors have been to taught to cure and treat everything as an illness, and birth is just another one of these illnesses. They have been taught to fear for the worst when in fact birth is quite simple. Thanks to the “cascade of medical interventions” encouraged by most doctors birth has become far more complicated than it need be. Instead of just having the baby and allowing the mother and child to experience the beautiful experience of birth doctors have convinced us that if there is pain something is wrong so women believe the use of pain medication and doctor intervention to be indispensable parts of the birthing process. The fact is, most OB- GYNs or birth doctors haven’t ever experienced a home birth so they cannot rightfully speak against it. When ones entire education is clouded by fear and the possibility of death passed on generation to generation of doctors its understandable why they feel as such. But one should trust their body to handle birth and not just the doctors, after all women and animals have been giving birth for quite some time now. Its thanks to people like Dr. Redfern that women now don’t trust their own bodies to be able to give birth even though it is perfectly modeled for being able to do so.
I had the opportunity to watch a certain skit done by The Monty Python acting troup, that perfectly epitomized the Techno/Medical method of birth. The video takes place in a cold hospital room with two doctors getting dressed for a birth. In the short skit they cover all of the aspects of birth that I have just talked about: they deal with all of the formalities of birth; bringing in the expensive machines that legitimize their practice and please the almighty hospital administrator. Most importantly, the mother is dealt with as an object and is barely acknowledged as part of the process. When she asks what she should do the doctors reply with a resounding “nothing dear, you aren’t qualified!” It seems that the current world of birth and pregnancy works in a similar way; women and patients in general are pushed along by each doctor and told what to do with out any questioning on the patients behalf. We have become passive as a people and we accept the word of the “qualified” as the word of the holy father. Not even the female form, which has been specially selected by thousands of years of evolution and development, is seen as being qualified enough to birth a child. Doctors just like those in the Monty Python skit have perpetuated the business of birth and encouraged the removal of the self from the creation of life.
For better or for worse I watched a documentary called “The Business of Giving Birth” that was very informative helped to give me further insight into the world of birth in America. It would be pointless for me to reiterate all the points brought up throughout the film because I have already more or less outlined them in this paper, but what I got from the film was, “we, as Americans, seriously need to revise the normal way of birth because mothers are removed from the experience and if we don’t people will miss out on the beautiful experience of birth.” I agreed with most of what was said there were however a few points that I thought could use some revision. The whole film was more or less, anti-hospital, anti-doctor…except for when it’s an emergency. This seemed to me a case of cognitive dissonance; mothers are still just as reliant on these supposedly evil, money-grubbing hospitals. They look to the very people that attempt to remove them from their birth proceze for mid pregnancy checkups, amniocentesis’, and other such treatments/check-ups. This is not to say that I believe these proceze to be unimportant, I just think that if one must have a baby, they should be accompanied by someone who has been trained in medicine, like a doctor, but with the care and compassion that often comes with a midwife. Call me an idealist, but I believe that if people want to continue giving healthy natural birth that we should have doctors who actually care about their patients. Even though this new form of doctor/midwife has a position similar to that of the standard doctor, the patient should be kept as an important role in the birth process and not treated like a leper.
Just as we educate teens about practicing safe sex, I believe we should educate mothers about birth. Women’s subservience to doctors is largely due to the fact that they have no clue what they are doing. Doctors and pharmaceutical companies get filthy rich off of mothers who haven’t been properly advised of the many basics of birth. Doctors have, according to the video, tricked women into believing the lithotomy position is the best to give birth in, that they shouldn’t move around, and that they should take drugs like pitocin, and darvon to aid them in giving birth. Women need to be able to see through the “cascade of interventions,” and make the right decisions for themselves; if you don’t care about the birth process and just want your baby, then give birth in a hospital, but if you do care you should be informed enough to be able to make such a decision.
I would have to argue that ignorance to the process of giving birth devalues the entire life of ones child for birth is one of the most important experiences of one’s child’s life. Doctors merely interfere with the mothers organic flow of emotion and physical sensations and end up turning the birth process into an artificial, and impersonal experience just as the Monty Python skit portrayed. Within the first few moments after giving birth, the mom and her baby are attached to one another through this “cocktail of love hormones,” and without them there is a divorce between mother and baby. Doctors simply haven’t been given the training necessary to view birth from a natural perspective thus perpetuating the current method. Any mother who cares about their child would have as loving and natural a birth as possible.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Response to the Business of Being Born
I really enjoyed “The Business of Being Born;” it helped to give further insight into the world of birth in America. It would be pointless for me to reiterate all the points brought up throughout the film, but what I got from the film was, “we, as Americans, seriously need to revise the normal way of birth because if we don’t people will miss out on the beautiful experience of birth.” I agreed with most of what was said, there were however a few points that I thought could use some revision. The whole film was more or less, anti-hospital, anti-doctor…except for when it’s an emergency. This seemed to me a case of cognitive dissonance; mothers are still just as reliant on these supposedly evil, money-grubbing hospitals. They look to the very people that attempt to remove them from their birth proceze for mid pregnancy checkups, amniocentesis’, and other such treatments/check-ups. This is not to say that I believe these proceze to be unimportant, I just think that if one must have a baby, they should be accompanied by someone who has been trained in medicine, like a doctor, but with the care and compassion that often comes with a midwife. Call me an idealist, but I believe that if people want to continue giving healthy natural birth that we should have doctors who actually care about their patients. Even though this new form of doctor/midwife has a position similar to that of the standard doctor, the patient should be kept as an important role in the birth process and not treated like a leper.
Just as we educate teens about practicing safe sex, I believe we should educate mothers about birth. Women’s subservience to doctors is largely due to the fact that they have no clue what they are doing. Doctors and pharmaceutical companies get filthy rich off of mothers who haven’t been properly advised of the many basics of birth. Doctors have, according to the video, tricked women into believing the lithotomy position is the best to give birth in, that they shouldn’t move around, and that they should take drugs like pitocin, and darvon to aid them in giving birth. Women need to be able to see through the “cascade of interventions,” and make the right decisions for themselves; if you don’t care about the birth process and just want your baby, then give birth in a hospital, but if you do care you should be informed enough to be able to make such a decision.
I would have to argue that ignorance to the process of giving birth devalues the entire life of ones child for birth is one of the most important experiences of one’s child’s life. Within the first few moments after giving birth, the mom and her baby are attached to one another through this “cocktail of love hormones,” and without them there is a divorce between mother and baby. Any mother who cares about their child would have as loving and natural a birth as possible.
Just as we educate teens about practicing safe sex, I believe we should educate mothers about birth. Women’s subservience to doctors is largely due to the fact that they have no clue what they are doing. Doctors and pharmaceutical companies get filthy rich off of mothers who haven’t been properly advised of the many basics of birth. Doctors have, according to the video, tricked women into believing the lithotomy position is the best to give birth in, that they shouldn’t move around, and that they should take drugs like pitocin, and darvon to aid them in giving birth. Women need to be able to see through the “cascade of interventions,” and make the right decisions for themselves; if you don’t care about the birth process and just want your baby, then give birth in a hospital, but if you do care you should be informed enough to be able to make such a decision.
I would have to argue that ignorance to the process of giving birth devalues the entire life of ones child for birth is one of the most important experiences of one’s child’s life. Within the first few moments after giving birth, the mom and her baby are attached to one another through this “cocktail of love hormones,” and without them there is a divorce between mother and baby. Any mother who cares about their child would have as loving and natural a birth as possible.
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