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I thought it was so slanted and biased it lost all meaning. I wasn't a fan at all really, though "documentaries" that are thinly veiled scare tactics are rarely something I enjoy.
I think that after every documentary I watch I feel like my life is changed for about 24 hours until the "drug" effect sort of wears off and I realize how one-sided and biased the information just was.
I have been like this about so many different things--i think documentaries tend to have that effect on you!
I think it did convince me that I really don't want Pitocin/Epidural if possible. I still will most likely give birth in the hospital with my OBGYN.
I thought it was pretty interesting to see the other side. It got me thinking about home births or a natural hospital birth. As soon as I got pregnant, I immediately jumped on the epidural bandwagon!
I've watched it and found it quite interesting as I live in New Zealand and most women giving birth only have a midwife. You can choose to have an OB but they aren't usually involved unless you have complications or a high risk birth and even then there is shared care between the midwife and the OB.
Going natural or having a home birth is also reasonably common over here. There is no way I would do either though lol bring on the epi!
I'm going for a fully natural (water) birth at a birthing clinic and hiring a doula (very unheard of in the country I'm living in)...and I didn't like the movie. I agreed with most of what it said, and obviously it is my philosophy of birth, but I felt like it presented the information in a way that is easy for critics to dismiss.
I watched it recently and thought that it provided information regarding what alternative birthing options there are for women. I have been able to have some very good conversations with other women regarding options for deliery since watching this film, which I think is the point of it - to help create a dialogue for women, so that they can discuss their experiences and future goals.
I watched it after my maternity clinical rotation about 3 years ago and I found it to be pretty accurate. Women just can't always give birth on their own terms in this country. Our instructor was a a midwife so she was pretty enthusiastic about "alternative" methods of delivery. I like how it showed that women are persuaded into viewing delivery as a medical procedure being performed on them, as opposed to a natural process that we were designed for. It is a business, they need to get you in and out and bill you just like eating at a restaurant.
We've never been interested in pain medication and DH really wants to have a home birth. We're not hippies or anything we just know the human body was built for this. He's delivered cows and other animals at his farm and he says even with them it's best to stay out of it if everything is normal. There's no need for IV's, meds to speed up labor, frivolous C-sections etc. It speeds up the process, frees up the bed and jacks up your bill. What a win-win for the hospitals.
I think it's good that it touched on some of the blindness of patients but on the other hand, it played up women who went through c-sections even if for legitimate reasons as being manipulated and ignorant.
@Moja Milosc: Totally agree! Unfortunately, I've seen it's statistics & scenarios to be more true than biased.
I was already wanting a home-birth before watching it because of the hospital experience I had & watching my friends with theirs. Seeing the documentary only gave me more back up info to the things I had already found in terms of intervention & cesarean rates in our hospitals here.
Another documentary I liked is Pregnant in America. :)
While all documentary film is biased, I feel like BBB had some very accurate information in it. Plenty of their facts can be backed up with information and statistics that are available to those who are looking. I also personally know people who had traumatic birth experiences due to hospitals forcing them to do things they didn't want to, so obviously it does happen. I do think the movie tries to make it seem like ALL hospitals are bad and ALL hospital births are going to be awful, which I don't agree with.
Our healthcare system does legitimately have an interest in making money and avoiding lawsuits, just like any other business, so I do agree with their points about frivolous c-sections and unnecessary intervention and medication. Women's bodies are designed for this, so we don't need so much "labor management".
If nothing else, the movie was a catalyst for me to become more informed on women's issues, specifically surrounding childbirth. I don't think that is ever a bad thing.
I watched it while pregnant. It had some good information. The grainy 50's film footage and creepy background music didn't really change my mind about being induced though. I was 10 days late and ready to serve an eviction notice. I opted for an epidural as well. 24+ hours of back labor isn't cute.
I'll probably watch it again since I plan to deliver baby #2 medication free. Not because I was scared into doing it, I just want to see if I notice any positive differences. I'll be breastfeeding and cloth diapering as well. I think women should take more control of their own birth experiences and do their own research but at the end of the day, baby needs to come out safely! I'm at the mercy of the baby and if unmedicated birth is not possible I'll have to be open to other options.
Either way I'm not going to beat myself up over what needs to happen during labor and delivery, nor am I going to let others make me feel my birth experience was somehow less valid than theirs. There are some competitive mothers out there! Nor will I say I'll "never" do anything. It all depends on what is going on right then and there.
@zippylef: I agree. I think the number of inductions is astounding. Just by looking at the boards on here, I haven't found one woman (other than one woman who had a homebirth) on here who had a hospital birth not be induced. More women should be holding out unless they have serious problems like pre-eclampsia until 42 weeks in my limited opinion. I will never go in for an induction until after 42 weeks.
@zippylef: people who had traumatic birth experiences due to hospitals forcing them to do things they didn't want to
This ^ was me 100%. I went in with alot of knowledge on natural birth, tools to be able to have one, and had even talked to my doctor extensively about my wishes (which he seemed on-board with), but as soon as I got to the hospital that totally changed. I had intervention after intervention literally pushed on me.. pain meds, water breaking, I needed pitocin (literally 2 minutes after they got my I.V. in), and then after about 12 hours I needed a c-section. I missed the first 3 hours of my DS life b/c I was knocked out from the morphine and struggled for the next few weeks to bond b/c just moving around was difficult.
I know quite a few women with the same story as mine.... my SIL who recently had her 4th child (with the SAME doctor as her others) had pitocin pushed on her b/c she needed to have the baby by a certain time (the doctor had "another place to be"). And then one of the ladies in our home for women has already been told she will have to have a cesarean b/c her baby is "oblique" and is only 30 weeks.... they aren't even giving the baby a chance to turn in the next 10 weeks!
Now, I know that not all states and hospitals are like this, but where I live it sadly is. I know for my city, between our 2 hospitals, we have a 25% cesarean rate... and if that doesn't sound like that bad... my midwife, who's been in Houston for 2 1/2 years & serves our area as well (2 hours away), has only had to transfer ONE patient in labor to have a c-section (something they were already aware of being a possibility but wanted to try natural first), and transfer 2 out of her care b/c of extreme things.
@MissDareDevil The best thing to do is just find out your doctor's, hospital, and states cesarean rate (they HAVE to have this info to report) and go from there. If you feel like your doctor has their own agenda then don't be scared to leave.... many of my midwife's pts came to her VERY late in pregnancy b/c of the things being pushed on them by their doctors.
Just want to chime in I haven't watched it yet, but very interesting to read the comments here! I am in pro epidural camp and have a low pain tolerence. I would do whatever it takes to lessen pain. Not pregnant yet so just my thoughts. Anyway I am now curious to see the documentary whatz it about :)
It's too bad some people got the impression that BBB implied that women who get c-sections are ignorant. They're only trusting their doctor which is what we're raised to do. In my area 20% of women with OBs delivering their babies have c-sections, where only 5% of midwive patients end up having a c-section, so it's definitely healthy to question why it's so much more common with doctors than midwives. However, when it comes down to a medical professional telling you "this is safer for your baby" you're going to believe them because your only concern is your baby's health. In this way I do think women are exploited and manipulated into getting c-sections.
If anything else BBB has the viewer questioning what they want, some women choose to put their trust in a doctor, which is fine. Others choose to take more of a leadership role in their own delivery, which is fine too. The important thing is that you question and plan beforehand, so you're not blindsided when you're offered an epidural when you wanted a drug free birth or when you're told you need pitocin. Many places have birthing plans where you can say what you want and what you don't even want mentioned in the delivery room. Hospitals are accomodating many different birthing methods, which I think is a positive change brought on by women demanding control over their own deliveries.
I dunno if anyone remembers this story from last year... It's about a woman who has a VBAC at home, against medical advice.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/12/16/ep.vbac.birth.at.home/index.html
@Moja Milosc: Thanks for the link and totally agree! When my doctor came in and told me "I needed a cesearen" and then continued that "my baby was at risk without one" I freaked out and said okay... I mean telling a laboring woman that her baby "needs" something when you're the doctor with the degree & experience it's unlikely that she's going to give much opposition.
I later found out it was a time-frame issue, since they had already forced to break my water and the doctor wanted to hurry things along (pretty angering if you ask me)... still I was only in labor at the hospital for 12 hours, not that long at all. =/
I watched this with FI on Netflix, and we both learned quite a bit from it. The film obviously had an agenda, but it provided enough information for me to do further research and for us to decide as a couple that with our first child that Plan A is to go with a midwife.
Also, a woman I work with who just came back from maternity leave has had two children within two years of each other both ways. She told me that having her first child in the hospital was the most traumatic experience of her life whereas her second child with a mid-wife was amazing.
The hospitals in our area suck anyway- no thanks.
@beekiss: I've decided that if I need to be induced here, I will opt for the foley bulb instead of a medical induction. I am planning to go as long as they will let me in order to go into labor on my own. I have noticed a disturbing amount of women begging doctor's to strip membranes and do medical induction even before 40 weeks. I know a lady who gave birth about 8 weeks ago here that started begging the doctor to strip her membranes at 34 weeks.
@amnystik: I have a feeling they are going to ask me if I want one because I have a feeling that our girl is going to be a chunky monkey. My grandmother and mother both had babies who were at least 8 lbs. I'm expecting to hear the "Well, you're having a big baby." line.
@Moja Milosc: I totally agree with the birth plan! When I was discussing with my doctor what I wanted, she told me to make sure I wrote one and was very specific since I have a few special wants.
@zippylef: That's what they told my SIL.. so they induced her early. Turns out her baby was only 6lbs 4 oz. yea... SOOOOOOO big. My neighbor had her son right upstairs in their bedroom and he was almost 10lbs! So it can definitely be done.
For your birth plan.. be sure to pack extras and take them with you. You'd be surprised how they have a tendency to disappear. hmmmmm.. lol
@Moja Milosc: I think I've had experiences much like your husband - anytime you deliver an animal - youre whole goal is to stay out of it as much as possible and let nature and the momma do what's best for them. Watch and be ready to jump in if needed.
I feel like (and mind you I'm not pregnant and have no kids) people doctors jump in waaaay to quickly. I think a large part of itis they'd rather put you on pitocin, induce you, do a cesarean and have you deal with the extra cost/recovery than God forbid, something go wrong and you sue them.
My advisor at school was one of the leading experts in the dairy world for parturition and calfhood - every year he works with a group of vet students to help teach them how to deliver calves. He literally forces them to just stand by and watch the cow - don't intervene. He said they usually start saying we need to help, we need to get in there, she needs help! Every year he brings at least one student to tears because they believe he's letting a calf die. At that point, he asks them how long they think they've been standing their watching. They say 20 minutes minimum. It's only been 3. And the cow and calf are always fine.
Obviously, for ethical reasons, you couldn't really do this on a woman, but I wonder how many doctors go through something similar.
I have a co-worker who is due in a couple weeks with her first and she wanted to use a mid-wife. Well her mom and OB said 'well if something goes wrong, do you want to live with that guilt'? How nice. She is not a high-risk pregnancy and would be about a 5 minute transfer from the hospital. So she's already being bullied into something she's not completely comfortable with which to me seems exactly the opposite of what they should want to do.
As far as inductions - I always wonder how many of those are actually late babies, and how many are just incorrect due dates. This same co-worker is due in about 10 days by the doctor - but our boss used the 'cow calendar' and that says she's due two weeks after that. So it will be interesting to see which one she falls closer to!
Forgot to add to the novel - obviously women should do whatever they are comfortable with (within reason) and if they want drugs, they should do that. If they want a home birth, they should go for it. Doctors should give their best advice but the bullying and guilting tactics shouldn't be a part of it.
Geez, I should probably get a vet instead of an OB when we have kids. I feel like a real OB is going to be soooo annoyed with me!
@amnystik: Oh yeah. I don't give a crap how big they say the baby is. My mom and grandma delivered their big babies vaginally and so will I.
@hisgoosiegirl: I agree, I think the way gestational age is calculated is really misleading. Many women who have longer cycles end up believing that their baby is further along than it is. And like @amnystik mentioned, those growth ultrasounds can be off! I've read about women vaginally delivering 12 lb babies just fine. Size of baby doesn't come into my mind as a potential problem until after labor has begun naturally and the baby just doesn't seem to be coming down the birth canal after laboring for hours. But again, I don't believe how c-sections are played up as the worst thing possibly imagineable. I'm glad they exist and it doesn't really bother me the sheer number of them. What bothers me is the need to induce labor. That bothers me more than a c-section b/c as the documentary indicates quite clearly, induction starts a cycle of events that usually can't be stopped. Pitocin is much harder on the mother than natural labor pains.
@bklynbridetobe: The baby sits on the base of your spine. I likened it to being sawed in half.
@beekiss: yep yep... I think part of the induction issue is that it does increase risk of needing a cesarean... this is because who pitocin causes labor. The baby ends up being prolonged oxygen, since the uterus will contract all together at once (starting and staying at peak contraction cutting blood flow) as opposed to gradual like a natural contraction only cutting blood flow while at the peak. And then it being more painful making it harder for momma to breath and stay relaxed.. baby get's distressed and now you need a cesarean.
WHO recommends that a nations cesarean rate should be 15% or less... and we're clearly over that. Plus if you look into maternal mortality here compared with other counteries and the leading cause of maternal death being pulmonary embolism, with the highest indepent risk factor being caused by cesarean, it should be clear that this technology should be used when needed and not so much when it is more convenient for medical staff.
I'm totally for medical technology and am so glad that if something goes wrong I'm not doomed to loosing my baby or my life.. but it seems to be pretty clear that the interventions/technologies they have are way over & misused.
I know that with my midwife, if I need to be transferred and need intervention then I will get it... but if I don't then it won't be pushed.
just a random queston--if you adamantly tell your doctor that YOU REFUSE to get pitocin if he/she is encouraging it, can they still give it to you? can you just refuse to be induced at all and just be in labor for 30 hours in the hospital if you want to? or do you have no option but to take what they're forcing on you?
@beekiss: my best friend's mother delivered an 11.6 pound baby vaginally in 1992. :)
@MissDareDevil: No, you can't be forced into any intervention you don't want. Simply say you don't want it and tell them you're not going to back down on this.
@MissDareDevil: If your doctor tries to push induction before you naturally go into labor & you flat out refuse, they can legally drop you as a patient for refusal to follow medical advice. Once you're already in labor I'm not sure, nor would I really like to find out. I know for me, they didn't readily inform me of giving me pitocin, rather I asked. And when I did question the intervention they got quite pushy... First the nurse trying to administer & then getting to doctor. I would think that if they wanted (since they do have hospital policy on their side) they could get other authorities involved if they felt you were "endangering" the baby by your refusal. Of course this is worse case scenario but I did hear about this happening (being pushed like that with threats) by a woman that didn't want them to use cytotec on her (another induction drug) because it's considered dangerous in pregnant woman... She actually died from uterine rupture (why this drug isn't safe) & her mother has been trying to get hospitals to stop using it since.
Now whether they could actually get other authorities involved or not, I don't know or think so, but I would be prepared to stand your ground if they did threaten such.
I know when my best friend had her baby, the hospital refused to take her unless she did the cesarean because of her previous cesarean 7 years earlier.
@hisgoosiegirl: haha i want a vet to hang out and watch me deliver as well!
I worked at an equine clinic and did Foal watch many nights. And also farm sit for a family who own sheep. The mothers do a great job. Sometimes the babies don't make it once out or they have issues-but the mothers birth is the least of the problem.
@amnystik: They can't drop you from their care until they get another physician especially late in pregnancy.
Most of this can be solved by waiting until the contractions are really close together before going to the hospital.
@beekiss: but then you run into the risk of giving birth in the car. :) hahaha
@MissDareDevil: Hey my midwife delievered a breech baby in the back of her van in the HEB parking lot here! lol
And beekiss is right that they can't just drop you with no where to go, and they have to refer you out to another physician.
As far as my experience with hospitals though... the two here both told my friend they wouldn't except her if she refused the c-section (like I had said)
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