RE: [ozmidwifery] Twilight delivery - Still used

[Lyn Cottee]

Title: Re: [ozmidwifery] Twilight delivery - Still used

I’ve just finished reading the biography of natural childbirth campaigner Dr. Grantly Dick Read, who despite massive protest and attempts to stop him, helped thousands of women achieve natural, fear-free births. He practised from the twenties to the late fifties/early sixties and spoke of his puzzlement and distress at the routine rendering of women into various states of unconsciousness during birth. All manner of analgesics, including chloroform were used by obstetricians, even when the women firmly indicated that they did not want this method. So “twilight delivery” was just one of the many “solutions” to the “horrors” of childbirth. Queen Elizabeth (then Princess) had Prince Charles according to Dick Read’s methods, it was stated in the book. To comment on an earlier thread: Dick Read never advocated hypnosis, just a state of relaxation brought about by the birthing mother herself rather than an external party. His goal was to allow mothers to be fully conscious at all times during labour. Cheers, Lyn Cottee   -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]On Behalf Of Jan Robinson Sent: Thursday, 19 June 2003 8:48 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [ozmidwifery] Twilight delivery - Still used   Most likely a concoction of Pethidine, Valium with 5 I.U. Of oxytocin added to speed up the dilation so the episiotomy could be performed and forceps applied. That was the practice of some obstetricians in my early midwifery career in Sydney hospitals. Jan On 19/6/03 1:21 AM, "Nikki Macfarlane" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: Twilight sleep is still used in some countries sadly. One of my colleagues is training with me as a doula. She had her fourth baby with our group last year. Her first two were born in the Phillipines 10 and 8 years ago. She had what she called twilight sleep - administered through her IV when she said the pain was very strong - she was almost fully dilated and had wanted a "Lamaze" birth. She was completely unconscious and has absolutely no recollection of the birth at all. Her babies were both born vaginally, she suspects with forceps. Her third and fourth were born here in Singapore. Number 3 was an induction for supposed hypertension at 38 weeks. Her fourth, when she moved to our group and the ob we work with, was a wonderful natural birth. She talks about the exp[erience of her first two births as being very frightening and having difficulty bonding with her babies afterwards. She is unsure of the drugs that were used but the description of the effects sounds veyr much like scopolamine. And we get frustrated about evidence based care not being followed in the West!   Nikki Macfarlane Childbirth International www.childbirthinternational.com <http://www.childbirthinternational.com>   [EMAIL PROTECTED] Distance training for the world's childbirth educators and doulas