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Dear All,
Twilight Sleep is still used today - not for birthing - but the drugs
used were scopolomine and omnopon with a mixture of morphine derivatives -
remember omnopon and scopolomine was given as a premed?
However, there is a myriad of drugs used for the twilight sleep regime in
anaesthetics including (I don't know its name) a drug used when one of my
mothers had a retained placenta and was given a 'twilight sleep' type of drug
that the anaethetist said would let her forget what was happening in OT.
Anyway, the original twilight sleep came about when women in the US and UK
demanded a pain free labour and found out about drugs that could be used during
labour. These women wrote about them in popular magazines and women
started to demand them during labour. Women were told in these
magazine they they would go to sleep and wake up with the baby already
birthed - so easy, but of course no information about the drugs and
consequences.
The majority of women were still giving birth at home and
because of the use of the drugs at home some of the women died as they
did not have the adequate care required when you are semi conscious. Some
women died because of inahlation of vomit, overdose etc. and doctors then
actually wrote that this was not beneficial to the mother and the baby, there
were too many risks.
The doctors wrote this in Medical Journals and not the popular magazines
that women read and therefore the women did not get the message. The
popular press did not write about it, as pregnancy, birth etc was not a
'suitable subject' to write about.
The women continued to demand twilight sleep. Therefore, the doctors
said if they wish to have twilight sleep for labour and birth they had to move
into the hospital for the procedure for their safety and the safety of the baby
so correct care could be given by the medical team. This is one of the
primary reasons for getting women to birth in hospital at this time - for
educated, well heeled middle class women who could afford this care at the
time.
So doctors cried out (but used the wrong information
channel-Medical journals) against drugs for twilight sleep and the need to move
women into hospital for labour and birth - interesting isn't it!
The studies in Scandinavia about addiction and the use of twilight sleep
drugs used by mothers during the 30's, 40's & 50's for labour and birth is
another consequence of these drugs used during labour and birth - but that's
another story.
Regards,
Anne Clarke
Brisbane
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