[ozmidwifery] As if messing with humans isn't enough..

[Carolyn Hastie]

Title: Untitled Document

FYI   Carolyn Hastie    ICAN E-News Line International Cesarean Awareness Network Volume 31 August 17 , 2005 Focus: Eve and Araca 1. Essay: Eve and Araca Early May in Utah usually brings a few warm days and this year was no exception. We enjoyed a day trip to the zoo during this warm respite. Hogle Zoo isn’t my favorite zoo, but the kids enjoy seeing the animals. Two weeks later – on Mother’s Day- Eve, a female Orangutan, had a cesarean to deliver her baby, Araca. When I first heard the news, I thought, “What else would you expect to happen? You have an animal on the endangered species list, pregnant. What zoo keeper is going to ‘risk’ that pregnancy and baby by sitting on her hands and not doing anything? And ‘anything’ is enough to slow an animal’s labor progress.” There were many articles in the following weeks about the baby’s arrival. Strangely enough, I wasn’t upset by any of them, until I happened to hear a radio ‘interview’ with one of the zoo staff. The zoo keeper described the baby’s day, being cared for by the staff, fed formula from a bottle and being held by staff in furry vests. The radio host joked with her about the care of the baby, asking how the staff avoided ‘getting messed on’. The zoo employee said, “We don’t diaper the baby, we want to do everything natural with this little orangutan.” Suddenly, I was so angry I couldn’t see straight. Here is Eve, whose birth was denied her by staff, who now rejects her own baby. Here is a baby, whose mother doesn’t recognize or claim her, being fed formula from humans, being held by humans in furry vests and being shown off between the hours of 10 a.m. until 11 a.m. and again at 2 p.m. until 3 p.m. daily, and they have the nerve to claim they are doing everything natural because the baby doesn’t have a diaper on! I don’t know the details of Eve’s birth of her daughter. When called, the Zoo will not give out any details. When asked questions like, “How did staff know Eve was in labor? How long was she in labor? Was baby in distress at birth?”- no answer is given. You and I most likely will never get the answers to these questions or to the ultimate one they lead to, “Was the cesarean really necessary?” In the end, it might matter if we knew and it might not. What I do know is that there is a mother who does not know her baby and a baby who does not know her mother. They did not get to bond after a natural birth. The baby never breast feed. The baby has not learned to cuddle with her mother and, in turn, may not mother her own babies naturally. Generations have been affected by this cesarean, in a species that does not have generations to give to the nervous human. ~ Pamela Udy, ICAN VP A quick note: Hogle Zoo itself admits the cesarean is the reason Eve does not recognize her baby. Here is a blurb from their website: Baby Orangutan The baby, born Mother’s Day weekend by cesarean section, is slowly being introduced to her mom. Because of the cesarean birth, Eve does not yet recognize the baby as hers. The staff is doing slow introductions, in an off exhibit area, to help mother and daughter bond. http://hoglezoo.org/about/events/ http://www.hoglezoo.org/whats.new/