[ozmidwifery] my letter to Miranda

[diane]

----- Original Message ----- From: diane To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, September 29, 2005 2:24 PM Subject: birth Dear Miranda, Did you ask Mr Mourik for a list of hospital disasters? Those that occurred due to the mismanagement or intervention in a "normal' birth? The few babies who have died in places I have worked were under the care and management of an obstetrician at the time. Most midwives I know are not anti obstetrician, we just believe in the appropriate use of medical technology and evidence based practice, NOT fear mongering and emotional blackmail. Unfortunately due to the medicalisation of hospital birth, and the medical zealots who feel they must 'manage' every woman who is birthing, midwives feel that to protect the majority of women who want normal birth, we need to remove them from the medical 'gaze'. If the medical practitioners only stepped in when necessary, and worked within their scope of practice, not ours, there would be no debate at all!   Contrary to your comments, it is not a band of Independent midwives who feel this way, myself and many of my colleagues who practice within the Public Health System feel this way. You quote a woman who speaks of 'demonising' the medical profession, and goes on to liken midwives to religious fanatics or cult members who are new age nutters!!And,what do physiotherapists have to do with birthing?? They used to do "breathing" classes , I think!! Considering that most Midwives are not in private practice, I hardly think that their goal is to 'wrest' obstetric work from them, besides our work is MIDWIFERY not Obstetrics.   Miranda we are currently working very hard to reintroduce Breastfeeding as the best way to feed our babies, not even you could argue that this is not the best way for the majority of women to feed their child. A quick trip into history would show us that the big formula companies and their Medical friends (mostly male) were the ones responsible for the generations of children raised on formula,and the resultant health problems we are battling today, those who continued to breastfeed were seen as the weird Hippies (last century's equivalent to new age nutters, I suppose) who were 'cultic' in their enthusiasm (aka, supportive and community minded). Now, imaging our world a few years from now ( with current caesarean rates approaching 50% in some centres) where young women are being told  by their mothers "you were born by caesarean, I couldn't have a natural birth, your pregnancy is just like mine was"  (timeslip... "I couldn't breastfeed, you were hungry every few hours, just like your baby is"). Miranda, it took only three generations to lose the art of Breastfeeding, women's bodies and minds were undermined by "Science" and it's practitioners. History has exposed this huge error, with escalating rates of asthma, diabetes, obesity, M.S. to name but a few.. must we do the same to birth??? Must these abuses  to women and babies continue, in the name of 'science" by those who we have been socialised to trust implicitly???? True, medicalisation is a tool to help where necessary, but do you use a sledgehammer to drive a tack?? Your's sincerely Diane Longworth. RM. Dip.Health Science (Nursing), Grad. Dip. Midwifery, IBCLC.