Today it is almost impossible to count the number of births that you have known about that has taken place in a hospital, but it is worse that it is mostly impossible for most people to count any births that have taken place at home. I can honestly say that I am someone that cannot count any births that I have known about taking place outside of a hospital.
I come from a very medical family. Almost everyone in my family on my mothers side works in the medical profession as a nurse, doctor, E.M.T., or caregiver. This has made me very aware of tons of stuff that goes on in a hospital.
To start off why in the heck do people go to hospitals? Because it is happy and friendly? Because they just love the smell? Well, for most people the answer is NO! People tend to go because they are sick, not feeling good, there is an emergency, or they are dying. Does this sound like a place for a natural miracle to take place? It sure doesn't to me.
In a hospital the doctors and medical staff are worried about a schedule, what is suppose to be done when and to get it all done in a timely manner. This is a major issue because the baby and mother are not allowed to bond at all, instead they are both told when they are going to do something and that is just the way it is going to be.
A mother and her baby should have time to bond during the pregnancy, birth, and after the baby is born. The bonding is not only for the sake of emotion level things, but it is really important medically. When a baby is first born they get stem cells before the cord is cut and their mother will expose them to different bacteria so their immune system is able to start building up. In a hospital I do not care how much they clean, or how clean it looks, they are NOT clean. There are so many germs, especially bad ones since that is when people tend to come to the hospital is when they have bad germs affecting them. I really do not see the logic behind doctors handling babies as they are just born rather than their mothers, and exposing them to all of these nasty germs.
Babies have rights as the article that I read titled "Babies Have Rights, Too" and it is so true babies may not be able to talk but they are still people. It is crazy to think how doctors and medical staff treat babies like they are "a piece of meat" as the article states.
After all of this it really makes one ponder why in the world as a society we are treating the future so poorly by having babies being born in a hospital.
http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/ed_BabiesHaveRights.asp
A part of me so badly wants to agree that hospitals are corrupt and dirty, but I have to disagree. I have had MANY trips in and out of the hospital (for various medical reasons) and I have this adorning appreciation for all that they do! Delivering children within a hospital is a choice- certainly you do not have do so if you feel it unnecessary. Additionally, of course there are going to be germs in a hospital! That is where the sick go to get healthy! As an institution, hospitals do have goals and strict schedules that they have to abide by. I think that is important in order to keep a mainstream for success. Overall, I feel that the environment of a hospital birth is systematic, yet one way or another the relationship between mother and child will not be disrupted in the long run.
ReplyDeleteI agree that hospitals are not ideal for birthing and that we need to make people more educated on why. Though I don't think they are bad as a whole. For most other issues they are helpful and save lives, but birth should definitely be in a whole other ball park. Like you said it's a natural miracle and with what we know about the rates of mother/baby deaths in hospitals, the answer is obvious. People need to be aware of the risk factors of hospitals as well as the unnatural practices within hospital births. Also, the myths about "midwifery" being connected with uncleanliness or uneducated people need to be diminished. The U.S. is missing out by having their majority of births at the hospital! After everything we've learned in class and readings, I already know I would choose midwifery over a hospital if I ever decided to have kids.
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