The show(?) One Born Every Minute has reasonably accurate depictions of labor and birth. In terms of more "scientific" sources, it's hard to beat a published book authored or edited by experts. My...
The show(?) One Born Every Minute has reasonably accurate depictions of labor and birth.
In terms of more "scientific" sources, it's hard to beat a published book authored or edited by experts. My partner and I found the Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy to be an excellent resource. If the birthing partner's OB practice provides access to classes, those are usually a good resource as well.
I don't have any YouTube links available, and not sure what the exact situation is in your country. Hopefully the info I lay out will assist in finding other resources. But in the USA,...
I don't have any YouTube links available, and not sure what the exact situation is in your country. Hopefully the info I lay out will assist in finding other resources.
But in the USA, specifically Pennsylvania, midwives must also be registered nurses. The practice we went with was amazing (any Philly-area Tilderinos PM for a reccomendation).
Their birthing classes went over the cycle of childbirth in great detail, particularily the hormone cycle. They did walk through how the medicalization of childbirth (specifically the US-style "prepare to make the C-section easy" and pain drugs) were disruptive to the natural childbirth process, in doing so neccessitating more C sections. They walked through each phase of labor, from the initial contractions to pushing and catching. Being in a classroom setting helped be able to answer questions quickly and accurately.
So in terms of what needs to be learned, the biggest things are:
Typical vitals (heart rate, blood pressure, etc). A pulseox is a great cheap tool that laypeople can learn to use pretty quickly. Need to make sure Mom is doing OK.
How to monitor baby's heartrate (this is where midwives with specialized medical equipment was useful). If the baby's heartrate drops, particularily earlier in labor, closer medical attention is required. It was the midwife catching this that likely saved our first child, whom had the umbillical cord around their neck 3x.
The hormone cycle. Understanding the various chemicals at play and how they are released helps understand where you are in labor.
Cervical dialation. IIRC 10 cm means "time to push"
Breathing/positions for mom to be in for both laboring and pushing.
And congratulations to "your friend." It's an exciting and wonderful thing....if mentally taxing.
That is really useful. My region has problems with medical practices related to childbirth so many of the resources we're finding are political in nature and have to do with women's empowerment...
That is really useful. My region has problems with medical practices related to childbirth so many of the resources we're finding are political in nature and have to do with women's empowerment and emotional support. Which is great, but I already agree with everything they have to say so at some point it gets redundant. I haven't found a service that actually teaches me about childbirth from a more technical or practical perspective, but I can certainly look for it even further. Good info, thanks!
The practice we went to, despite not being anti-science, attracted a lot of the antivaxxer hippie type. So it required a fair bit of patience to get through the "a 5th grader should comprehend why...
The practice we went to, despite not being anti-science, attracted a lot of the antivaxxer hippie type. So it required a fair bit of patience to get through the "a 5th grader should comprehend why this is good" bits that needed to be drilled in.
I wish I knew of some good digital resources off the top of my head, but I would suggest searching for things related to birthing at home. In our experience, the information in that realm was much...
I wish I knew of some good digital resources off the top of my head, but I would suggest searching for things related to birthing at home. In our experience, the information in that realm was much more informative and practical.
I'll agree on the caveat that many of those resources appeal to an anti-science audience. Not to say that's the intent, but the audience is there so the potential for exploitation is high. So...
I'll agree on the caveat that many of those resources appeal to an anti-science audience. Not to say that's the intent, but the audience is there so the potential for exploitation is high.
So anyone going down that path, just be aware of the possibility and seek to cross reference (ideally outside the "birth at home" sphere).
Interesting. I see what you mean, but I don't recall encountering much anti-science in our research. The context may have been different for us, though, living in Korea. In hindsight it seems that...
Interesting. I see what you mean, but I don't recall encountering much anti-science in our research. The context may have been different for us, though, living in Korea. In hindsight it seems that the very fairly limited literature about birthing at home (or just outside of a hospital) intends to inform about the science of childbirth as much as possible. Birthing at home is so strongly associated with "the old ways" from pre-modern, under-developed society (which was just a few generations ago), so the new literature about birthing at home etc. seems to actively combat this perception with scientific evidence and explanation.
The alternative take (that's been brewing in anti-intellectual America) is combating the "evil" of "modern medicine," so sometimes eschews the science. And I think your right...most resources one...
combat this perception with scientific evidence and explanation.
The alternative take (that's been brewing in anti-intellectual America) is combating the "evil" of "modern medicine," so sometimes eschews the science.
And I think your right...most resources one finds will probably be good. But even if only 1/100 books is troublesome, thats still a lot of misinformation to be aware of.
I'm wondering how we missed all of these misinformative books. I mean, I am well aware of anti-science neanderthalism in general, but somehow this never presented itself to us when we were having...
I'm wondering how we missed all of these 99/100 misinformative books. I mean, I am well aware of anti-science neanderthalism in general, but somehow this never presented itself to us when we were having babies. I don't know that our experience is generalizable, but I suspect ours is not an outlayer among cases of other families here who went a similar route.
I do think there is some push back against modern medicine involved---not against science, but the way medicine is practiced, the way hospitals are run, and the way "patients" are treated. For example, in Korea the number of caesarian births continues to increase, which would suggest that either there is a major health crisis here (that healthy women cannot birth naturally for some reason) or hospitals/doctors are performing unneceassry caesarians (and indeed, many people actually choose c-sections from the outset). Turns out that a significant number of people want to actually birth their child and expect doctors to accommodate that...but evidently most hospitals and doctors will not or cannot for reasons that actually have nothing to do with science, medicine, or health. Of course, this excludes legitimately necessary c-sections.
The show(?) One Born Every Minute has reasonably accurate depictions of labor and birth.
In terms of more "scientific" sources, it's hard to beat a published book authored or edited by experts. My partner and I found the Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy to be an excellent resource. If the birthing partner's OB practice provides access to classes, those are usually a good resource as well.
This is very useful, thank you!
I don't have any YouTube links available, and not sure what the exact situation is in your country. Hopefully the info I lay out will assist in finding other resources.
But in the USA, specifically Pennsylvania, midwives must also be registered nurses. The practice we went with was amazing (any Philly-area Tilderinos PM for a reccomendation).
Their birthing classes went over the cycle of childbirth in great detail, particularily the hormone cycle. They did walk through how the medicalization of childbirth (specifically the US-style "prepare to make the C-section easy" and pain drugs) were disruptive to the natural childbirth process, in doing so neccessitating more C sections. They walked through each phase of labor, from the initial contractions to pushing and catching. Being in a classroom setting helped be able to answer questions quickly and accurately.
So in terms of what needs to be learned, the biggest things are:
Typical vitals (heart rate, blood pressure, etc). A pulseox is a great cheap tool that laypeople can learn to use pretty quickly. Need to make sure Mom is doing OK.
How to monitor baby's heartrate (this is where midwives with specialized medical equipment was useful). If the baby's heartrate drops, particularily earlier in labor, closer medical attention is required. It was the midwife catching this that likely saved our first child, whom had the umbillical cord around their neck 3x.
The hormone cycle. Understanding the various chemicals at play and how they are released helps understand where you are in labor.
Cervical dialation. IIRC 10 cm means "time to push"
Breathing/positions for mom to be in for both laboring and pushing.
And congratulations to "your friend." It's an exciting and wonderful thing....if mentally taxing.
That is really useful. My region has problems with medical practices related to childbirth so many of the resources we're finding are political in nature and have to do with women's empowerment and emotional support. Which is great, but I already agree with everything they have to say so at some point it gets redundant. I haven't found a service that actually teaches me about childbirth from a more technical or practical perspective, but I can certainly look for it even further. Good info, thanks!
The practice we went to, despite not being anti-science, attracted a lot of the antivaxxer hippie type. So it required a fair bit of patience to get through the "a 5th grader should comprehend why this is good" bits that needed to be drilled in.
Oh God, don't let me start on that....
In fact, I won't! Life is too short :P
I wish I knew of some good digital resources off the top of my head, but I would suggest searching for things related to birthing at home. In our experience, the information in that realm was much more informative and practical.
I'll agree on the caveat that many of those resources appeal to an anti-science audience. Not to say that's the intent, but the audience is there so the potential for exploitation is high.
So anyone going down that path, just be aware of the possibility and seek to cross reference (ideally outside the "birth at home" sphere).
Interesting. I see what you mean, but I don't recall encountering much anti-science in our research. The context may have been different for us, though, living in Korea. In hindsight it seems that the very fairly limited literature about birthing at home (or just outside of a hospital) intends to inform about the science of childbirth as much as possible. Birthing at home is so strongly associated with "the old ways" from pre-modern, under-developed society (which was just a few generations ago), so the new literature about birthing at home etc. seems to actively combat this perception with scientific evidence and explanation.
The alternative take (that's been brewing in anti-intellectual America) is combating the "evil" of "modern medicine," so sometimes eschews the science.
And I think your right...most resources one finds will probably be good. But even if only 1/100 books is troublesome, thats still a lot of misinformation to be aware of.
I'm wondering how we missed all of these
99/100misinformative books. I mean, I am well aware of anti-science neanderthalism in general, but somehow this never presented itself to us when we were having babies. I don't know that our experience is generalizable, but I suspect ours is not an outlayer among cases of other families here who went a similar route.I do think there is some push back against modern medicine involved---not against science, but the way medicine is practiced, the way hospitals are run, and the way "patients" are treated. For example, in Korea the number of caesarian births continues to increase, which would suggest that either there is a major health crisis here (that healthy women cannot birth naturally for some reason) or hospitals/doctors are performing unneceassry caesarians (and indeed, many people actually choose c-sections from the outset). Turns out that a significant number of people want to actually birth their child and expect doctors to accommodate that...but evidently most hospitals and doctors will not or cannot for reasons that actually have nothing to do with science, medicine, or health. Of course, this excludes legitimately necessary c-sections.
I think vord is saying that 1 in 100 is misinformation, not 99 in 100. As indicated by
Yes. @mieum I edited for clarity.
Ah, right, not sure how misread that.
We all have our good days and our bad days.