hw 39

In the second hundred pages of "born in the USA" by Marsden Wagner he builds on his main topic from the first hundred pages but he also explores a different method of birth delivery. Organization-wise Wagner reffered back to obestetrics practice in explaining the benefits of a midwife facilitated birth throughout the section. Although there was big focus on midwifery this section was not as exclusive to one topic as the first section was in talking about obstetrics. In comparing obstetrics to midwifery Wagner makes the essential distincition between the placement of power in the two different types of birth. The obstetricians are in control of the birth when in the hospital, he has many stories to show obstetricians using their power for their convinience. However, with midewifery the focus is more on the mother, she is in control, she in empowered and the attention and care is both for her and her child. Wagner also strengthened his arguement by showing how obstetricians use their power to manipulate patients. They often make "medical recommendations" to keep on a convinient schedule, c-section rates makes this pretty obvious, and although the patient may legally refuse the doctors instill fear in them by telling them the baby could die and it would be solely their fault; although as we have seen many of these "medical interventions" are what cause complications to the child.

Wagner also introduced alternative birthing centers. This was one of the alternatives he believed to be healthier than hospital birth, and with the nightmarish stories from hospital births he seems to be correct. In a hospital women are under almost complete control of the doctor and a lot of the birth is often done at the doctors convinience. However, birthing centers offer, baths, birthing chairsn candles, etc. In short the woman is allowed to create an enviornment she feels comfortable in. She is given control, she is more relaxed, and subsequently her birth should be relatively easier, less painful, and natural. Birth is a natural process and for 90 to 95 percent of births no surgical intervention or induction is neccesary yet this is how we treat birth. The alternatives being presented are much better options. The incentives in OBGYN handled hospital births are not always doing what's best for the baby. Often the agenda of the hospital or even the individual obstetrician is above that. There is obvious corruption and malpractice that is jeopardizing the health of much too many children each year. This in itself is a huge problem. Furthermore, the fact that many of the fatal or disabilitating decisions made by obstetricians are so easily avoided with patience and compassion make this problem that much more unethical, immoral, and inhumane.