Dr.Sharma,
Under normal circumstances, when women stick on to the ancestral traditions
and advice given by elders, normal deliveries were the norms. We see how the
tribals or working women even at the fag end of their pregnancy, continue to
work and leave the work to deliver the child asisted by another older woman or
a midwife and return to work.
Delivery is such a smooth process provided one does not interfere with the
growth of the child by excessive vitamins, minerals like Calcium or other
medicines to expedite delivery..etc. The delivery is nothing more than pasing a
hard stool and we should leave it to nature for the pains to appear, increase
the frequency and force until the child is delivered.
One of the main causes for increased caesarean has been indiscriminate use of
Calcium tablets, that hardens the bones of the foetus esp. the skull making the
passage more difficult.
Follow nature, normal food and good exercise with normal home activity. The
delivery would also be normal.
"Dr.V.N. Sharma" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
The fact that has been surprising me for last 40 years -why Medical
Science suddenly turned to caesarean births in last 20-25 years seem to have
been answered. It is not just this. Every portion of medical practice is
doubtful today. Anyway for the present I would like the present link to be
opened and read. Thanx
http://downtoearth.org.in/full6.asp?foldername=20080531&filename=news&sec_id=15&sid=32
-- Birth in the Squatting Position by Polymorph Films 1979 (10
mins, Brazil) The business of being born by Abby Epstein (83 mins, USA)
Birthday by Naoli Vinaver (10 mins, Mexico) Born at Home by Sameera Jain
(60 mins, India)
Commercial cinema, at least the variety common in this country, tends to show
childbirth in a kind of half-light: the mother screaming and blood flowing
profusely. If the end is happy, a doctor enters with a scalpel and saves the
woman. The baby is taken by its feet and smacked on its back to make it cry and
everyone is happy.
If the way you see childbirth is influenced by such imagery, four films
screened on April 29 and 30 by the Delhi Birth Network would have been perfect
to correct your perception. These films were about natural births and home
births. They showed that doctors are in most cases not required for childbirth.
Birth in the Squatting Position from Brazil is a good introduction to the
concept of natural birth. The woman and the child work out the process of
delivery between them right in front of your eyes. The baby comes out in the
mothers hands or just lands softly on a bed kept ready for its arrival.
Doctors, if present, stand there and just watch the process. The documentary
follows five births and as the babies pop out effortlessly, one after the
other, you get comfortable with natural births. The Business of Being Born
shakes you out of this comfort. It shows that natural births rarely happen if a
doctor is involved. Hospital births are more likely to end up in a caesarean
for the simple epidural injection starts a cascade effect ensuring that the
only way to save the baby is to extricate it by making an incision in the
mothers abdomen.
Natural births are said to strengthen the bond between mother and child. The
third documentary, Birthday , emphasizes this. It shows a family in Mexico
taking part in the process of getting the new baby into the world in a water
bath.
The fourth film, Born at Home, is about India where home births and natural
birth are only options for the majority. It shows traditional dai s (midwives)
in rural Rajasthan and Bihar, and in Delhi slums helping in delivery.
Born at home brings out interesting tid bits of traditional knowledge, which
are being lost because they do not fit in with modern practices. One such
pertains to when the umbilical cord should be cut. Traditional wisdom lets the
connection remain till the child is acclimatized to the new environment. It is
only when the cord stops pulsating, that it is cut. This also ensures that the
placenta comes out of the body. Modern doctors cut the cord immediately after
the child is born and placentas are known to remain in and lead to further
problems.
Lessons from tradition
Besides their visual appeal, there is a lesson in these films: there is a role
for doctors in childbirth, but not one in which they stage-manage the show. The
problem is when doctors are involved, cases of natural births are rare, more so
in private hospitals that use surgery. For surgeons trained in obstetrics and
gynaecology, money is the incentive. They do not have the patience to let
nature take its time.
usa, where most births take place in institutions, has a higher rate of death
of both mother and the infant than Europe where natural births are common.
Studies show that the number of normal births in India in government hospitals
is relatively higher. However, achieving 100 per cent deliveries in public
hospitals suffers given the sorry state of public health system in the country.
In urban India, even when natural birth is talked about, it is with an emphasis
on the learning from the West. As a result, we lose out on indigenous
practices.
For example, in Rajasthan, to ensure that surroundings are sterilized, a dai
uses clean sun-baked sand and warms it. This sand is layered on the bed and
covered with a cotton cloth. The heat eases child birth. But now this practice
has given way to use of plastic sheets that are rarely cleaned and so increase
chances of infection.
Consider another example. This is to take care of the mother after she
delivers. Medicinal herbs are burnt and covered by a huge basket. The mother
squats on the basket; the smoke has antiseptic properties.
The way forward would be to train more mid-wives because 99 per cent of
childbirths need just a disinfected blade and a thread. They are also cheaper.
Doctors should of course be available for emergencies.
Jharkhand Network | Jharkhand.org.in/network
