Once again I had to "explain" and defend the use of the word
VBAC. The response I got today was "Well I'm not going to change what I
say!" When I said the term had been around since the late 70's (somebody said
that on here so I hope it's right lol) they said they had never heard of it.
Well they have now!!! I went home on my tea break and printed off copies of
the paper that Carolyn (hope you don't mind Carolyn) wrote and I placed a
copy in the postnatal ward, labour ward, special care nursery, and the tea
room.
I found
this story very interesting.
Another thing, we had a woman who was trying to have a VBAC
today and the Registrar that was on said she was only allowed to push for 20
minutes and then she was to have a vaccuum extraction, if she hadn't pushed it
out. Now I'm no expert on VBAC's but I thought that that was a little
unfair, since in her last labour she had only got to 4cm dilated, and she
had never been through second stage. Any thoughts?/? By the way, she got to
about 5cms and was in good established labour managing well, had a V.E (was
quite disappointed that she was "Half way"), had pethidine, contractions eased
off and she went for a C/S!
from Veronica Herbert
(Midwifery Student, University of Ballarat)
Unfair
alright! Pressure like this on a woman, whether she is anxious or
not to start with (and women having a VBAC are already anxious), is VERY
counterproductive. It's downright abusive. Anxiety pours those stress
hormones out in bucket loads. And what happens when women are stressed like
that? Oxytocin turns off, or is interrupted and the body can't work properly
and the cervix can't dilate efficiently or effectively very easily. It
is amazing she was in such good labour, even with the negative pressure.
The chemical and electrical output with feelings of disappointment do
similar turn offs to the hormonal cascade of the labouring body.
Most women have to feel safe and supported
for their bodies to work well. And the VE is interesting. How the 'f
indings' from VE's are presented are so influential to a woman's state of
being and her subsequent labour progress....
Saying "you're only five centimetres" or "you're
half way"with any inflection of pity, disappointment or other negative
inference is a downer, many women immediately respond in a 'not good enough'
way and feel inadequate, which again, turns off or interrups the labour
cascade. We really set people up don't we? Self fulfilling
prophecy it's called. Give people these impossible hoops to jump
through, turn the lights off so they can't see, put blindfolds on then say
"you'll never do it". It's very like the psychological trick called
'gaslighting'. The term comes from a 1950's (or thereabouts) movie of the same
name. The husband in the movie sends his wife mad by altering her sense of
reality. He kept turning down the gaslight and when she said the light was
changing, he would deny it and tell her she was mad. When we tell
someone something enough, it becomes true. 'Truth' no matter how suspect,
coming from someone in a position of power has authority. What if the
information was presented as "wow, you are five centimeters already! Aren't
you fantastic! You are doing so well, you are a natural at this....and
look how well you are coping" and then, turning to her support person/partner
"isn't she fantastic? I bet you are proud of her....and she is SO
in control". Language is so powerful. We can
pull the rug from under someone in a heartbeat. Or/and we can provide
them with a mirror of strength and
courage.
It's
wonderful to see you being so observant and analytical Veronica. Wonder
what it could be like if the registrar could see with your eyes? Doesn't
our future look bright with these students around? Makes my ol' heart very
glad. warmly, Carolyn
Hastie
