Marilyn says: want breastfeeding to succeed so that their bodies haven't totally failed them
how many times have I heard this said too!!! The controversy lies (in many places but in this one quite prevalently) the mind set for a great number of women is that they don't need to listen/learn about CS because that only happens when something goes wrong and when it does end up in CS then their bodies have failed. We KNOW that in far too many of the cases it is not the woman but the system or care that has failed. The knowledge and understanding that her cs may not have been her 'fault' but the direct result of the care offered is a concept that takes time and energy to take in. There are issues of being betrayed, feeling stupid for being so naive, great mistrust (which can be both negative and positive depending on the support she has) and this can be very overwhelming. Many women will not accept the fact that they were betrayed by a system for a few months. It is just too hard. The focus then turns to 'what can my body do right?" and the need to breast feed becomes a necessity. The problem is that cs mums have more troubles breast feeding and so the challenge becomes a battle and without the right support they 'fail' at that too. It is a heart breaking experience for many women (and those of us who care for these woman as we relive our own heart aches and all the heart aches of other mums who contact us each time a new mum rings distraught cause they 'cant do anything right'). the strength it takes to remain open to the reality of cs birth is very draining for those supporting women. I think that is where us consumers can truly relate to you midwives who face this everyday. Jo asked what some of the comments from midwives have been regarding the 'dangers of vbac'....one particular midwife at the W&CH has told many CARES members that she has seen "many ruptures and anyone who would risk the lives of their babies are selfish" for clarity W&CH have had 3 (possibly 4) ruptures in the last 25 years so unless this midwife has been there a long time then she is exaggerating the occurrences of rupture and she is also being EXTREMELY negative and many other horrible things I don't care to mention by placing the guilt trip on the mothers for wanting to risk their babies lives for the chance to birth vaginally. Another comment is from a BC midwife at Flinder's who has said to at least 2 CARES members "why don't you just opt for the cs instead of trying vbac? It is easier and safer" Hmmmm birth centre philosophy bursting through there! Another: "Whats VBAC?" (blood drains from face when term is defined) "oh god no! Too risky!" "oh no, we don't support vbac as it is too risky, you will need to find an OB for that" "We only accept vbac if the OB 'allows' it" "you would be hard pressed to find a doctor game to take on a vbac" "whats the big deal? A baby is a baby regardless of the way it is born" hmm...talk about side stepping the issue here! It goes on. Nothing beats the comment from the OB who said to one mother she will orphan her children if she tried vbac (she had 3 previous cs and after this comment changed her care and birthed vaginally with no problem, twice more in fact!) oh! the need for education, when you think that 1 in 4 women have cs then you would think that vbac would be understood as it is relevant to 1 in 4 women!!!!! Jo Bainbridge founding member CARES SA www.cares-sa.org.au [EMAIL PROTECTED] phone: 08 8388 6918 birth with trust, faith & love... ----- Original Message ----- From: "Marilyn Kleidon" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, April 04, 2003 8:28 AM Subject: Re: [ozmidwifery] C.section education to do or not to do? > What really shocks me and makes me very angry is that when the current stats > come out I fear they will make 1 in 4 look like a number to be striven for. > I pray that I am seeing a statistical clump that will even out over the year > to the publicised number. Even the word "normal" is coming to mean the > statistical norm or mean. Caesarean birth info of the kind Alesa is > referring to must be included in antenatal classes along with the cares > website (and others)so that mothers who have such a birth experience have > somewhere to go. Maybe I am just a soft touch but I see so many women > postnatally who are just trying so hard to be brave and tough it out. They > so desperately "want breastfeeding to succeed so that their bodies haven't > totally failed them": in quotes because this has been said to me on more > than one occassion. > > marilyn > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Alesa Koziol" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Sent: Wednesday, April 02, 2003 8:00 PM > Subject: Re: [ozmidwifery] C.section education to do or not to do? > > > > Dear Justine > > re your comments > > ...................."So I am glad I am not an educator. The challenge if > I > > was one would be to help women understand why 1 in 4 births are currently > > resulting in caesarean section and at the same time why only 1 or so in 10 > > should!" > > > > Yes it is a challenge, but one which educators embrace. It is therefore > > satisfying when a class evaluation states that the information found to be > > most useful was "learning that C/S is major surgery and not to be taken > > lightly". This I received following a class on the weekend, and reinforces > > that we must provide thorough C/S info-not minifism it (love this new > > word!!) > > Cheers > > Alesa > > > > > > > > -- > > This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. > > Visit <http://www.acegraphics.com.au> to subscribe or unsubscribe. > > > > > -- > This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. > Visit <http://www.acegraphics.com.au> to subscribe or unsubscribe. > -- This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. Visit <http://www.acegraphics.com.au> to subscribe or unsubscribe.
