Re: [ozmidwifery] twilight delivery - or twilight baby?

Wed, 18 Jun 2003 06:33:34 -0700

Dear Jo
Being a feminist does not ensure you make informed decisions!
Denise
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, June 18, 2003 4:25 AM
Subject: Re: [ozmidwifery] twilight delivery - or twilight baby?

USA feminists at the  time actually campaigned for its use
 
I find the feminist stance on child birth to be really interesting - as I can not understand why they advocate the rights of women to subject themselves to major surgery to avoid the horrors of labour??  I say 'horrors' as this was the term used when the first and last feminist argued with me against women's rights in child birth.
Does anyone have any idea as to why they just don't seem to get it??
Jo Bainbridge
founding member CARES SA
www.cares-sa.org.au
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
phone: 08 8388 6918
birth with trust, faith & love...
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Thursday, June 19, 2003 1:13 PM
Subject: Re: [ozmidwifery] twilight delivery - or twilight baby?

Hi Rhonda: yes exactly as Mary said a mixture of scopolamine and morphine, quite commonly used in the USA from sometime around 1914 until 1940's-1950's when it became less popular. I have met women in the USA in their fifties now who were administered "twilight sleep" as it was called during their labours in the 1960's. So, it hung around in some places for a while. I think it emerged at the turn of the 20th century in Germany was promoted by some doctor there as Mary said for "painless labour" and wealthy women from the USA and presumably other countries would travel to his clinic for their deliveries (which in fact they were). USA feminists at the  time actually campaigned for its use and such advocates along with "innovative" doctors were responsible for its introduction there. So much for consumer demand. Scopolamine of course eliminates memory and morphine, the pain. From all reports labour wards were horrendous places to be when it was commonly used as women would be screaming and were often restrained, although waking with no memory of the nightmare. Some women however liked it. I had a neigbour in Seattle: a lovely woman in her 80's who had had 3 of her 4 babies from the 30's to 40's with twilight sleep and loved it. Others hated it and some women and babies died because of it. Many of the babies were born quite flat and needed resusc. Became quite "normal" at the time. Weird heh?
 
marilyn
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, June 18, 2003 3:00 AM
Subject: Re: [ozmidwifery] twilight delivery - or twilight baby?

Hi, My 88yr old mother, a midwife in a previous life, tells me that it was a mixture of morphine and scopolamine.  she was injected with it it in 1950, against her protests,  for the birth of my sister and nearly died with an anaphylactic shock reaction. It was a common injection for "painless labour".  It was painless alright because women were unconcious and sometimes couldn't remember giving birth MM
 ----- Original Message -----
From: Rhonda
Sent: Wednesday, June 18, 2003 5:19 PM
Subject: [ozmidwifery] twilight delivery - or twilight baby?

Hi, all of you knowledgable women,
 
I was talking to a friend today who said that her sister in law who was born in the 1940's claims to be a "twilight baby"?  Apparently her mother - who has passed away now and cannot explain the reason - had her first child as a natural delivery - the second was this weird delivery where she went into hospital on her due day not in labour  - got put to sleep and then woke up having delivered the baby vaginally while asleep or in twilight! 
The next two were normal, natural births.
Does anyone know about this practice - obviously not done now days - i presume!
 
She was curious about how it was done and why it may have been done.
 
Any ideas?
 
Regards
Rhonda.
 
 
 
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