Hi Andrea point taken -I was mindful of the copyright requests however..............I am sending this to the list again.
Originally posted on Friday with no feedback. Are there no others in the oz community horrified by the idea of this devise? Do we not have enough technology invading normal birth already? A timely reminder perhaps in light of the current thread on CTG is that they too were introduced widely with little research to validate their wide spread value yet have been grasped by the legal community as an all seeing tool - a tool which now governs a lot of 'normal' or 'routine' clinical practice. My thoughts Alesa Alesa Koziol Clinical Midwifery Educator Melbourne ----- Original Message ----- From: "Andrea Robertson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <ozmidwifery@acegraphics.com.au> Sent: Friday, May 26, 2006 4:35 PM Subject: Re: [ozmidwifery] Fw: E-News 8:11 - Postdates Pregnancies (May 24, 2006) > Hi Alesa, > > Perhaps next time, just cut and paste the relevant section - I find these loo.......ong bulletins impossible to wade through! However, I know Debby well and I've done workshops at her hospital. They have the only birth centre in Israel and are a terrific bunch of strong women and midwifery advocates. > > I am glad she has raised this issue. The thought of this technology is truly awful and I am sure that women will not want to use it if they are fully informed. Reminds me of a "gadget" that was tested at one of the UK's biggest midwifery hospitals a few years ago: it was a huge belt that was wrapped around the woman's tummy at the start of second stage and then inflated to "push the baby down" if the woman couldn't push due to having an epidural. You can imagine how the midwives felt about having to be part of the trials. As far as I know, this particular gadget didn't make it to the manufacturing stage, so perhaps this one that Debby speaks of won't either. > > Who dreams up these ideas? Dare I say it - men, probably! > > Regards, > > Andrea MIDWIFERY TODAY E-NEWS A publication of Midwifery Today, Inc. Volume 8, Issue 11, May 24, 2006 Postdates Pregnancies ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A high tech company called Barnev (www.barnev.co.il/) is currently manufacturing a product called a computerized labor monitoring system. This product works by placing two clips with electrodes on a laboring woman's cervix and a scalp electrode on the fetus and using ultrasound waves to measure cervical dilation and height (descent) of the fetal head. I am aware of this product because of clinical trials were held at the hospital with which I am affiliated. In spite of the midwives' opposition to using this mechanical device on women, we were not able to totally block its use (although some changes were made in the informed consent, and many women did not agree to participate due to midwives' explaining to them what was involved). The trials were moved to other hospitals where the midwives were not as vocal in their opposition, and now the company is promoting use in Europe and the US. I understand that they have received or will be receiving Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. The product is being promoted as a means to assess women's progress in labor without a manual vaginal examination. I believe that this product takes advantage of and potentially harms women and their babies in labor, all for the purpose of economically profiting a biotech company. I believe that steps need to be taken at a higher level regarding the ethical considerations. How do E-News readers suggest that I carry on from here? Can you offer any support/ideas? I feel that this issue is not only within the midwifery realm, but takes advantage of women's rights and of women's bodies for research purposes under the guise of medical treatment. You can contact me at: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Debby Gedal-Beer, CNM, MSc. Coordinator of Women's Health and Midwifery Education Sheba Academic School of Nursing Tel Hashomer, Israel -- This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. Visit <http://www.acegraphics.com.au> to subscribe or unsubscribe.
