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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1986-07-30, Page 15• Entertainment • Feetures • Religion • Family • More Strong advocates of the formation of midwifery as a self regulating, autonomous pro- fession, Jeanette Harris, of Blyth and Lois Marjin, of Teeswater are members of a midwifery support group which is in the process of writing a brief for the Ontario Task Force travelling the province this fall for public input about midwifery. Both women BY SUSAN HUNDERTMARK Tears of joy stream down Jeanette Har- ris's cheeks when she recalls the home birth of her second child five years ago. During a family birthday party at her home just north of Blyth that December, she started to labor. After calling her mid- wife in Kitchener, she prepared for the birth as she'd been taught at monthly classes by her midwife. As the labor . progressed, it started to storm outside so she gathered her birthing book, her husband and the birthing equip- ment and retreated to the bedroom. After a short labor, their baby was born. "She was just beautiful; she was all covered in vernix. I grabbed her and put her to my breast immediately and she sucked. Then, the midwives arrived and told me what a wonderful job I had done," she says. During the birth, her mother and sister had continued to prepare the turkey dinner planned for the party andtso afterwards, the whole family sat down to dinner. "It truly was a birth day dinner. It was just great," says Jeanette. „ Because she believes all women should have the option to experience similar natural births, Jeanette is a strong ad- vocate of midwifery. She and a group of 30 other Huron and Bruce County women are preparing a brief to present to the mid- wifery task force on Oct. 16 in support of midwifery as an 'autonomous, self- regulating profession. Her home birth experience contrasted ' greatly with the birth of her first child a year before in hospital. Because she wanted a natural birth, she did extensive research about birth and of local doctors and their attitudes about birth. When she explained the birthing ex- perience she wanted to one doctor, he leapt to his feet asking her if she was crazy. When she finally found a doctor in a city hospital who would agree with her desire for a natural birth, she was disappointed by the few times she saw him at monthly check-ups. Though she received con- tinuous care, she saw so many different health care professionals that she did not develop a relationship with any of them and therefore had less confidence going in- to. the birth. Hospital stay - Fearing unnecessary medical interven- tion, she stayed away from.the hospital un- til she was almost ready to have the baby and during the birth she received an episiotomy which she believes was unnecessary. She also battled with hospital staff over several points of hospital policy including policy which said mothers must stay in hospital for 12 hours after the birth. After much negotiating with her doctor, he agreed to let her go right home with the baby if nothing went wrong but failed to pass the message on to the rest of the staff. Immediately' after the birth, the baby was taken to the nursery. When Jeanette followed them to the nursery, the nurses told her she couldn't have her baby. After a lot of demanding and bargaining, she col- lected her baby and went home determin- ed to have a home birth the next time. "I have nothing against doctors and hospitals. They're doing what they think is best but what they're doing is not what's best for . me and my normal births. Childbirth is not a disease. I respect nature very much and I think nature should be allowed to run its course," she says. By hiring a midwife, Jeanette says she was able to learn much more about the normal birthing experience and non- have hired midwives to support them through home births. Jeanette ispictured with herchildren Teague, 3, Capucine, 5 and Zoellyne, 6 and Lois with her sons Darryl, 5 and Glen, 3. (photo by Susan Hundertmark) interventionist techniques of coping with labor pains as well as gain confidence in her own strength and ability to give birth. "Most pre -natal classes teach you how to behave for the doctor and the hospital. They don't teach you how to birth your baby. Midwives give you that knowledge along with continuous care that is so im- portant for you to be able to trust her and yourself and be able to relax," she says. "Midwives form a relationship with you and your whole family. They get to know you as a person and what's important to you." Special relationship When Jeanette became pregnant for a third time, she continued to see the same midwife because of the special relation- ship she felt between them. She phoned her midwife and told her to • hurry as soon as she began her labor and because Of the confidence she'd built up from the first two births, she decided she would give birth to her third child standing or squatting. The labor progressed very quickly this time and very soon, her husband could see the baby's head crowning. When he notic- ed the cord around the baby's neck, he panicked "I told him to relax and to put his finger gently under the cord and wait for the baby to come and everythipg turned out fine. I put him to my breast right away and the dog started to bark. Thep.mfdwife arrived 'and we joked that I'd beat her again," says Jeanette. •'If I could have the same sort of ex- perience at a hospital or birthing centre, I would go. Being able to give birth at home is important but what's more important is having the care of a midwife." . 'The bonding that goes on between a family is incredible with a natural birth. ' You can't explain it unless you've done it. It's incredible to be able to reach down -and take that baby right out froth inside you," she says. Lois,-Marjin, of Teeswater is another woman who hired a midwife after an un- satisfactory birth at a hospital. "The place I gave birth was immaterial; I just wanted to do it naturally. But, once I had a home birth, I didn't want to do it anywhi re else," she says. During her first pregnancy five years ago, Lois's doctor left the country at her eighth month so she had to rehash all her feelings about having a natural birth with her new doctor whom she felt was less than receptive to the idea. "She told me, 'Let's not get silly. Don't ask me hot to do an episiotomy!"' says Lois. Because she was nervous about chang- ing doctors, Lois says her blood pressure kept going up. Her new doctor put her in the hospital for a week but she was out again in two days because , the blood pressure had returned to normal. But, after that, Lois feels she was labelled as "high risk." The doctor was scheduled to go oh holidays on Lois's due date and told Lois that she felt the baby was very large and would have to be induced four days before the due date. "She gave me the ultimatum so I hoped and prayed the baby would come by itself early. And, he was a week early," she says. Lois says she felt the process of being shaved, given an enema and an in- travenous tube in preparation for birth very dehumanizing. ' Frustrations She was also frustrated by being told to change beds from the labor room to the delivery room when she felt ready to give birth. And, once she was flat on her back on the delivery table she lost the urge to push. ., "The doctor and the nurses were en- couraging me to push and I felt like I was bursting capilliaries in my eyeballs I was pushing so hard butthe urge had gone away. And, I was afraid to push because I thought the baby would fall off the end of the delivery table," she says. When the baby came, the doctor did a fourth degree episiotomy before the baby's head had crowned. "The blood was incredible. I was shak- ing withpain while she was stitching me up and I couldn't sit down fora week. The episiotomy looked like a terrible gaping wound," she says. With her son born, Lois put the child to her breast only to have him whisked away to the nursery. •-I specifically. got a private room so I could have the. baby with me but I still 'didn't get him. I got bitter about the ex- perience after I learned what birth could be like," she says. Two years later, Lois discovered mid- wives and decided to have a home birth. She received care from a doctor as well who thought she might have to go to the hospital because he thought she was hav- ing a breech birth. The.midwife agreed but was able to turn the baby by pressing lightly on the outside of Lois's abdomen so the birth proceeded at home. During labor, Lois appreciated the en- couragement of the midwife who was able to kelp her through difficult times by sug- gesting different positions for Lois to rest in. Lois finally found comfort during her transition by kneeling at the side of her bed with her elbows resting on the bed., Just like that , - "When the baby came, he came out like that!"- she =says, snapping. her fingers. "It didn't bother me at all." • Though she tore a bit, she says the tear healed much more quickly and painlessly` than her previous episiotomy. "I don't want to hurt the feelings of doc- tors and nurses because they're doing their best. I just want a different option. My demands were so basic and so natural but they didn't seem to be able to hear me. With their intervention, they deny you a basic life experience," she says. Both Lois and Jeanette are the first to admit there is a need for' technology and the expertise of obstetricians when there is an abnormal birth. But, aside from the two to three per cent of high risk mothers, birth. should be allowed to progress nor- mally without technological intervention, they say. "In emergency manuals for police of- ficers, firemen and taxi drivers, it says that 99 per cent of all births will progress normally if you leave the mother alone. Why don't they tell the mothers that?" asks Lois. She also says that midwives give the ownership of the birth experience back to the mothers. "Midwives do not deliver the baby. In fact, no one delivers the baby but the mother. The midwife is only there to catch the baby," she says. Another advocate of midwifery, Carol (who wished her last name not be used) had an opposite experience to that of Lois and' Jeanette. After the beautiful and natural birth of her first child by midwives in Tennessee, she was unprepared for the different experience she had in a hospital. With her second child, labor was induced and she had a Caesarian section before she could understand what was happening and why. I felt completely out of control and I had no real support through the labor. The midwives were constantly there encourag- ing you and making you feel things are go- ing well. In the hospital, you become a part of a big machine. Good nurses would- go off shift leaving you with no personalized care. It was all for their convenience, their set-up," she says. Disappointment POSTSCRIPT By Susan Hundertmark After a successful vaginal first birth, Carol was extremely disappointed about having a Caesarian. She felt she'd been pressured into having the operation without being given a chance to give birth naturally. -They tell you you have 15 minutes to. Turntopage3A+ Is day care really a priority here I know the wheels of democracy turn slowly. And, I fully appreciate that ade- quate research must be done and proper channels be followed before the town of Goderich can act on the day care needs of local children and their working parents. But,,I can't help but wonder if day care in particular and children's needs in general are a priority at all with several Goderich councillors. And, that disturbs me. It doesn't take a lot of thought to realize that children are a vital element of any thriving, progressivecomrnunity. They are our future and the commitment we mane towards their education and well-being will be reflected in the future community they shape and participate in. Whether these children are related to us or not is immaterial. Each will some- day participate in the leadership and decision-making of the world. What we teach them now will affect us when we've retired and they're at the controls. Will we teach them selfishness or generosity? self-centredness or concern for the whole community? ' There is a noticeable undercurrent of hostility against a municipally -run day care centre at the council table. It seems to express the view that day care is a lux- ury, a frill for parents who've produced offspring and now have no interest in assuming responsibility for their development. Instead, they single- ; mindedly pursue the all mighty dollar choosing consumerism over their children. Using that argument, day care critics can easily wash their hands of the issue. Childcare is a .problem of the parents (particularly the mother), not the municipality, they say. I couldn't ` disagree more. I have always deplored • the narrow, short- sightedness of the "Up yours Jack, I'm okay" mentality. I've always believed there are gains to be made by having a commitment and responsibility for all members of a community. ' There are some groups in the com- munity we freely support without ques- tion and rightly so. For example, we recognize that senior citizens have con- tributed much to our society and deserve some financial support in their retire- ment years. Similarly, we give financial support to war veterans who have sacrificed much for our way of life. And, it's disappointing to hear some seniors complaining about the an- ticipated costs of day care. If we can agree that our tax dollars should be in- vested in the well-being of our seniors, ;why doesn't it follow that the same com- mitment be made for our children and youth? ' Why aren't our children a priority? It was interesting to watch how Cana- dians responded to the proposed de - indexing of social programs by the federal government last year. When seniors' pensions were threatened, the hue and cry could be heard across the country and a strong seniors' lobby managed to stop the cuts. The de -indexing of family allowan%es, however, failed to provoke the same nai• tional outrage. Because those threatened by the de -indexing were a less organized group --women and children—the de- indexing went through with barely a whimper from average citizens. While we can easily see the value in rewarding elderly citizens for their con- tributions, we have a harder time mak- ing an investment in our future generations'. An article entitled "Do Americans Hate Children?" written by a U.S. author seems to apply. Letty Cottin Pogrebin makes the argument that through their protests over the costs of education, welfare and childcare, Americans are expressing their disregard for children, She goes on to cite the growing number of child abuse cases, children disappear- ing and child suicide cases. She .lists the existence of adult -only. apartment Buildings, the prohibition of baby strollers in stores and museums and the wave of horror books such as The Exor- cist and The Firestarter in which children personify evil as examples of what shecalls pedophobia: -Though most of us make exceptions for our own offspring, we do not seem particularly warmhearted toward other people's children," she says. Such a pedophobic attitude exists in Canada too sometimes as close as our Own back 'yards. It manifests in the cancellation of the Katimavik program without the creation of a replacement. It is evident in the inability of Goderich council to support a day care centre in principle at least if it is premature to sup- port it any other way right now. It's too easy to say that 'children are solely the responsibility of their parents and to instruct women to stay at home 'with their children. The traditional fami- ly unit is no longer reality for the majori- ty of Canadians and with the death of the extended family, parents now need the coinmunity's support to help raise their children. Children and programs and facilities that have their best interests in mind should be everyone's priority.