The Business of Being Born

On Friday night, I went to see a viewing of The Business of Being Born at NOVA's Loudon campus. The documentary was put together by Ricki Lake after she had 2 very different birth experiences - a hospital delivery and a home birth. Having a traumatic delivery myself, I wanted to see what this film was all about...so I got preggo Melissa and headed to the film.




The film describes the most recent trends in giving birth. America has the highest newborn mortality rate in developed countries and spends 3x more money on mother/baby care. So, what are we doing wrong? According to the film, there is too much hospital beaucracy and intervention. Women are brought up to understand that we can't labor on our own and need the drugs, hospitals and in some cases, surgeries. During most births, the body is not allowed to follow its natural way of doing things. Instead, we are admitted to the hospital, given an IV within minutes and "tied" to a bed with fetal monitors that restrict movement. If you aren't progressing fast enough, you are sure to be given Pitocin.

As for c-sections, I was shocked to see the statistics. In 1990, the c-section rate was in the mid-teens, then it rose by about 10% in 1995 and now they are estimating it around 40-45%. The midwives at the lecture told us that some area hospitals are actually in the 50%s. I also learned that the most common time for a c-section delivery is 4pm (so they can get home before dinner) and 10pm (so they aren't up all night). OB/GYNs are trained surgeons and are good at what they do, but how do we know whether it is in the mother and baby's best interest?

The point of the film was that all the modern invention is taking away a woman's empowerment from childbirth. We are made to think we can't do it. It made me think a lot about my experience. I labored most of the day and all night, making it to 8cm by 8am. I got the epidural around 9-9:30 and was taken to surgery at 10:45. Did the 1 hour of epidural really "help" me? If I made it that long, why didn't anyone ask if I wanted to try to make it another centimeter? Obviously, I could have spoken up...but hindsight is 20/20 and you aren't exactly thinking straight when you are in labor.

I really like the idea of midwives now. They aren't the stereotypical woman in braids and hippie clothes. Most of them are trained nurses or have apprenticed for years. They really play the part of your advocate during birth and will be by your side the whole time. I think I'm pretty set on having one for the next baby, although I will still have a hospital birth. Either way, the movie wasn't made to solely promote midwives or home birth. It served its purpose in educating the audience to the "business" of births and the loss of the full birth experience. It was very moving...I highly recommend it!

Our future Duke

Thanks to Uncle Mikey, we're already pressuring Katie to go to JMU. Afterall, she was partially named after the school, so it is only right! I do think purple is her color...

3 month appointment

Katie had her 3 mo. checkup last week, but she is really closer to 3 1/2 months. She had another Hep B shot and was not a big fan. Luckily, she fell asleep after a few minutes of crying and didn't wake up for an hour. Below are the stats for our little string bean:

Weight 13 pounds, 3 ounces (63rd percentile)
Height 25 1/2 inches (95th percentile!!!)
Head 16 1/4 inches (75th percentile)

At the same age, I was the same weight and an inch shorter, so maybe she'll be 5'9. I'm still sticking with my supermodel prediction (lots of money so she can take care of Mommy and Daddy)!

Blue debut

There are so many firsts when you have an infant, such as...Katie's first blue outfit! I was hesitant to put her in blue and have people think she was a boy, but it ended up being a big hit. As usual, I'm doing my best to get her through the hundreds of outfits that she has in her closet. There are so many cute dresses, but it is so cold out...it's a shame. Anyway, here she is in her blue debut!

Check me out!

Daycare day

Last Thursday, the dreaded day came...Katie's first day of daycare. We got up at 6am, not knowing how our morning routine would work. It all went smoothly and we left the house by 7:15 (getting out your clothes the night before is key). I was in charge of the drop off, while Andrew was going to pick her up. I soon realized that I had the worst part of the deal. We got to the daycare house, I took her inside and started to tear up as soon as she smiled at me. She sat in her carseat and had no idea that I was about to leave for the next 8 hours. It was awful. I told myself I wouldn't cry, but that got thrown out the window.

My work day went so slowly because I was constantly wondering how and what she was doing. I imagined her screaming while older kids poked her in the eye. Were they feeding her? Was she in her carseat all day? I finally got an email around 1pm from our daycare provider, saying that Katie was doing fine and drank all her bottles to the last drop. When Andrew picked her up, she was asleep and sitting next to the other baby (also named Catie...with a C)!

Even though it was hard, I know it is best for me to be at work. I need time out of the house and we can provide more for Katie, if I'm working. I am lucky that my boss is letting me work from home 2x/week. It saves us daycare costs and also lets Katie spend more time with us.

Next week, Katie will go to daycare for 3 days. I hope she does well...I'm still worried!