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Showing posts from September, 2015

Abortion

Weather you are for abortion or not, one thing is true, there will always be women who want or need one. With that being the case, it is not a moral issue but a medical one. It is the responsibility of the medical community to provide safe, secure and compassionate care to women seeking an abortion. I have been listening to the second "Call the Midwife" audio book. It is a great history of childbirth in London's poor area. In this book there is a description of how illegal abortions were performed and how dangerous it was for the women who had them. She informatively describes the different techniques and how they can go wrong. It is very interesting and listening to this book has given me a great perspective and renewed energy to support efforts to ensure women don't have an added struggle to one of the hardest decisions they will make in their lives. This article on the Cosmopolitan site is just one story of how desperation can push women to take drastic measur

Letting the baby cook

I often refer to gestation as cooking. You know the bun in the oven euphemism and all. And I am a big proponent of going to full gestational readiness. Unless it is necessary for the health of the mother or baby, I don't see why a baby should be born before 40 to 42 weeks. There is a plethora of research and evidence that shows babies born before they are ready have health and developmental issues. When women are induced before their bodies are ready labors are longer, more intense and lead to cesarean intervention. That is why it baffles me when I hear women calling 38 weeks "full term". I figure they hear this from their doctors and are setting themselves up for an induction if they go much beyond that. The truth is, 40 to 42 weeks is how long the baby should cook. Inductions and scheduled cesareans at 38 weeks are just too early. I've learned that a physician's beliefs or how they were taught greatly influences the advice they give to their patients. If a d