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Born in the USA
Jan. 30th, 2007 07:54 pmIs the health of women and children a women’s issue, or a human issue? Either way, it’s hard to avoid be angry after reading this book. I don’t normally include subtitles here, but this one was too helpful in explaining the book to leave out.
Born in the USA: How a Broken Maternity System Must Be Fixed to Put Women and Children First by Marsden Wagner, M.D., M.S. It’s a little-known fact that the maternal mortality rate in the United States has been rising for the past 25 years, and both our maternal mortality and infant mortality rates are among the worst in the industrialized world. Wagner uses both hard scientific evidence* and lots of personal experience to wade through the tangles of modern obstetrical care. Doctors and scientists are in conflict, he says, because while a scientist must assume that everything is known, a doctor must assume that he or she knows what the problem is and how to treat it in order to get anywhere. A lack of oversight, love of technology, lack of knowledge of normal birth, and a fear of litigation combine to make hospital births downright dangerous for mother and child. ** After documenting these grim facts, Wagner goes on to paint a picture of an ideal maternity system, similar to those already existing in other countries, which have been established even without the approval of the obstetrical community. It seems like a long haul, but this book is a good start.
* For those interested in doing their own medical research, Wagner frequently cites the Cochrane Library, http://www.cochrane.org . This is a medical nonprofit working towards evidence-based medical practice. They synthesize and analyze medical studies, providing both their reports and the original studies in their on-line library.
** One blatant example of this is the continued use of Cytotec in inducing labor. Cytotec is a prostaglandin drug that was developed to treat stomach ulcers, and comes with a warning against use by pregnant women. When it first came out in the 1990s, OBs discovered that it could be used to induce labor, and use spread widely by word-of-mouth, with no safety studies being done. The high rates of induction on VBAC patients led to a marked increase in uterine rupture, with the effect that it is now nearly impossible for anyone to get a VBAC. But despite warnings from the manufacturer, Searle, and the FDA, against the use of Cytotec for inductions, its use for inductions continues. Over 100 women have died, many babies have died or suffered permanent brain injuries, and yet the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists continues to tell people that it is safe and to lobby the FDA to approve it for use inducing labor. While there has been some coverage of it in the news, most cases are settled with gag orders, so far effectively preventing knowledge of this drug from spreading.
Born in the USA: How a Broken Maternity System Must Be Fixed to Put Women and Children First by Marsden Wagner, M.D., M.S. It’s a little-known fact that the maternal mortality rate in the United States has been rising for the past 25 years, and both our maternal mortality and infant mortality rates are among the worst in the industrialized world. Wagner uses both hard scientific evidence* and lots of personal experience to wade through the tangles of modern obstetrical care. Doctors and scientists are in conflict, he says, because while a scientist must assume that everything is known, a doctor must assume that he or she knows what the problem is and how to treat it in order to get anywhere. A lack of oversight, love of technology, lack of knowledge of normal birth, and a fear of litigation combine to make hospital births downright dangerous for mother and child. ** After documenting these grim facts, Wagner goes on to paint a picture of an ideal maternity system, similar to those already existing in other countries, which have been established even without the approval of the obstetrical community. It seems like a long haul, but this book is a good start.
* For those interested in doing their own medical research, Wagner frequently cites the Cochrane Library, http://www.cochrane.org . This is a medical nonprofit working towards evidence-based medical practice. They synthesize and analyze medical studies, providing both their reports and the original studies in their on-line library.
** One blatant example of this is the continued use of Cytotec in inducing labor. Cytotec is a prostaglandin drug that was developed to treat stomach ulcers, and comes with a warning against use by pregnant women. When it first came out in the 1990s, OBs discovered that it could be used to induce labor, and use spread widely by word-of-mouth, with no safety studies being done. The high rates of induction on VBAC patients led to a marked increase in uterine rupture, with the effect that it is now nearly impossible for anyone to get a VBAC. But despite warnings from the manufacturer, Searle, and the FDA, against the use of Cytotec for inductions, its use for inductions continues. Over 100 women have died, many babies have died or suffered permanent brain injuries, and yet the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists continues to tell people that it is safe and to lobby the FDA to approve it for use inducing labor. While there has been some coverage of it in the news, most cases are settled with gag orders, so far effectively preventing knowledge of this drug from spreading.
