In a message dated 11/29/2004 9:03:24 AM Eastern Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:

Surely they  are done too often, to easily, etc. but I
am darn thankful that the option  is there and frankly I resent facile
arguments against them that assume  that natural birth is an option for
everyone.


Dear Friends:
    Our sister, the Reverend, writes above.
    I don't know any single person  anywhere in  the whole wide world, that
opposes a necessary use of technology.  Technology has certainly saved lives.
Obstructed labor is a leading cause of  maternal death worldwide, according to
the WHO. (Doesn't help if she is poorly  nourished, underpaid, and
overworked.........which is most women :-)
    What we protest is the routine use of technology. Most women (probably
around 80% is my guess, based on a life rule) can birth well with the loving
attention of a skilled midwife, in a safe and warm environment.
    If we have to dig a hole, what tool do we choose? A  spoon? A trowel? A
backhoe or bulldozer?
    What if we are planting young vegetable or  flowering seedlings in
freshly turned earth? Mightn't we then need only our  hand?
    Some dyads benefit from a nipple shield.  Not every dyad does.
    warmly,
Nikki Lee RN, MS, Mother of 2, IBCLC, CCE
Maternal-Child Adjunct  Faculty Union Institute and University
Film Reviews Editor, Journal of Human  Lactation
Support the WHO Code and the Mother-Friendly Childbirth  Initiative

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