(Jennifer.....I could have written your last post.)

During my training as a perinatal nurse, I came to the realization of one
thing....by the time the laboring woman is at the door...it is to late to
educate about her ability to birth or lactate. At this point it will all
come down to how she is supported through both. A peer student nurse in my
same perinatal program is shocked at the amount of women wanting
un-medicated birth and end up epiduralized or taking analgesics

These women are at the hands of who ever they are (or are not) assigned to.
If that happens to be the epidural/formula pushing caregiver, then guess
what the mom is getting. If she is assigned to the caregiver that advocates
un-medicated birth and breastfeeding, then her chances going un-medicated
and avoiding breastfeeding problems are better...that is if the care given
is seamless. And the result of the decisions she makes will be due to her
"choices"....and not a choice she made inadvertently through a combination
of the care she received and ignorance about normal birth and breastfeeding.

I have even come to the conclusion that already being pregnant is too late.
In our fair city of Calgary, Alberta, the regional health authority is
trying to provide seamless care.....if find this amusing when a comment from
a labor nurse.."oh we don't really know what goes on over there (meaning
post-partum)". My head shakes. So basically what we are doing is just
picking up the pieces that have fallen through the cracks.

I truly believe that it by the emergence of advocates for non-medicalized
birth and breastfeeding, as first choice, that we will see better birth
outcomes and an increase in breastfeeding rates.

Education before it is needed will bring this about. So if we begin pushing
it now, we should about see these major increases in about 15-20 years.
(This is also stated in Sheila Kitzinger's new book Rediscovering Birth).

Getting ciriculum into the schools on a mass basis will take a good portion
of those 15- 20 years. Then we will have to wait till the young ones that
receive this information become of an age that they will become parents (I
believe that by providing this education that teen pregnancy rates will
decrease as well. JMNSHO). These kids will be more knowledgeable than the
average expectant parent walking about today at 38 weeks gestation.

Anyway....

That is my feeling. Until our youth are educated about birth and
breastfeeding will we see change. Especially when you have books out there
talking about epidurals being "God's" gift to women, or advice from your
"Girl Friend's Guide".


Patricia

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Patricia Blomme RN
Perinatal Nurse
VP Canadian Childbirth Association
Birth Educator/Doula
Lay Breastfeeding Counselor
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