Hi all, Coach Smith here again. Despite a bad knee, I'm climbing up on my
soapbox to talk about epidurals again.
"The worst enemy of good technique is good luck" says my friend Carl Bromer.
There is not ONE single drug that is documented to have NO affect on the
developing fetus or newborn. Yep, you read that right - NOT ONE. The burden
of proof must be on those who wish to use an intervention to prove that it's
safe (harmless), and effective. Like Marsha, I keep up with the literature
on this issue. In my private practice I see many otherwise normal babies who
can't suck after being exposed to epidurals and all their sequelae. These
babies are not normal. Normal babies can suck, swallow, and breathe. At
breast. Feeding is a fundamental biological skill like breathing. We should
be very, very worried when a baby opens his mouth, comes to breast, and just
stops - doesn't latch or latches poorly, and doesn't transfer milk. This is
NOT normal behavior.
There ain't no such thing as a free lunch. Queen Elizabeth bought into the
notion of a "pain free" labor via chloroform. Women of the 50's were seduced
with offers of "twilight sleep" (scopolamine + morphine). For all their
drawbacks, at least electronic fetal monitors exposed the awful consequences
of these drugs on the baby.
They say some babies "do just fine" after an epidural, as long as <fill in
the blank - early to breast, BFHI practices, lots of support.> So what? Some
people can learn to swim despite having concrete blocks tied to their
ankles - as long as they have very strong arms, good lungs, and very
diligent and skilled lifeguards are on duty. Just because not everyone so
equipped drowns, doesn't prove the safety or effectiveness of ankle weights
in learning to swim!
I wrote briefly about this four years ago - see
http://www.bflrc.com/ljs/breastfeeding/johnsuck.htm and other articles on my
site. Nothing has changed, except more research has appeared, gradually
building the case that will eventually confirm what we are seeing
clinically. During the calendar year 2000, I was asked to address this topic
at EVERY speaking engagement that I presented. Talk about a hot topic!
Marie, when someone is as irritated as your anesthesiologist colleague, it's
likely that his complacency with the status quo has been shaken up. And
that's often the first step toward his re-thinking the issue. Which may be
very good news in the long run.
Climbing down now, need to go put some ice on my knee.....
Linda J. Smith, BSE, FACCE, IBCLC
Bright Future Lactation Resource Centre www.bflrc.com
6540 Cedarview Ct., Dayton, OH 45459-1214 USA
(937) 438-9458 email [log in to unmask]
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