I knew I shouldn't get back on yet, haven't even reached bottom in the snail
mail pile after a week away, but this is so much more fun.
The word deliver in obstetrics has nothing to do with delivery of freight.
It is used in the archaic way, meaning deliverance, such as 'deliver us from
evil', and it is the birth attendant who delivers the mother.  She is
delivered of a child, or children in the case of multiples.  If she doesn't
need help, she has delivered herself of a child.  The baby is not 'goods' in
this use of the word.  And yes, I know it is universally used in this
incorrect way in North America, but that doesn't make it any more correct.
I believe that language matters, and especially language about what happens
to us and our children during their births.
There is a brilliant book called 'Delivered at home', written a few years
ago by Julia Allison, (former ?) General Secretary of the Royal College of
Midwives in England (ISBN 1-5659-3352-4).  I resisted reading it for a time
because I didn't like the allusion that women who gave birth at home were
delivered by anyone.  But when I finally read it, I learned that she chose
the title from the birth logs of the Nottingham district midwives of the
time, and she interprets it in two ways.  They were delivered of their
babies at home, and they were delivered from the necessity of hospital
admission by the availability of a district midwifery service which by the
way, had excellent statistics and results and continued to provide their
safe, woman-and-baby friendly care to the majority of women in Nottingham
until the 1970's when a number of other factors combined to make hospital
birth more common.  Women 'delivered' at home were generally poorer, less
healthy and less well educated than those who went into hospital, and their
breastfeeding rates were consistently higher, another reflection of the
excellent care given by the midwives.

Phyllis wrote that most Swedish women are now delivering themselves in the
squatting position, unless I have misunderstood her post.  Phyllis, what is
the source of your information?  Most Scandinavian women have freedom of
movement throughout labor, but I am not aware that squatting is particularly
preferred in Sweden, and in fact thought that kneeling or all fours was more
popular.  But there are still plenty of midwives practicing who work in the
bad old-fashioned way, woman in semi-reclining position with legs in the
air, unfortunately.  Even so, the babies manage to get breastfed.  It isn't
just one thing that matters.  Where the whole society is committed to
breastfeeding, it takes a lot more to foil it.

Anyone else want to climb on the soapbox?  I think I've said enough for
now...
Rachel Myr
back in Kristiansand, Norway listening to autumn rainstorms at my window and
wishing we had just a little of the Aegean weather here too.

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