Dear Friends:
I have a video from the MightyVac Corporation (they advertise themselves
as the "modern alternative to birth"). It is a training and promotional video
for the product. At the beginning, attention is drawn to the wonderful
pop-off mechanism that will prevent injury. The cup will pop-off the baby's
head if the suction is too high.
Later on in the film, the practitioner is taught the 3-finger grip to
hold the cup in place and prevent it being dislodged. Does it make any sense
to teach the safety mechanism override process in the training video?
Neither forceps nor vacuum have a great track record; however, if a baby
is stuck, it has to come out.
So why create situations where babies get stuck? It happens enough
naturally, obstructed labor is a major reason for maternal deaths worldwide
(the others are hemorrhage, infection, and unsafe abortion). Why in the world
would anyone want to promote stuck babies?
If obstetricians had to take care of babies in the first few weeks,
maybe they would connect the dots between birth technology and infant injury
and feeding difficulty. They sure don't have to now. If the baby comes out
breathing and with a heartbeat, that's enough for them.
Another problem is that many of the reports of injury to babies are not
in the obstetric literature; they are in journals of head and neck surgery
and journals of otolaryngology. What obstetrician ever reads journals from
those specialty areas?
As the US still does not take breastfeeding seriously enough, premature
weaning is not recognized as a hazard of birth trauma. We have a long way to
go.
Warmly,
Nikki Lee RN, MSN, Mother of 2, IBCLC, CIMI, CCE, craniosacral therapy
Adjunct faculty, Union Institute and University, Maternal and Child Health:
Lactation Consulting
Supporting the WHO Code and the Mother Friendly Childbirth Initiative
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