BABY ASTRONAUT - ALSO THE MAURICEAU MANEUVER...

See below.

Pip,

Sorry for the delay in replying...

Comments are interspersed below...

"Pip" wrote in message
...
Hope this isn't a private conversation but I would quite like to offer my
questions/experiences.

I am in New Zealand and on the Discovery Channel I often watch a program
called "Maternity Ward" made in America. Now this program often leaves me
pondering because of the many many episodes I have watched of the program
I
have only every seen 1 women doing anything other than lying down whilst
trying to give birth.

It has often made me wonder, is this because lying down births are easier
to
film? or is it because the bulk of American women have an epidural during
labour so need to be on their back to be monitored? Or because that's
just
the way American women choose to give birth? (Not trying to label just to
understand)

Lying down births close the birth canal up to 30% and OBs KEEP birth canals
closed (women on their backs) when babies get stuck and forceps and vacuums
are used.

Televising lying down births - further making them "normal" - is about the
only "legal" strategy since the OB felony is so obvious.

In America, closing birth canals is just one of many OB felonies...

See Pediatrician 'ethics' (Attn: Gesundheit et al.)
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group...t/message/2908


The most frightening thing I saw was a women whose very large baby got
VERY
stuck in the birth canal. The doctor attending couldn't use forceps due
to
the baby being so wedged so used the ventous (sp?) this nearly gave me a
heart attack as I thought if the force of a women's contractions and her
pushing couldn't shift the baby how could the ventous!? In the end a
nurse
on the women's left side pushed down very hard on the women's leg and hip
to
force the pelvis apart (so they said) a little to allow the baby more
room.
The whole time I was almost screaming at the t.v because I couldn't
understand why they wouldn't put her into a squatting position to get
gravity to help!


BABY ASTRONAUT

Gravity is a rather minor concern (IMO) when the birth canal is being closed
up to 30%...

I think a powerful uterus makes short work of gravity - a midwife I know -
uses good (birth-canal-opening) McRoberts routinely - woman on her back with
with ankles up around her neck - positioned as if she is going to launch a
baby astronaut. : )

Was the woman still lying on her back when (as you wrote) "a nurse on the
women's left side pushed down very hard on the women's leg and hip to force
the pelvis apart (so they said) a little to allow the baby more room..."?

If so - they committed a rather obvious felony (given the simple
biomechanics) - i.e. - they KEPT her birth canal closed up to 30% as they
claimed to be trying to open it...

THE MAURICEAU MANEUVER

In the "Mauriceau maneuver" for vaginal breech births, an assistant helps to
impale the after-coming fetal skull on the sacral
tip. This is illustrated in the 1993 Williams
Obstetrics. (Fig. 25-7)

It is interesting to note that, in addition to
this grisly breech delivery maneuver, the semi-sitting position itself is
credited to Francois Mauriceau (1637-1709); though he apparently
plagiarized the idea from Aristotle. [Dunn PM. Francois Mauriceau
(1637-1709) and maternal posture for parturition. Arch Dis Child
1991;66:78-9. Address: Prof. Dunn, Southmead Hospital, Southmead Road,
Bristol BS10 5NB])

It is also interesting to note that medical "science" arrived at the
conclusion that singleton term breech's should be taken via abdominal
surgery (c-section) - after studying breech births with birth canals closed
up to 30%!

From my own personal experience I was very annoyed at the birth of my only
child at 35 weeks,
because once labour was fully established I was made to
lie flat out as they had to monitor the baby.
I was told I couldn't even
labour on my side as it affected the monitor.
I ignored them on this point
and decided if I couldn't give birth squatting as I wanted then I would at
least do it on my side.

Bravo Pip!

So with the help of my DH and Mother moved myself
onto my side and re-arranged the foetal monitor) (This helped labour
greatly being on my side as my daughter was back to back which caused me a
great amount of pain)


Bravo DH and Mother!

About 10 minutes before my DD was delivered they manually shifted me to my
back (without asking) as they said it would aid in bearing down.

This may be true if they did McRoberts - good or bad. (In McRoberts, you
look like you are squatting on your back - your feet up in the air. If they
rolled you off your buttocks it was good McRoberts - your sacrum could
move - your birth canal was allowed to open maximally. If they didn't roll
you off your sacrum - if they only flexed your thighs on your abdomen - it
likely aided in bearing down - but closed your birth canal up to 30%..)

My
daughter was born weighing 4lb 12oz


Large baby or small - I don't think there is any reason to close the birth
canal - I hope they didn't.

and I tore pushing her out!!! God help
me had my baby been of a normal gestational age and size as I'm sure I
would
have been in real trouble.
My whole birth plan had been to stay very active
during labour and let my body tell me the best way to help the baby out.
Shame it didn't turn out as I planned.

Thanks for letting me put in my input.


Thanks for writing.

Todd

Pip