Taking back birthing

Dear Editors,

Unassisted childbirth means birth without a doctor or midwife. This may sound risky, but women have been birthing by themselves for centuries. Women died in childbirth not because birth was risky but because of poor living conditions. Women know how to give birth, but women have lost trust in their bodies. When a woman enters the hospital, a bad environment, her body begins preparing for the fight-flight response, in which her body begins draining blood and oxygen from the uterus and other organs and sends it to the legs. This leads to a long and painful labor. No wonder why we have so many problems – we are in the wrong environment. Your body is saying there is an animal out there, this labor needs to stop so she can run. Then doctors interfere with even more dangerous interventions. The c-section rate in this country is so high not because birth is risky, but because it was never meant to be medically managed and controlled. All those important hormones that allow birth to proceed naturally and cause the fetus ejection reflex, which births the baby quickly and easily without any effort from the mother, are stopped not only by the flight or flight response, but also because of the drugs and the presence of an observer. Doctors interfere with dangerous drugs like Pitocin (synthetic oxytocin) obviously can’t work, it can’t cross the blood brain barrier, also Cytotec, Prostaglandin gel. All these drugs cause uterine rupture, infection and uterine hyperstimulation, which cause fetal heart rates to drop, hemorrhaging, high blood pressure and titanic contractions, which lead women to want an epidural, and many other problems. The FDA has not even approved the use of Cytotec for labor. Epidurals cause many problems as well such as dulling of the mother’s ability to get the baby out, which leads to forceps and c-sections and causes babies to be born blue. Please women, do the research and you will find that everything they do to women is dangerous including routine procedures. For example, episiotomies – first of all there is no proof that they are safe or beneficial, yet half the women in this country will get one; they permanently weaken the pelvic floor; cause major bleeding; destroy sexual sensations; and mother nature has her own way of suctioning, the pressure of the walls of an uncut vagina squeezes the baby’s shoulders and chest causing fluids to burp out of the baby easily and naturally. In the squatting position, you are less likely to tear, there is more than enough room to birth any baby.

Most problems happen because of hospitals. Patience, privacy and no interference either physically or mentally are key to a safe birth; you will not get that in a hospital or with a midwife. Homebirth would only be dangerous if all those dangerous medical interferences came from the hospital to the home. Birth is a matter of letting it happen rather than making it happen. Doctors won’t tell you the truth, if they did they would lose their money. Every woman should be outraged by what doctors do to them in hospitals. It’s time women stopped putting trust in doctors and started putting trust in their body’s ability to give birth. Women birthing in hospitals are birthing in ignorance of self and of the birth process. Please women, claim birth for you. If a woman educates herself well, the only reason for transfer is placenta previa. There are women though that have birthed their children at home with this problem successfully. A woman’s greatest tool in birth is her instinct. Good food, fresh air, exercise, laughter, love, and support are the best prenatal care, not needless tests that are harmful stresses you out and make you fearful. Trust in your bodies and let your instinct guide you, birth your children safely and peacefully at home.

Wouldn’t it be more joyful and intimate for couples to birth their children the way they conceived them in the privacy of your own home? There are 28 countries that have better infant morality rates than the U.S. What do they have more of? HOMEBIRTHS!! Poison is wrapped up and hidden in “homey delivery suites,” pastel color hospital gowns, and at the core of it is ignorance, violence, abuse and rape. Imagine how much better our world would be if we women begin to birth their children the way mother nature intended it, at home away from all those dangerous medical interferences surrounded only by love and support.

– Cassandra Fisher, Durango

The diabetes debate

Dear Editors,

I am writing this in response to the letter sent to you by Shane Ellison entitled “The metabolic nightmare.” I feel compelled to write because as a registered dietitian with a masters degree in human nutrition, I want to ensure that the public is presented with accurate nutrition information.

While I agree with the author that obesity, especially in children, is a serious epidemic, and that type 2 diabetes is on the rise in children, it is not true to say that type 2 diabetes requires the avoidance of sugar. The epidemic of obesity in this country is the result of many things, as I’m sure most people are aware. Diabetes both type 1 and type 2 is NOT caused by eating sugar. I urge the public and parents who are concerned about their children’s diets to consult a professional registered dietitian and/or a degree in nutrition from an accredited university.

– Carol Mahoney, Durango