HW 40 - Insights from Book - Part 3

Dea Mr. Wagner,

I truly appreciate your efforts in writing Born In The USA. Your idea on the American Healthcare System that have put women in a hypnotizing, and cultural trend that is corrupt.giving women the inability to  see their alternatives and make their own choices on when, who or where they have birth. what your adressing in your book really moved me, and this is because something that might seem so little like a child being born in a hospital is shown to be a bad thing. you put the normal tendencies of our society, and in this case birth in a hospital off a pedestal and present its falts.

in the last third of your book, i feel you recapped and effectively presented the reader with solutions to their broken maternity system. you covered a ten step process that in fixing this hospital birth trend, for instance using advocacy to aware the public and science to prove the effectiveness of home births. this part was very effective and really made what was read before much more powerful. giving a solution to the number of problems, not vaguely but specifically.

But let me be more specific. these were the three main ideas that really caught my attention in the final third of the book.

1. Educating the public about the abuses of our maternity care system. we are not informed and their for shying away from humanizing our birth.(pg.220)

2. lastly, tackling the importance of taking political action. Against insurance companies who are rather against us than for us. their greediness and incentive for money over powering their actual care and worry's of patient.(pg.228)

3.Your budget breakdown of the spending on American healthcare, spending on obstetrician which is double compared to a mid-wive. the main incentive is profit and its easily seen in how obstetrician and hospitals take care of things. whats more important, money or the health of a women and her baby? answer is quite obvious(pg.243,244)

The main purpose of your book was to inform the public of the faults of our maternity care system. when it comes to making your book better, it doesn't really tackle the physiological battle that women face. their=r own voice and experiences can make this book very strong than it already is. Let it be clear - your text used a lot of stories and statistical data the empowers each of your arguments. Given that aim, and your book, the best advice I would give for a 2nd edition of the text would be, more emotion. even though the stories of the women are their, their voice should be included. maybe they can even give a positive experience of giving birth in the hospital.But I don't want you to feel like I'm criticizing. I appreciate the immense amount of labor you dedicated to this important issue and particularly for making me think about our society and how we go about birth not looking into our alternatives and letting a natural experience be in the hands of doctors and a inhumane hospitals.  In fact, I'm likely to do a little advocacy myself when others are not aware of mid-wives and birth centers,  things of that nature. i come to look at the birth and the way people go about it differently, and how this decision can really impact, even alter someones life. its important to have knowledge on this subject because at one point, birth will come around.Thanks! Talking to you gives me hope about our future as a society!

Sincerely,

Tamiko Orasio

HW 39 - Insights from Book - Part 2

My initial prediction to how Born In The USA by Marsden Wagner, would be structured to initially elaborate on the dominant social practice of conceiving a baby in a hospital vs. an organic birth process that occurs in the home with a midwife. Through the first 100 pages Marsden Wagner tackled the nightmarish acts of obstetricians, their selfish tendencies, convenience, unnecessary surgeries, medication and lastly lack of communication between the patients. After reading up to 200 page, the author looks to acknowledge the fact that a home birth that is under supervision of a mid-wife is much safer than if it were under a doctor. This type of birth process is less common because many women aren’t notified of their options, especially in our present American Society. Through these second 100 pages I was able to learn much more of what a midwife actually does, their procedures and alternative birth centers (ABC). The author makes sure to make distinct distinction between having your birth monitored and controlled by an obstetrician and one by a mid-wife. By referring back to a hospital birth as much as possible. On page 151 it states, " Meanwhile, woman are telling another story, as e-mail messages fly among mid-wives, women’s groups, and consumer groups exposing the ways the medical world is trying to limit a woman's legitimate choice of place of birth and birth attendant". The author try’s to convey to the reader that women have a choice, the right, to do what they want to have the most beautiful birth process that they believe is personally and physically most right.

Not knowing much about alternative birth centers, I took it upon myself to further my research on the topic. "A birthing center allows you to plan for your baby's birth and delivery environment - for example, who you want to be present, whether you wish to walk around during labor, what positions you prefer for giving birth, and even the small things that can sometimes be important at times of stress such as what you wear and eat can be at your discretion. Birthing centers usually welcome mothers who want to have natural child birth, and those who choose to breast feed and are experienced to help you if this is the kind of birth you desire" (http://www.parentprofiles.com/pregnancy-articles/birthing-centers-an-alternative-to-hospital-deliveries). An alternative birth center gives the women the opportunity to have full control of their birth. Implementing and furthering the fact that giving birth to another human is a beautiful process. Offering women a much more comfortable environment than that of the hospital, who you wish to be present and overall just a strong bond of communication between the midwife and the patient. 

HW 38 - Insights from pregnancy & birth book - part 1

First 100 Pages

Author of Born in the USA Marden Wagner, organizes the book in a strategic way to get his point across to an audience that isn’t that knowledgeable about the maternity care system. At the very beginning of the book he provides the readers with a preface, explaining his background, experiences and motives in the book. Than furthering it with birth stories that show exactly what point he is trying to give off. Marden Wagner tries to "blow" the caution whistle as he says to answer and show,

How an American Maternity Care System that is putting woman and babies, the most vulnerable members of society, at risk?

From the first pages of the text i found myself engaged, the author placing me the reader as an observer in maternity stories. He shows the injustices in the way nurses and doctors treat the patients when their giving birth. Not giving them the constitutional rights, by asserting and giving them what they ask for but instead inducing them with numerous medications that puts them at risk. A maternity care system that rushes a beautiful experience and makes it a painful and unjust one. when reading this i find myself nodding "yes", because i myself see the way doctors and nurses go about their jobs as if their working for the MTA. Doctors have the most important jobs, that is why their paid so much, but they follow a procedure for their patient who is giving birth as if it were their own. Giving unnecessary drugs and surgery’s such as Episiotomy, Vacuum to suck a baby out of the women. Rushing the birth and its contractions. Lastly giving C-sections that also have seen to me beneficial to the doctor more than the patient. The procedure statistically increasing over the years which statistically have been rising over the years.

Important issues that must be taken into consideration when two life’s are in jeopardy are an agreement before the whole process of childbearing occurs. The medication that is provided. Consent with their family members. Procedures that are agreed upon by patient and family but also one that isn’t induced with inappropriate medications and drugs. Also, how great is it to have a man tell you exactly how things are going to go? A woman who possesses knowledge and confidence in the filed should be talked about. Men can never be feminist and not know exactly what it takes to give birth to another human being.

I find the Marsden Wagner’s arguments very valid and reliable because there is no difficulty in me reading this. I mean that this isn’t a fictional book from an English class; it’s a book on birth. Birth comes with many matters, medication which includes drugs that he clearly explains why their used or shouldn’t be used. Clearly provides the reader with little notes that won’t have them left behind because of the lack of knowledge that he himself has gained because of years as a medical student, public health specialist and work in a hospital. To tackle something as controversial and complicated as birth, especially with a book, Marsden Wagner does a great job because of his previous work.

Book Idea

If i were to make my own book it would have a layout that is similar to Marsden Wagner’s Born In the USA. I would start the book off with a couple pages on why i chose to write this book and my background on the topic of birth. I would first bring about a story of a natural birth, than a non- organic birth process that occurs in the hospital. But i would put forward a birth story that occurred in the hospital that the mother felt was unpleasant and one that another felt satisfied.

EQ: What is the happiest, personal and independent way you would want to give birth in the United States?

“Generally speaking, most of us would prefer not to have a surgeon taking charge during a normal life event"(pg.21)

Thesis: A birth that is under the control of the individual giving birth rather than the doctor, who isn’t for being a nurturer but a professional "helper", is a birth that is much more independent and pleasant in the United States.

"Hospitals have their own brand of omerta"(pg.23)

“Although many women might be willing to take risks with their own bodies for pain relief, very few women are willing to put their babies at risk"(pg.55)

Points: Medical, natural, physical, psychological and laws that come with an organic or fixed birth process. These points would be explained through anecdotal, statistical and logical evidence. With doctors, nurses, patients and family’s members point of view. Also an alternative point of view coming from someone who gave birth out of the United States.