Updated and htmlized version is here: http://members.tranquility.net/~rwinkel/MGM/birthUSA3.html The American Way of Birth: Trauma and Brain Damage (excerpt from a letter to a legislator) Munchausen Obstetrics ... I've been horrified to discover a pattern of wholesale institutionalized medical malpractice and quackery surrounding the business of birth and child health. I can't account for how this could have come to pass, but the science is difficult to ignore. First let me mention the epidemiology: a steadily rising rate of symptoms of trauma and brain damage, including ADHD, autism, mental illness and addiction among US-born people, a trend dating back to the post-WWII period when certain obstetrical practices became commonplace. These practices are now thoroughly entrenched and seem to be immune from appeals to science, human rights or common sense. It appears that medicine views the bodies of women and children as some kind of empty wilderness waiting to be conquered and colonized. I assume you're familiar with some of the huge body of research relating to the enduring effects of early imprinting and abuse of children. Everything from post traumatic stress to sadism, suicide and specific suicide methods have been strongly connected to early experiences in infancy. http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/317/7169/1346 http://www.cirp.org/library/pain/anand4/ http://www.cirp.org/library/psych/jacobsen1/ http://www.cirp.org/library/psych/prescott2/ The implication is that this is the most pivotal time to ensure that the rights and well-being of children are respected and protected, not just for their sake, but for the sake of the people who's lives they impact as adults. Briefly, this crucial imperative is simply a non-factor in american birthing practices. The huge dinosaur of american obstetrics is creating generation after generation of unconsciously traumatized and often subtly brain-damaged people, people whose lives are often subsequently burdened with criminal behavior, learning difficulties, ADHD, addiction, depression and other mental illnesses and symptoms of brain damage. These iatrogenic outcomes are entirely preventable, in fact in most cases can be avoided at less cost than the procedures which cause them. The question of whose interests are served by making birth needlessly difficult I'll leave to your imagination. The american way of birth (unfortunately spreading world wide) has now been linked to large increases in rates of mental ailments including depression, anxiety disorders, substance abuse and dependencies by at least 2 large well controlled studies, which both studiously avoided the most obvious conclusion. http://members.tranquility.net/~rwinkel/MGM/birthUSA1.txt http://members.tranquility.net/~rwinkel/MGM/birthUSA2.txt This "paradoxical" anomaly in health statistics may extend to differences in cellular aging rates in US-born vs foreign-born hispanics: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25930147 (see "Our small sample size precluded disaggregating the Mexican population by nativity for statistical analyses, but we note that Mexicans in the nonpoor group were disproportionately U.S. born, while those in the poor group were disproportionately foreign born." at: http://hsb.sagepub.com/content/early/2015/04/30/0022146515582100.full.pdf?ijkey=i9EQ5hpDJlBQ3Q0&keytype=finite ) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3152637/ While long-debunked but expedient medical claims that infants are somehow "insensitive to pain" continue to provide endless fodder for ivory tower medical studies, http://www.nocirc.org/symposia/second/chamberlain.html http://members.tranquility.net/~rwinkel/MGM/blog/infant_pain.txt post traumatic stress reactions have been noted in american infants returning to hospitals, again while neglecting the obvious possibility that they were remembering birth-related trauma. http://members.tranquility.net/~rwinkel/MGM/oldrefs/www.drkoop.com/newsdetail/93/512690.html In fact these researchers actually call for more medical intervention to treat "mentally ill infants," preparing the ground for the wholesale "mental health" screening, drugging and further brain-damaging of infants, http://www.ahrp.org/cms/content/view/404/31 a pharmocorporate-funded initiative which is already well underway with teenagers. http://www.psychsearch.net/teenscreen.html http://www.teenscreen-locations.com/ http://ablechild.org/psycho-stimulant%20efect%20on%20children.htm The level of narcissism and denial going on in medicine surely deserves a DSM category all its own. Furthermore, most of the medical "heroics" which lead to these iatrogenic outcomes are a product of legal pressures and medical culture and incentives rather than responses to actual medical crises. For instance: 1) "The majority of hospitals and obstetricians in this country (still) insist on a birthing position that quite literally makes the baby, following the curve of the birth canal, be born heading upwards. States Williams: "The most widely used and often the most satisfactory (position for delivery) is the dorsal lithotomy position on a delivery table with leg supports" (Cunningham et al. 1989:315). No reasons why this position is "the most satisfactory" are given, but a strong clue is provided in an earlier text: The lithotomy position is the best. Here the patient lies with her legs in stirrups and her buttocks close to the lower edge of the table. The patient is in the ideal position for the attendant to deal with any complications which may arise (Oxorn and Foote 1975:110) "This position, in other words, is the easiest for performing obstetric interventions, including maintaining sterility, monitoring fetal heart rate, administering anesthetics, and performing and repairing episiotomies (McKay and Mahan 1984:111). "Roberto Caldeyro-Barcia, past president of the International Federation of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, states unequivocally, "Except for being hanged by the feet, the supine position is the worst conceivable position for labor and delivery"" Lithotomy Position http://www.birthingnaturally.net/barp/lithotomy.html This dysfunctional medicalized birthing position is the cause of most difficulties and medical interventions in birth, interventions which are often traumatic and dangerous to both the baby and the mother. 2) "Immediate clamping of the umbilical cord at birth has become a standard procedure during the past two decades. This merits investigation as the cause of increased incidence of autism. Clamping of the umbilical cord before the lungs function induces a period of total asphyxia and produces severe hypovolemia by preventing placental transfusion - a 30% to 50% loss of blood volume - resulting in a hypoxic, ischemic neonate at risk for brain damage. As in circulatory arrest and other factors that disrupt aerobic metabolism, damage of brainstem nuclei and the cerebellum can result. Visible damage seen in some cases of autism also involves brainstem nuclei and the cerebellum. The brainstem auditory pathway is especially vulnerable to brief total asphyxia. Impairment of the auditory system can be linked to verbal auditory agnosia, which underlies the language disorder in some children with autism. Due to blood loss into the placenta, the immediately clamped neonate is very prone to develop infant anemia that has been widely correlated with mental deficiency and learning / behavior disorders that become evident in grade school. We propose that increased incidence of autism, infant anemia, childhood mental disorders and hypoxic ischemic brain damage, all originate at birth from one cause - immediate umbilical cord clamping. This deserves to be investigated as extensively as genetics or exposure to toxic substances as an etiological factor for autism. Normal cord closure, with placental oxygenation and transfusion, prevents asphyxia and ischemia. Allowing physiological cord closure at every delivery could at least reduce the incidence of birth brain injuries." ... "Immediate clamping of the umbilical cord before the child has breathed (ICC) has been condemned in obstetrical literature for over 200 years. [1] [2] In the 1970s, primate research [A][3][4] using ICC to produce neonatal asphyxia resulted in brain lesions similar to those of human neonatal asphyxia." http://www.cordclamp.org Offline? Use: http://members.tranquility.net/~rwinkel/MGM/www.cordclamp.com/ http://members.tranquility.net/~rwinkel/MGM/ICCInjury.txt http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6949700.stm Anemia resulting from premature clamping may lead to long-term cognitive deficiencies, even where iron supplements are given: http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/160/11/1108 SIDS has been correlated with abnormalities in neurochemical metabolism in the brainstem, which is the area most affected by ICC. http://members.tranquility.net/~rwinkel/MGM/blog/sids.txt The finding that boys are more vulnerable to the effects of ICC than girls correlates with higher rates of both SIDS and autism among boys. http://members.tranquility.net/~rwinkel/MGM/blog/umbilical_gender.txt The trauma of being asphyxiated at birth after losing half your blood to the placenta can only be imagined. 3) "In 1975, the College Entrance Examination Board commissioned an advisory panel to examine the possible reasons for an alarming continuing decline in the scores of high school students on the Scholastic Aptitude Tests or, "SAT's," a decline which had started with the 18-year-olds born in 1945 and thereafter. From 1963 to 1977, the score average on the verbal part of the SAT's fell 49 points. The mathematical scores declined 31 points. (1) (...) "The SAT is designed to be an unchanging measurement. Considerable effort has been made to keep the test a sufficiently constant measure so that any particular score received on a current test indicates the same level of ability to do college work that the same score did 36 or 20 or 5 or 2 years ago. The SAT measures individual students' capacities not only in comparison with their peers in the particular group but also in comparison with those who took the test in earlier years .... The SAT score decline does not result from changes in the test or in the methods of scoring it." (2) (...) "What happened around 1945 that might have contributed to declining academic performance in the United States in the years that followed? Consider this brief history: According to figures from the National Center for Health Statistics, hospitals were the setting for only 36.9% of American births in 1936. By 1945 that figure had more than doubled to 78.8%. In 1950, 88% of Americans were born in hospitals. In 1960 the figure was 96.6% and in 1970, 99.4%. (...) "A reading of the obstetric literature indicates that there had always been philosophic differences among doctors regarding normal childbirth. There were those who felt it was best to allow nature to take its course and there were those who felt that intervention was better. In the years following the 40s and under the stresses of the population explosion, there was a tremendous acceleration of intervention in obstetric care. Instead of adapting to the time-consuming demands of normal childbirth, the obstetric community (with very few exceptions) changed normal childbirth to conform to the comfort of the mothers and the convenience of the doctors, hospital staffs and hospital routines -- all at the expense of the fetus and newborn." http://www.aimsusa.org/academic.htm 4) "ABSTRACT: Twenty years of clinical and behavioral observation indicate that cesarean births cause considerable trauma to babies. The physical and psychological effects are subtle and powerful, occurring at the unconscious level of the infant psyche. Negative impacts include excessive crying, feeding difficulties, sleeping difficulties, colic, and tactile defensiveness. There also may be long-term psychological effects such as rescue complexes, inferiority complexes, poor self-esteem, and other dysfunctional behaviors and feelings." http://www.eheart.com/cesarean/emerson.html "Prima Non Nocere: Iatrogenic Cesareans "When used inappropriately, medical interventions interfere with the normal process of birth and increase the risk of complications and cesarean deliveries.28, 29 A US national survey of birth practices revealed that 93 percent of women had electronic fetal monitoring, 86 percent had intravenous fluids administered through a blood vessel in their arm (an IV), 55 percent had their amniotic sac membranes artificially ruptured, 53 percent had oxytocin to strengthen contractions, and 63 percent had epidurals for pain relief. More than a third of labors were artificially induced. Almost three quarters of the women were restricted to bed, and three out of four were on their backs while pushing their babies out.30 "(...) Our physicians actively resist the implementation of evidence-based practice and dont believe a cesarean rate in the low twenties is a problem.31 "Personal accounts from women who have had a cesarean, as well as emerging research, suggest that despite a healthy baby and a timely physical recovery, some women experience cesarean birth as a traumatic event. An unanticipated cesarean is more likely to increase the risk for postpartum depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). As in other traumatic human experiences, the symptoms of birth-related PTSD may emerge weeks, months, or years after the event.9,11 Women re-experience the birth and the emotions associated with it in dreams or thought intrusions. They avoid places or people that remind them of the event. Some mothers have difficulty relating to their infants, and some will avoid sexual contact that may result in pregnancy. They will also exhibit symptoms of hyperarousal, such as difficulty sleeping or concentrating, irritability, and an excessive startle response. Untreated post-traumatic stress often leads to clinical depression.12" http://www.mothering.com/articles/pregnancy_birth/cesarean_vbac/sorry-state.html The Emotional Scars of Cesarean Birth http://www.obgyn.net/women/women.asp?page=/pb/articles/emotional_cs_scar 5) "The practice of routinely cutting the perineum during hospital deliveries in the United States, episiotomy, has been shown to be the principal risk factor for severe tearing during delivery, which is the injury that it is supposed to prevent. Nonetheless American obstetricians continue to overuse this procedure ten times more often than is called for. Episiotomy is also a major risk factor for infection, loss of sexual pleasure, and incontinence. Women who have been subjected to episiotomies take longer to heal from delivery, even compared to women who have equivalent tears." Episiotomy: Ritual Genital Mutilation in Western Obstetrics http://www.changesurfer.com/Hlth/episiotomy.html 6) Male circumcision has been linked to severe child psychological trauma, http://www.cirp.org/library/psych/cansever/ adult male violence, addiction and violence against women, http://www.cirp.org/library/psych/rhinehart1/ and brain damage. http://www.cirp.org/library/psych/immerman2/ http://www.cirp.org/library/psych/brain_damage/ Other research implies that the neurological impact of circumcision is likely to lead to adult violence, sadomasochism and addiction. http://www.violence.de/prescott/truthseeker/genpl.html http://www.cirp.org/library/psych/prescott2/ Contrary to popular belief, most american physicians who practice circumcision still don't administer anesthetic of any kind, except for whatever residual obstetrical sedatives which might still be circulating in the baby's blood. (Stang, Snellman. Circumcision Practice Patterns in the United States. Pediatrics Vol. 101 No. 6 June 1, 1998) Video of a circumcision: http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=-6584757516627632617 The circumcision imprint: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmX6RdRNoqk Circumcision and the vagus nerve: http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=kindness-emotions-psychology&page=2 http://www.cirp.org/library/pain/porter2/ Circumcision adversely affects breastfeeding: http://www.cirp.org/library/birth/ Circumcision HR primer: http://members.tranquility.net/~rwinkel/MGM/primer.html 7) "Pit to Distress" is the apparently common obstetrical practice of deliberately overdosing a birthing mother with the induction drug pitocin in order to create a medical emergency "necessitating" a cesarean. http://pregnancy.about.com/b/2009/07/10/pit-to-distress.htm Again, zero consideration is paid to the baby's subjective experience of essentially suffering a miscarriage. Normal labor is initiated by the fetus, not the mother. Most likely this would be imprinted by the baby as total maternal rejection. Check out this horror show. A mailing list for ob-gyn's detailing how they use cytotec (a drug approved for gastric ulcers, which was discovered to cause miscarriages) to force delivery on demand. Massive hemorrhages and uterine ruptures have resulted. These people have lost their minds. http://www.sciencebasedbirth.com/Citations%20or%20text%2002/Cytotec_EmailsDocs_1990s.htm 8) An internal fetal heart monitor consists of a sensor with a stainless steel corkscrew which is inserted into the vagina and screwed into the baby's head or other body part prior to delivery. http://www.mybirth.com.au/assets/internalmonitorclose.jpg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rzzin8ha4CQ 9) "Myth: Epidurals are safe for mother and baby. "Fact: An epidural increases the odds of cesarean for lack of progress somewhere between 2- and 8-fold, especially in first-time moms and causes fetal distress in about 10% of babies." http://www.hencigoer.com/obmyth/ "Administration of multiple doses of opiates, barbiturates and nitrous oxide to mothers during delivery were found to increase the occurrence of subsequent opiate (RR 4.7, 95% CI 1.8-12.0, p = 0.002) or amphetamine (RR 5.6, 95% CI 1.6-16.9, p = 0.005) addiction in the offspring as compared to when no drug was given [22, 23]." http://www.cirp.org/library/pain/anand4/ Epidural During Birth May Negatively Affect Breast-Feeding http://www.forbes.com/forbeslife/health/feeds/hscout/2006/12/11/hscout536503.html Epidural is usually given in combination with pitocin, a combination which may deprive the baby of oxygen by lowering maternal blood pressure while increasing intra-uterine pressure, inhibiting oxygen diffusion across the placental membrane. Pitocin use is associated with autism. http://www.answers.com/topic/epidural-therapy http://www.autismtoday.com/articles/ATTN_Researchers.htm Many obstetrical drugs are being used "off label" and have never been evaluated for their impact on the fetus: http://www.aimsusa.org/ObstetricDrugs-NotApproved.htm http://www.aimsusa.org/obstetricdrugs.htm 10) The medical community's "guidance" on breastfeeding is a scandal in itself. Even without the now abundant evidence of the immunological, nutritional, intellectual and psychological benefits of breastfeeding for the baby, and its psychological, hormonal and physiological benefits for post-partum mothers, common sense and human empathy would strongly argue against intervening in this intimate time of mother-child bonding. Yet generations of american children have been denied this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for normal health, growth and emotional well being on the basis of little more than uninformed medical hubris working in concert with a well-financed corporate marketing campaign. The social costs of this medically inspired mass emotional neglect are predictable. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2684040/ http://www.theecologist.org/trial_investigations/268337/breastmilk_vs_formula_food.html http://www.lalecheleague.org/NB/NBbenefits.html http://members.tranquility.net/~rwinkel/MGM/blog/BFeedingIQ.txt http://members.tranquility.net/~rwinkel/MGM/blog/BFStemCell.txt http://www.babymilkaction.org/ https://web.archive.org/web/20130509044217/http://www.babymilkaction.org/shop/pcards.html#twins Hospitals receive kickbacks from formula companies for handing out formula to new mothers, interfering with the crucial first few days when breastfeeding must be initiated: https://web.archive.org/web/20120629214022/http://banthebags.org/48 Meanwhile, the US WIC program for low income families distributes vouchers for infant formula, promoting poor health and lower IQ among poor children: https://web.archive.org/web/20120515230358/http://www.homelandstupidity.us/2007/05/21/wic-killing-children-with-kindness Breast milk contains oxytocin, the hormone of love and bonding: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3582266 Bottle feeding linked to post partum depression http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306987709005076 Lack of breast feeding linked to autism http://www.internationalbreastfeedingjournal.com/content/1/1/16 Baby formula is contaminated with aluminum: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131010091429.htm Fluoride from drinking water (and "fortified formula water") combines with aluminum. The fluoroaluminum complex is linked to alzheimer's disease: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9518651 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10377600 11) Loss of ecstatic birth experience (epidurals) adversely affects mother/child bonding & child empowerment https://web.archive.org/web/20100703052612/http://www.sarahjbuckley.com/articles/ecstatic-birth.htm The hormone of love: http://www.midwiferytoday.com/articles/postpartum_rebirth.asp 12) Early tactile and vestibular (balance) sensory deprivation imprinting ("swaddling", hospital "isolettes", baby strollers etc) imprints sociopathy. http://www.violence.de/ http://www.violence.de/tv/rockabye.html Birth trauma combined with early maternal rejection (e.g. immediate mother deprivation in a hospital "isolette", lack of carrying and breastfeeding etc, which are likely perceived as rejection by mammalian infants) predispose to violent crime. http://www.tranquility.net/~rwinkel/janel/BirthComplicRejection.html "Three new studies led by Notre Dame Psychology Professor Darcia Narvaez show a relationship between child rearing practices common in foraging hunter-gatherer societies (how we humans have spent about 99 percent of our history) and better mental health, greater empathy and conscience development, and higher intelligence in children. "Our research shows that the roots of moral functioning form early in life, in infancy, and depend on the affective quality of family and community support," says Narvaez, who specializes in the moral and character development of children. ... "Narvaez identifies six characteristics of child rearing that were common to our distant ancestors: Lots of positive touch - as in no spanking - but nearly constant carrying, cuddling and holding Prompt response to baby's fusses and cries. You can't "spoil" a baby. This means meeting a child's needs before they get upset and the brain is flooded with toxic chemicals. "Warm, responsive caregiving like this keeps the infant's brain calm in the years it is forming its personality and response to the world," Narvaez says Breastfeeding, ideally 2 to 5 years. A child's immune system isn't fully formed until age 6 and breast milk provides its building blocks Multiple adult caregivers - people beyond mom and dad who also love the child Free play with multi-age playmates. Studies show that kids who don't play enough are more likely to have ADHD and other mental health issues Natural childbirth, which provides mothers with the hormone boosts that give the energy to care for a newborn. http://newsinfo.nd.edu/news/16829-research-shows-child-rearing-practices-of-distant-ancestors-f/ A normal birth, something 95%+ of healthy women can have, something babies deserve: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kfccWzl7K0 13) Vaccines Regressive-type autistic children have an antioxidant deficiency which hinders their ability to eliminate toxic metals (such as mercury or aluminum in vaccines) from their bodies. Yet children are still not being screened for this condition before vaccination. http://members.tranquility.net/~rwinkel/MGM/blog/autism.txt http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/80/6/1611.full Contrary to popular belief, the FDA is still (as of Apr 2015) approving mercury in multidose vaccine vials, including the flu vaccine. http://www.vaccinesafety.edu/thi-table.htm Since flu vaccine is given annually, american children are likely getting more exposure to mercury than ever before. Baby monkeys subjected to the equivalent of the standard US pediatric vaccination schedule developed autism. http://vactruth.com/2012/04/29/monkeys-get-autism/ There are at least 100 research papers connecting vaccination with autism: http://adventuresinautism.blogspot.com/2007/06/no-evidence-of-any-link.html The glaring dearth of epidemiological studies comparing vaccinated vs unvaccinated populations may become insurmountable in the US given the aggressive push toward forcible universal vaccination. Yet such studies do exist: http://vactruth.com/2014/02/26/unvaccinated-children-healthier/ http://www.vaccineinjury.info/vaccinations-in-general/health-unvaccinated-children/survey-results-illnesses.html The obvious conflicts of interest in mainstream medicine and the CDC regarding vaccination are especially toxic here. 14) Twilight sleep: It's a remarkable fact that perhaps a majority of americans born in the last century were imprinted with a combination of morphine and scopolamine (belladonna, an hallucinogen which produces delirium) in order to induce amnesia in the mother, so she wouldn't remember the severe trauma of an american birth. Of course she was totally emotionally removed from the arrival of her baby as a result. Researching the long term psychological impact of this concoction on the baby would be an interesting project, especially in light of the imprinting research linked above. http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=10226 "Flat earth obstetrics is a 21st century version of a medical Dark Ages, in which contemporary medicine has forgotten or ignored the traditional knowledge base and physiological principles necessary for normal labor and safe, spontaneous birth. Flat Earth Obstetrics is the belief that medical and surgical interventions are necessary in every normal childbirth, despite evidence that such a policy is harmful. The term is derived from the insistence by religious and political leaders during the Dark Ages that the earth was flat despite evidence to the contrary. "The problem with the current form of obstetrical care in the United States is the uncritical acceptance of an unscientific method -- the routine use of interventionist obstetrics for healthy women with normal pregnancies. "Medicalizing normal childbearing in healthy women makes childbirth unnecessarily and artificially dangerous." "Obstetrics has been rated as the least scientifically-based specialty in medicine" [Dr. Ian Chalmers 1987]. http://www.sciencebasedbirth.com/ OB's are routinely pulling babies out with forceps and suction machines, twisting their necks and spines to compensate for the dysfunctional birth position. Babies often come out with huge bruises, dents and bulges on their heads where various devices were attached. Presumably the brain and spinal cord are easily injured by such procedures. The bleeding resulting from forcible extraction and from circumcision is combatted with vitamin K injections which often cause jaundice which in turn is combatted with premature cord clamping. Premature clamping is also used to combat the effects of induction when clamping is done before placental delivery, to keep too much blood from being pushed into the baby from uncontrolled uterine contractions. All of this abuse can be avoided in the vast majority of cases by leaving birth alone to proceed at its own pace, including delaying clamping until natural placental delivery occurs so the blood can equilibrate between the child and the placenta. Hospital wards are full of pressures, schedules and stress. Birthing mothers need to be able to relax, they need to be left alone in safe places to give birth like any other mammal. At a time when mothers and babies should be bonding in hormonal bliss, mothers' hormones are disrupted from stress, sedation and induction while traumatized babies are often essentially straightjacketed and isolated in a sensory deprivation environment. Such early isolation has been known to adversely affect the long term mother-infant relationship in lab animals for decades, and was recently confirmed in humans as well. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19489802 Is it really necessary to mathematically derive that what mothers and babies both want should be prioritized over the vagaries of medical convenience? The real kicker in all this is how easy it would be to avoid: The Truth About Birth http://unassistedbirth.com/uc/truth.html Leaving Well Alone: A Natural Approach to the Third Stage of Labour http://www.childbirthsolutions.com/articles/birth/thirdstage/index.php "I always thought there was no other way for me to give birth- that I was a birthing failure; incapable of birthing without an induction jumpstart or a surgical incision. For five childbirths I always "needed" my doctors to create my birth experiences for me, and to save me from my own birthing inefficiency and hopelessness. (I was actually addicted to their "helping" me, and was always effusive in my gratitude for their efforts.) But then with my sixth, I just couldn't do it again- I couldn't go back to another hospital to give birth... I was just too hurt and broken inside. "I found a lay midwife, and had the beautiful, easy birth that I am intended to have. I finally gave birth as a full, luscious woman- all my own hormones, in my own safe place- with no fingers in me, or straps on my belly. (Or knives in my belly.) I simply pushed my baby out and went to bed." ... A letter from Leilah McCracken http://members.tranquility.net/~rwinkel/MGM/blog/childbirth.txt Early organized medicine saw midwifery was successfully competing with them in terms of safety and affordability while undermining their claims to scientific authority, so they mounted a campaign to force them out of the birthing business in the early 20th century http://www.collegeofmidwives.org/safety_issues01/rosenbl1.htm The next thing our altruistic medical profession did, after eliminating one of the few professional opportunities available to women at the time, was to discard their accumulated wisdom and pathologize and try to control the whole process, rather than let nature take its course. The results have been disasterous. The widespread belief that birth is a medical emergency largely stems from horrific infection rates at early western obstetrical wards. It was discovered these infections were being caused by doctors who weren't washing their hands before intervening (or interfering!) in deliveries. Midwife-led wards had no such problem. The problem of needless iatrogenic infection continues today. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ignaz_Semmelweis http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/29/nyregion/hospitals-struggle-to-get-workers-to-wash-their-hands.html?_r=0 It seems medicine's appreciation for its own level of ignorance and incentives to interfere is inspired by the chemical industry's approach to the safety of its own products: innocent until proven guilty. But while the economically conflicted medical research establishment is busy catching up with monkeys and dogs in its understanding of birth and child care, children are being hurt, with often life-long consequences. I urge you to investigate this issue. Once you crack open this pandora's box, I guarantee your life will never be the same. But you will have many allies, and as public awareness is raised, this country will experience a time of self-reflection that will profoundly change it for the better. Thank you. Rich Winkel Videos: Birth as we know it http://www.birthasweknowit.com/trailer.html Orgasmic birth is nature's way of creating an immediate, over-the-top, animalistic bond of a new mother to her baby http://orgasmicbirth.com/ The business of being born http://www.thebusinessofbeingborn.com/ The other side of the glass (a birth film for fathers) http://www.theothersideoftheglass.com