Comments on: Pregnant in America, How can it Feel This Wrong?

By: Donna Marie Lewis

Donna Marie Lewis — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 18:18:45 +0000

I’ve never given birth, but I believe I’d probably be thinking, “Heck, my mom was drugged into unconsciousness for my birth, so I’m carrying on a family tradition !”

By: Kitty

Kitty — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 04:13:28 +0000

I have to ask, why should childbirth be painful?

By: kris

kris — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 16:23:31 +0000

I have had one hospital birth and three home births (with a doctor not a midwife) and have 4 healthy children. I don’t feel the problems with our healthcare system and specifically within OB practices are linked so much to greed and corruption as to an unhealthy view of sex, procreation, and pregnancy itself on the part of many doctors. I didn’t switch from hospital to home birth so much out of a fear of hospitals and their “evil tactics”. But, rather to find a practice dedicated to life, famly, and respect for God’s plan. Often I think that it just coincidentally happens that doctors and nurses who have the same view of sex, procreation, and pregnancy as we do also happen to be part of the “alternative” medicine scene. Doctors who are part of a hospital practice (more main-stream medicine) tend to trust more in biology and technology than God’s plan…this can lead many (including catholic doctors and catholic institutions) to waver on significant life issues and “bend the rules” so to speak when “modern medicine” dictates it be so. I feel it is part of God’s plan (and shouldn’t be messed with) that birth should be painful. Yes - I said it! Trust me women HATE to hear that! But, I stand by that and I always put my pain to good use, applying it to a person in need or for the poor souls in purgatory…Also, we often trust in medicine too much in our society. Americans run to the doctor for EVERYTHING and take WAY too many meds! I think a shift away from a reliance on hospitals to make birth as “painless as possible” is a good thing - it’s actually healthier for the babies too! All those drugs for mom are NOT good for baby.
Anyhow…that’s my imput - sorry so long.

By: John Hetman

John Hetman — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 01:24:30 +0000

Blanket exposes or endorsements are both riddled with problems. They are biased, generalize, and can cause serious problems for people who view them as scripture.

When my first child was born we used a natural childbirth practice that had midwives on staff and went a Catholic hospital that was not highly recommended. As it turned out the hospital was absolutely outstanding, but the practice was garbage–including a nutcase pediatrician who peddled natural vitamins on the side and a third backup obstetrician who showed up late for a difficult delivery and waited till exactly the moment of birth to come and deliver. The hospital staff nurses were shooting daggers at this egomaniac.

For my second child, we went to a highly regarded non-Catholic Hospital affiliated with a major university, which turned out to be very substandard, but we had a fine Catholic obstetrician- pediatrician with eight kids of his own–who did not perform any great feats of wondrous primitive childbirth on my wife and treated her with respect.

Both children were, thank God, healthy and of fine weight just below and above nine pounds.

I went through several pediatricians with my first child till I settled on a fairly sane guy who actually listened to parents most of the time–and when he didn’t, he was totally wrong.

By: shelray

shelray — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 21:04:42 +0000

Thanks for pointing that out, there were so many obvious flaws with the trailer, I didn’t even take the time to go in that direction of the profitability vs. revenue issue. Something tells me they referred to revenue instead of profit for a reason.

By: dad29

dad29 — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 19:44:39 +0000

Neither hospital nor OB/GYN “profits” are exorbitant, by any means–unless “exorbitant” means 10% of revenue, like Exxon.

At least, not in Milwaukee, where the local paper printed the profit-margins of the three largest hospital-operator chains.

OBs in Milwaukee pay about $1,250/DAY in malpractice insurance.