From: larrabee@cse.ucsc.edu (Tracy Larrabee)
Newsgroups: misc.kids
Subject: Preaching about epidurals?
Date: 15 Sep 1992 18:55:57 GMT
Organization: University of California, Santa Cruz (CE/CIS Boards)
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: arapaho.ucsc.edu


Add me to the list of people who did not find Ben's posting (either
the original or the followups) offensive in the slightest.  On the
contrary, I had been thinking how incredibly defensive the people
attacking him were.  Most of us read the net in hopes of having 
interesting info or cute stories dropped in our laps, and I found
Ben's postings to fit squarely in the "interesting info" category.

For pete's sake--no one thinks you people did anything wrong.  I've
heard many of your labor stories, and you sound strong and brave and
flexible and any other good word I can think of.  If I had Paula
Burch's labor experience (as I remember it), I would be unequivocally
happy with how I handled it and how it turned out.  

There *are* people who make statements that make me very nervous--probably
for the same reason that Ben posted his original article:  statements
like "I don't know why anyone would choose pain just for some macha
thrill over a nice safe epidural" (and yes, I know that no one said that
exact thing).  I was speaking to my cousin about how her son looked when
he was new and she said his face was all smashed because "he came out
funny."  I asked if she had back labor and she said "that's what they
tell me, but I never felt a thing because I had an epidural before I
had any discomfort."  

That seems odd to me.  I didn't say that to her, and I wouldn't even
think of it because it was her choice and no one can argue that her
end result (her marvelous son) was everything she could ask for.  What
I did think when she said that is that might make a different choice--
but then I won't know until I go through it, will I?  Likewise, I know
a woman who makes fun of people who read pregnancy books, who smokes
up a storm, and who announces that she wants an epidural the minute
she can have it and they better give her plenty of demoral to help her
hold out until she can have the epidural.  I don't really understand
her attitude, but then again: it's her choice.

I feel about epidurals the way I feel about other interventions: I
want to know everything I can ahead of time so I can make an informed
choice.  My deal with my doctor is that I would like to aim for as few
interventions as possible, and given my doctor's history and
reputation, if that is the right thing for me, I'll get it.  I told
her one of the reasons I was so happy being with her was that I knew
if I got a c-section or a suction delivery with her, I would be
deleriously happy that such an intervention was possible for my sake
and my baby's (she has very good stats on c-sections and on healthy
babies).  

We have had several conversations about being flexible and how you
never know how birth will go until you are in labor.  We have also
talked about how an awful lot of her patients actually do deliver with
no medication, and if that is my choice, she is behind me 100%.  She
says she won't do an episiotomy unless she sees no alternative, and
once again, I believe her because her attitude and record backs her up
(she is famous for perineal hot packs and massage and a low episiotomy
rate).  This means if I do get an episiotomy, I will feel like my
particular anatomy and child combination necessitated one.

OK, I'm rambling away from the subject line.  I guess the bottom line is
that extra information is good.  I don't think Ben said that women who
have epidurals are making bad decisions.  What I heard was that women
should have the right to be fully informed before they make that choice.
Right now, I would rather avoid an epidural, but I don't know what kind
of labor I will have, how I will react, or how well other pain-cutting
measures will work when the time comes.  I will have a birth plan, and
it will have Plan A, Plan B, and so on, and one of the plans will include
an epidural (and one will include a c-section).

Like everyone else who reads this group, I want a healthy baby.  I
know that birth is just the very beginning of a very long
relationship, but if possible, I would like look back and feel good
about all the aspects of my son's birth.  That's why I read as much as
I can, why I devour the net's labor stories (of all kinds), and why I
appreciated Ben's postings.

--
Tracy Larrabee		larrabee@cse.ucsc.edu
Newsgroups: misc.kids