really great article on mothering.com:
"...compare this to CDC estimates that 0.5 percent of babies born to GBS-positive mothers with no treatment will develop a GBS infection, and that 6 percent of those who develop a GBS infection will die. Six percent of 0.5 percent means that three out of every 10,000 babies born to GBS-positive mothers given no antibiotics during labor will die from GBS infection. If the mother develops anaphylaxis [from taking penicillin] during labor (one in 10,000 will), and it is untreated, it is likely that the infant, too, will die. So, by CDC estimates, we save the lives of two in 10,000 babies--0.02 percent--by administering antibiotics during labor to one third of all laboring women. We should also keep in mind that this figure does not take into account the infants that will die as a result of bacteria made antibiotic-resistant by the use of antibiotics during labor--infants who would not otherwise have become ill. When you take that into account, there may not be any lives saved by using antibiotics during labor."
i looked into this because i am wondering whether one is allowed to give birth out-of-hospital if group b positive (i just called the birth center and it's fine). but now, armed with more knowledge than i had 15 minutes ago, i am confident in refusing THAT test, too. or at least refusing the treatment in the case that i allow them to test me.
it's amazing to me, the multitude of ways the medical community manages to interfere with the natural course of labor to no justifiably improved outcome. i am going to say something that will most certainly be perceived as fucked up right now... you've been warned...
the process of birth is a dangerous, difficult, and trying event for a baby. it was designed to be that way biologically. for the mother too. 100% of babies and mothers were not meant to survive... call it a test of genetic integrity, a chance for "survival of the fittest" to rear its head and be heard. the simple fact is that sometimes, best intentions aside, people die during birth. it sucks, it's sad, and i sincerely hope it never happens to anyone i know, but the fact is it DOES happen. it happens in the most medically-managed of births (either from interventions or in spite of them) and in the most "natural" of homebirths too. IT HAPPENS. and that's ok. sitting here with my little girl--whom i want nothing more than to meet--kicking inside my belly, i can accept that sometimes babies die. it's just a fact of life, and for me, i would rather accept all the risk that comes with saying "no" to needles, drugs, instruments, and interference than wonder, should anything untoward happen and i lose my baby, whether it was the fault of a treatment i knew the risks of and didn't refuse. i know the risks of natural birth, and i accept them. if our two intertwined bodies can't work together to produce her in a healthy and safe manner, then i can accept that she wasn't meant to live on this earth and be grateful that her existence was spent warm, close, and comfortable as long as it lasted. what i could not accept would be to wonder whether things might have been different if i had said "no" to this or that or the other test or drug or whatever. (yes, there is a good argument here that if i believe, as i do, that "everything happens for a reason" it is fair to say that if i were to accept treatment and something bad happened, that was meant to be too...)
in any case, that basically sums up my feelings. i am truly sorry, and it is so sad, that women and babies die sometimes, but i think it is wrong that we treat it as such an aberration, an affront, even, "how could this happen to ME?"--we should all grow up a little and accept that death is part of life, especially in such risky activities as birth. i am not so selfish as to assume or take for granted that i will be the exception to the rule that 'sometimes people die;' and should i end up in that situation i can only hope i will accept it for what it is, a natural and entirely statistically expected fact of life, and not have a sense of injustice about it. i would rather trust my decisions, whatever their consequences, than go along with someone else's opinion out of a sense of fear or doubt in myself.
all i can do to try to create the most positive outcome for myself and my baby is to go with my intuition... and it tells me loud and clear every day what NOT to do. guide on, little daemon. i'm listening.
"...compare this to CDC estimates that 0.5 percent of babies born to GBS-positive mothers with no treatment will develop a GBS infection, and that 6 percent of those who develop a GBS infection will die. Six percent of 0.5 percent means that three out of every 10,000 babies born to GBS-positive mothers given no antibiotics during labor will die from GBS infection. If the mother develops anaphylaxis [from taking penicillin] during labor (one in 10,000 will), and it is untreated, it is likely that the infant, too, will die. So, by CDC estimates, we save the lives of two in 10,000 babies--0.02 percent--by administering antibiotics during labor to one third of all laboring women. We should also keep in mind that this figure does not take into account the infants that will die as a result of bacteria made antibiotic-resistant by the use of antibiotics during labor--infants who would not otherwise have become ill. When you take that into account, there may not be any lives saved by using antibiotics during labor."
i looked into this because i am wondering whether one is allowed to give birth out-of-hospital if group b positive (i just called the birth center and it's fine). but now, armed with more knowledge than i had 15 minutes ago, i am confident in refusing THAT test, too. or at least refusing the treatment in the case that i allow them to test me.
it's amazing to me, the multitude of ways the medical community manages to interfere with the natural course of labor to no justifiably improved outcome. i am going to say something that will most certainly be perceived as fucked up right now... you've been warned...
the process of birth is a dangerous, difficult, and trying event for a baby. it was designed to be that way biologically. for the mother too. 100% of babies and mothers were not meant to survive... call it a test of genetic integrity, a chance for "survival of the fittest" to rear its head and be heard. the simple fact is that sometimes, best intentions aside, people die during birth. it sucks, it's sad, and i sincerely hope it never happens to anyone i know, but the fact is it DOES happen. it happens in the most medically-managed of births (either from interventions or in spite of them) and in the most "natural" of homebirths too. IT HAPPENS. and that's ok. sitting here with my little girl--whom i want nothing more than to meet--kicking inside my belly, i can accept that sometimes babies die. it's just a fact of life, and for me, i would rather accept all the risk that comes with saying "no" to needles, drugs, instruments, and interference than wonder, should anything untoward happen and i lose my baby, whether it was the fault of a treatment i knew the risks of and didn't refuse. i know the risks of natural birth, and i accept them. if our two intertwined bodies can't work together to produce her in a healthy and safe manner, then i can accept that she wasn't meant to live on this earth and be grateful that her existence was spent warm, close, and comfortable as long as it lasted. what i could not accept would be to wonder whether things might have been different if i had said "no" to this or that or the other test or drug or whatever. (yes, there is a good argument here that if i believe, as i do, that "everything happens for a reason" it is fair to say that if i were to accept treatment and something bad happened, that was meant to be too...)
in any case, that basically sums up my feelings. i am truly sorry, and it is so sad, that women and babies die sometimes, but i think it is wrong that we treat it as such an aberration, an affront, even, "how could this happen to ME?"--we should all grow up a little and accept that death is part of life, especially in such risky activities as birth. i am not so selfish as to assume or take for granted that i will be the exception to the rule that 'sometimes people die;' and should i end up in that situation i can only hope i will accept it for what it is, a natural and entirely statistically expected fact of life, and not have a sense of injustice about it. i would rather trust my decisions, whatever their consequences, than go along with someone else's opinion out of a sense of fear or doubt in myself.
all i can do to try to create the most positive outcome for myself and my baby is to go with my intuition... and it tells me loud and clear every day what NOT to do. guide on, little daemon. i'm listening.
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