ParasMom

I have no qualms with midwives. A midwife delivered my birth child in 1999 (a completely "natural" birth since it was done in under 6 hours ... no one thougth that I would progress that quickly, but I did and the NMV delivered the baby after checking me when I said, "The baby is coming NOW!") Perhaps I wasn't clear, but I am referring to lay people and doulas on a mission in this post ... about those who are so gung-ho to remove birth from the hospital that they forget that some women do want to deliver with a doctor and nurse(s) by their side and some pain medication either via IV or epidural. When I go for my BSN (which I plan to do once I have my RN license) I hope to take some MW courses just so that I have that much more information under my belt. (My husband says that I am addicted to classrooms... :rotfl: ) Thanks for all of the advice. I never meant to insult anyone with the nature nazi title. I used it, as I said a few moments ago in another post, for lack of a better phrase to describe those that are so fanatical about their approach to helping pregnant women that they will give out false or biased information.

Point 1 --> I didn't coin "nature nazis" as it came from my OB/GYN and I used it for lack of a better phrase. I respect any birth plan that a woman makes -- be it at home or in a hospital. My problem is with those women who want to scare other women into delivering they way that THEY want them to. Telling them that their kid will be harmed if they use pain meds, that they will be paralyzed with monster headaches if they get an epidural, that if they have any medical interventions then the birth is "abnormal", etc. That kind of thing is what's bothering me. Point 2 --> None of the women about whom I'm talking are doctors or nurses. They are mostly a bunch of lay people with no medical background doling out misinformation to pregnant women. There is one doula that I am including in this group who will pass out a medical diagnosis at the drop of a hat. I should have included nurses in my original statement, I correct that mistake. I just try to make a habit of telling any pregnant women who faces these horror stories to talk to her doctor -- that her doctor will tell her what is factual and what is mere myth intended to impose a certain way of thinking.

That summed up my entire post! Thank you so much ... you said it better than I did ... and in a much shorter form. Thank you again!

That's it. I am a patient advocate 100%. If a woman brings in a birth plan that says that she is opting for a non-medicated birth, then I will respect that. If she shows interest in pain management, but I will respect that, too. I am having a problem with certain people who are telling pregnant women horror stories about epidurals and other pain medications, birthing in a hospital, vaccinating their children, and how the medical community only cares about how much money that they can get from a patient. It drives me insane to hear that some expectant mom has been told that in order for her birth to be normal, that she has to do it without any intervention or that epidurals harm your child.

imo, that is the way that it should be. but, as with everything else, this is not always the case. i am dealing with one doula in particular who has gone on a message board to rant about her client who had a c-section. she -- and some of her nn cronies -- have blasted a concerned mom-to-be because she is contemplating an epidural. they compare using formula to giving your child a ciagrette and have said that any medicated birth is "abnormal." support is one thing, but pushing your beliefs and trying to make a woman have a birth that you want her to have is quite another. i would love to take doula classes, but i don't think that i could deal with the nazism that seems to surround many of the women with which i'd be studying.

I'm dealing with the breast issue right now. Granted, I nursed my daughter and we are still working on weaning (she's over a year old...). and I am a big advocate of breast feeding. However, there is a huge push to stop forumla companies from being able to offer the free "goodie" bags to women in OB/GYN offices and in hospitals. One state has now banned the bags in hospitals all together. (No, hospitals should not be marketing places for formula companies, but like wise they are not there to attempt to force women to breast feed either.) I just hope that I can find a way to get past the complete outrage I feel when I hear / see NN's giving medical advice and telling women what is normal and what is abnormal.

I completely agree that each woman should be able to deliver as she sees fit. What I am talking about are those people who scare pregnant women into a "natural" child birth. For example: * Telling a woman that having an epidural will harm her child, leave her paralyzed, and possibly a "spinal cord puncture." (I pointed out to one woman the the epidural is inserted well below where the spinal cord ends and she called me a "loony.") * Telling a woman that if she has any pain medication, that the birth is abnormal because only "natural" births are normal. * Telling a woman that all OBs and RNs are in it for the money and want to make the hospital bill as high as possible AND that having a medicated mom is better because the RNs don't really want to deal with her anyway. * Telling women NOT to vaccinate their children at all because it'll make their child autistic. * Telling women that giving their child formula is the same as giving them a ciagarette. That's just the tip of the iceburg. I've heard and read so many eye-popping allegations lately that I am in utter shock. Why would I go into this field if I didn't care about each and every person placed in my care and that I'll be their advocate 100% even if I personally don't agree? It seems like some of these people are pushing an agenda and are using horror stories to scare women into turning their backs on modern medicine.

I'm half-way to obtaining my ADN and have recently discovered that there are people out there who are not only anti-OB/GYN but are against any medical interventions at all during pregnancy. I talked to my OB/GYN for over an hour last week about some of the things that are being told to pregnant women to scare them into not trusting their OBs or L/D nurses and that not delivering naturally is an "abnormal" birth ... yadda, yadda, yadda. Dr. E called them "nature nazis" which I laughed at. But more and more I am beginning to think that she has a point. How do you deal with lay people and over-the-top doulas that will say anything to keep a woman from considering an epidural as an option for pain management or even delivering in a hospital? My first reaction was to set the record straight to some of these women on one mommy board, but I have not only lost my moderator status, but been basically named a "troll" for not backing down from that stance that it is no one's business how a woman opts to deliver her child (we should respect any birth plan that a mom-to-be has made and not degrade her for opting for an epidural or trusting that her OB knows best). And that no one but a MD should give out medical advice to pregnant women. I am just shocked. I've been told that since I hope to work LDPP one day that I will have to learn to deal with the, for lack of a better name, "nature nazis" real quick. The question is, HOW. I am just at my wit's end. Are they really that common?

And you think that you deserve a child? You need anger management therapy first, in my opinion. I am so glad that you are not the poster child for adoptive parents in this country.

What on earth?!?! As a birthmother, I am floored at your post! My birthdaughter's adoptive parents were chosen by me and were even in the delivery room. I kept my birthdaughter in the room with me the ENTIRE time, and while it broke my heart to hand her over, I felt that those two days together gave me closure. Birthmothers are not incubators and until the papers are signed, that child is not yours. Had E's apars not been wonderful I might have backed out, but seeing them with her made it clear that this is how God intended it to be. Your adoption had a fatal flaw that had nothing to do with the birthmom holding her child in the hospital. Perhaps she picked up on your attitude and decided that her child was not going to be raised by someone so hateful.