I’ve broken up this post into three parts. There’s a lot of information and a lot that happened at the conference this year. Here’s Part 1 for you!
2012 was the year of country music. We were in Nashville, TN for this year’s conference. The conference was shorter by a full day due to the new format. I’ll be honest, I’m not loving the short conference. If I’m going to fly out to network, pick up CEU’s and learn from some amazing people, I’d be happier with a longer conference. That said, I’m very glad I went again this year. This was my third conference in a row.
To save on hotel fees, I decided to fly out early Friday morning for the conference start at 1:00. Oy. Getting up at 4:00am and running for my flight in Pittsburgh because the line at security was stupid… oh and Elaine, my 3 yr old, was up for four hours in the middle of the night… yeah… next year, leaving the day before. I’ll eat the extra hotel fees to be well rested for the conference. It was decidedly unhelpful to have a foggy, sleep deprived brain on Friday when I needed to wear my best professional hat.
After eating some mediocre food at the little diner across from the hotel, and resting for a bit, it was time to register. At registration I met up with some colleagues whom I’d met at conferences past and we grabbed lunch. Oh, this was also the conference of overly large, greasy meals.
Ina May Gaskin
Our first keynote was none other than Ina May Gaskin. I was thrilled to be able to hear her speak (again). I lucked out and sat at a table up front. Her husband, Steven Gaskin, was sitting at my table! He humbly labeled himself as her chauffeur, with a wink.
Some of what she spoke about I had heard before. Other information was new to me. It is always inspiring to hear and see her.
“Birth works, so why don’t more people know it?”
Yep, well that about sums it up. She mentioned that the forceps usage rate in the 1960’s was at 67%. Yikes.
Being an English major prepared her for being a midwife by allowing her to develop her critical thinking skills.
She spoke a bit about birth ecstasy, and how it’s easy to scare a pregnant or birthing woman. The ecstasy doesn’t mix well with fear.
“When your baby is huge, you just need to smile!”
My yoga students will attest to this… “Smile when it gets tough!” I do, indeed think along the same lines as the venerable Ina May!
She went on to talk about some birth mechanics and tools and postures to make birth easier.
She gave us, LCCE’s some ideas for videos to show in class, and why.
“The dramatic struggle for life.” (Graphic elephant birth) Her thinking is “How did the mother know what to do to revive her non-breathing newborn?” Innate wisdom, etc. I think this video is a bit graphic, and scary so, no, I won’t show it in class.
“Attica Zoo Chimp Birth” Ah, so we have a chimp giving birth upside-down with grandma monkey in attendance. This exemplifies a midwife or doula role and the inverted pushing slows birth down to avoid the ‘ring of fire’ and tearing. I likely won’t show this one in class either.
150 years of propaganda against homebirth. This still has huge influence on our society.
“The human is the only mammal with the capacity to confuse itself about labor.”
Then she spoke about reporting maternal death rates; her quilt; sphincter law; oxytocin and delayed cord clamping.
After she spoke I did get to meet her, again. I was able to tell her about Elaine’s birth and her positive influence on me. Thrilling!
Henci Goer
After Ina May spoke, I went to my first break out session to hear Henci Goer speak on “Rx for an ailing maternity care system: symptoms, causes and cures”.
“Tests don’t improve fetal mortality rates, but they do increase the number of c-sections.”
Only 2% of all women experienced all six of Lamaze’s Care practices. That made me cranky. I know Henci is right on this one, but I find it so frustrating that best practices are most often not followed.
She then went on to talk about VBAC denial.
“There is no other situation where major surgery is the key to medical care.”
Ah, yep. See if I tell you I can’t take you on as a patient, or this hospital can’t deliver your VBAC baby then I make it an implicit requirement that you have a c-section. Henci is right.
As of May 2012 there are only 143 Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) hospitals in the US. (Magee Women’s Hospital is working on it!!!)
Defensive medicine doesn’t prevent lawsuits.
“Beliefs are why showing people the evidence doesn’t change minds.”
Well, this statement, above, turned out to be a reoccurring theme over the course of the weekend. It’s a bitter pill to swallow – facts aren’t enough to change someone’s mind. So now what? Have to think on that some more.
Implementing optimal practices reduces revenues. C-section = money; induction = money. Laboring on you own with no meds ≠ money.
The hospital is an authoritarian power.
When they separate a mother from her support network it is abuse.
We must believe the evidence, not just know it.
How to make change:
When we preach to the choir we build consensus. Unity = strength. We must approach open-minded opinion leaders; build coalitions. Pick the low hanging fruit 1st. In other words, change what’s easy to change and then work on the more challenging stuff. It gets you an in road and any progress is good.
“You are going to sell what’s important to you; they are going to buy what’s important to them. You must see it from the other person’s point of view.”
“ACOG is not a professional organization, they are a trade union. Unions advocate for their workers.” ~ Marsden Wagner
The key is consumer driven change, and it will happen slowly.
Then she opened the floor for Q&A and discussion.
I found her statements compelling, infuriating and depressing all at the same time. I wanted to believe that some of the negative things said about hospitals was just bluster and pomp. I really did. However, Henci took great care with her data driven lecture to show that it was not just bluster. We have a long road to travel. I can only hope than in 20-25 years when I become a grandma, that things are better.
After a long day, dinner must be had. I opted for the dine-arounds and picked Margaritaville. Food was large and greasy, but tasty. The rest of it involved a man on stilts, balloon hats and boobs…
Next up: Day 2 in which I teach my session and get to meet Dr. Jack Newman.
Sat Nam.
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