There are no words.
This crossed my inbox today, courtesy of the amazing women of ICAN.
This would be a piece of why so many women fear going (back) to an American hospital to give birth.
I found some of my own hospital birth experiences echoed in there.
I'm kind of hard to shock these days. But I find this level of misogyny from OB nurses shocking.
The authors, and those circulating it should be ashamed of themselves.
This would be a piece of why so many women fear going (back) to an American hospital to give birth.
I found some of my own hospital birth experiences echoed in there.
I'm kind of hard to shock these days. But I find this level of misogyny from OB nurses shocking.
The authors, and those circulating it should be ashamed of themselves.
posted by Louisa at 1:22 PM
19 Comments:
That is disgusting! That sort of thing makes me ashamed of the nursing profession (and I'm a nurse!).
OMG, that's the most horrid, thoughtless, spiteful, demeaning, bogus garbage I've ever read. No wonder birth and delivery is so traumatic for so many women. And I'm the one that suddenly sprouts a third eye when I mention homebirth. :(
HEY! That was my post! :D
Seriously, though...I don't know that I can spout to deaf ears much
longer. This will now be where I direct friends & acquaintances who
think I'm "insane" for HBAC'ing or those who think HB in "scary".
These nurses are a million times worse than the obgyn.net OB's!
Homebirth scary? Not so much after reading what these "women" have to
say. And I use the term women very lightly...there are better terms
for people like that.
I feel so sorry for the women who birth with that woman (and those like her) as their nurse. Do they not remember that birth memories last a lifetime? For them, it's a day at work; for the moms it's a life-long memory. So sad.
Carol
Aaaaaaugh! You just *had* to raise my blood pressure at 6:45 in the morning now, didn't you? I'm livid. And in my pajamas.
"Shave that shit?" What. The. Fuck. Aaaaand they wonder why us crazy people have our babies at home.
Distressing, but not surprising. I think it is ridiculous to say (as she did in the comment portion) that you treat all patients the same when you have these thoughts. We feel it! It slows down labor. What hostility. It is the hardest thing about being a doula.
I am absolutely, unbelievably speechless. I just spoke to a group of med students the other day about home birth and why people choose it. I wish I had had that little piece of prose to share. My mind is just boggled at reading that post. How on earth can someone write such a thing?
Wow. Just wow. My heart hurt reading that, knowing that this is how people who are SUPPOSED TO CARE ABOUT LABORING WOMEN are really thinking about them, and even treating them, when they come to them for care. Sick.
If these nurses hate their jobs and these women that much, they need to find another line of work. Serving the public with such a nasty bitter attitude is not going to be good for ANYONE.
It is really awful that so many people think it is "true" and "funny." Why the hell are they in that profession/specialty again?
I came via Dreaming of a Daughter, great blog!
That list was horrific, but I appreciate your sharing it-
I always knew I loved homebirth but now I have even more reasons why.
I hope I never again have to birth in a hospital!
gah!
sick!
that is all.
That was horrible. My stomach actually started cramping while I read that.
Hmmm, I went to go see it again so I could C&P into a bulletin for Myspace, but it tells me I have to sign in now. It didn't before. Is it still there?
The CM folks seem to have closed access to that post..
You can read the whole thing, in it's nasty entirety on: http://dreamingofadaughter.wordpress.com/
Ugh. It's like laboring women are cattle going in to slaughter. Some people have to dehumanize the women to cope maybe with their jobs???? It seems the nurse who wrote this list enjoys punishing her patients.
My nurse had issues with me this last time. When I sat up against her wishes because the machine was showing decels despite my being in bed on my left side, she fought me but the heart rate jumped 44 points in one second. Later, when I was again on my left side because she kept wanting me in bed and had the bed so flat I was afraid on being on my back...she said, "see, your baby is the happiest it's been since you're on your left side." Ugh. The reason the baby looked bad when I was moving around and out of bed is because the monitor cannot pick up the heartbeat when a mother is moving. The nurse even admitted the heart rate dip could have been my heart beat rather than my baby's. Her "I told you so" when I was late in labor and having painful contractions was really not helpful. She spent most of my labor trying to bribe me for each intervention. "You can shower if I check your cervix" which was a lie...she checked my cervix and then I was confined to bed. I was lied to very often, like, "you don't really have to pee, it's just the baby's head" but when she had me pushing an OP baby I kept urinating because she wouldn't let me pee. She insulted my intelligence also. Always explaining her orders to me in ways that actually were false. She said it was best I push flat on my back (after baby had heart decels earlier when she had me flat on my back) because it fits better getting over the tail bone if I'm flat on my back when pushing. Ugh. I had delivered 5 babies before, I knew pushing was easier upright.
Dawn
Thanks! :)
Thanks for posting this link. The part about "screamers" actually made me burst into tears. I am one of I am sure many who were told to "be quiet" and "don't yell" during delivery. You can read about it here if you like. In fact, it's a multi-part series that's pretty much an advertisement for home birth!
We don't plan to have any more, and I'm pushing 40. Still, if there is another feral critter, s/he's totally being born at home.
Salud! You're doing great work.
We
Oops, the link doesn't work. Let's try cutting and pasting:
http://gonecompletelyferal.blogspot.com/2006/06/on-this-date-in-history-2004.html
Also, I meant to sign this "Feral", not "We" although the Royal "We" is kind of funny.
Thanks again for your work and advocacy on behalf of women.
Just barely stumbled across this blog and was hoping there was someone else who C&P the nurse comments. Both my children have been HB, but I'm interested to hear what they said. Thanks!
Brittany
Post a Comment
<< Home