Hormones

More inspirational readings from my Lamaze Independent Study...
HORMONES!
Check out these amazing, powerful, interconnected chemicals that we generate naturally to facilitate birth, bonding, and breastfeeding with our babies...and then, the ways that drugs interfere and inhibit them. This is no judgement. These are the facts.

The Pituitary Gland (care of Healthtap.com)

The Adrenal Glands (care of Healthtap.com)

Oxytocin, the *love* hormone

• associated with ejection reflexes (like sperm ejection, fetal ejection, placental ejection)
• released from pituitary gland
• descending baby stimulates the stretch receptors in mom, causing peak levels of oxytocin
• protects against hemorrhage and ensures postpartum contractions
• reduces stress

Endorphins *pleasure/transcendence*

• naturally occuring opiate, similar to morphine and heroine, works same brain receptors
• released from pituitary gland
• creates pleasure, euphoria, mutual dependency
• allows mom to reach an altered consciousness in an undisturbed birth
• in breastmilk, induces pleasure and mutual dependencey for mother and baby

Epinephrine *excitement/adrenoline*

• fight or flight hormones
• released from adrenal glands on kidneys
• released in response to fright, anxiety, hunger, cold, and excitement
• at birth, it activates the fetal ejection reflex
• rush of energy when it is time to push, mom gets upright and alert
• this hormone is implicated in instinctive mothering (who wants to mess with that?!)
• for baby, it protects against hypoxia/acidosis, and ensures baby is wide-eyed and alert at first contact with mom

Prolactin the *mothering* hormone

• major hormone in breastmilk synthesis
• activate mother's vigilence adn help put her baby's needs first 

Synthetic Oxytocin (Syntocinon)

Anyone ever hear of Pitocin? This is synthetic oxytocin.

It doesn't crosses the blood/brain barrier, so when injected with Pitocin, the mom does not experience above-mentioned benefits of the *love hormone*. However, the body does believe the hormone is present, and thus ceases to the natural production of oxytocin, thereby increasing the chance of hemorrhage (that natural oxytocin prevents).

Epidurals

Epidurals have major effects on all of the above-mentioned hormones.

• INHIBITS endorphine production, thus restricting the natural shift in consciousness
• INHIBITS oxytocin production since mom's stretch receptors are numb and cannot trigger natural oxytocin
• No natural oxytocin, no natural ejection reflex, leading to increased second stage of labor.
• INHIBITS Prostagladnin F2 alpha (which makes uterus contractible). 

One study showed women with epidurals and decreased PGF2 alpha had average labors increased from 4.7 hours to 7.8 hours.

One study showed mothers given epidurals spent less time with their babies in the hospital in inverse proportion to the dose of drugs they received during the second stage of labor. (lack of *love hormone* maybe?)

One study showed mothers with epidurals describe their babies as "more difficult to care for" one month after birth. (lacking that *mothering hormone* maybe?)

This hormone system is common to all mammals. For birth to proceed optimally, the mother must shift from her neocortex (rational) brain to her mammillian, or middle brain, also known as the limbic system. We as a society need to place some importance on this shift in consciousness and facilitate it.

I love this quote from a Dutch professor, G. Kloosterman, 

"Spontaneous labour in a normal woman is an event marked by a number of processes so complicated and so perfectly attuned to each other than any interference will only detract from the optimal character."

These innate chemical reactions are so powerful when allowed to proceed on their own.

Let's trust in ourselves, and our natural, untapped potential.

Information from:

Ecstatic Birth, The Hormonal Blueprint of Labor by Sarah J. Buckley

First printed in Mothering Magazine, March-April 2002.

Robots are Taking Over Birth

http://nursingbirth.com/2009/09/07/the-worst-idea-since-routine-continuous-fetal-monitoring-for-low-risk-mothers/

Your Signature Please

This is an actual hospital consent form for elective primary cesearean,
as posted on www.nursingbirth.com.

Nowhere near a very safe or easy way to birth.

Consent for Elective Primary Cesarean Section

A cesarean section (c-section) is the surgical delivery of a baby through an incision in the abdomen and uterus. An incision is made on the abdomen just above the pubic area. The second incision is made in the wall of the uterus. The physician can then open the amniotic sac and remove the baby. The patient may feel tugging, pulling, and pressure. The physician detaches and removes the placenta; incisions in the uterus and abdomen are then closed.

I authorize and direct _______________________________, M.D. with associates or assistants of his/her choice, to perform an elective cesarean section on _______________________________.

(Print Patient Name)

Patient’s Initials

_____ I have informed the doctor of all my known allergies.

_____ The details of the procedure have been explained to me in terms I understand.

_____ Alternative methods and their benefits and disadvantages have been explained to me.

_____ I understand and accept the possible risks and complications of a cesarean section, which include but are not limited to:

* Pain or discomfort

* Wound infection; and/or infection of the bladder or uterus.

* Blood clots in my legs or lungs

* Injury to the baby

* Decreased bowel function (ileus)

* Injury to the urinary tract of GI tract

* Increased blood loss (2x that of a vaginal delivery)

* Risk of additional surgeries

* Post surgical adhesions causing pain/complications with future surgeries

* Increased risk of temporary breathing problems with the baby that could result in prolonged hospitalization

_____ I understand and accept the less common complications, including the risk of death or serious disability that exists with any surgical procedure.

_____ I understand in a future pregnancy that I have an increased risk of complications including, but not limited to:

* Placenta previa, where the placenta covers the cervix.

* Placenta accreta, where the placenta grows into the muscle of the uterus.

* This may lead to a hysterectomy and excessive blood loss at the time of the cesarean section.

* An increased risk of uterine rupture (with or without labor) and that this risk increases with each subsequent cesarean section. Uterine rupture can lead to the death of the baby or myself.

_____ I have been informed of what to expect post-operatively, including but not limited to:

* Estimated recovery time, anticipated activity level, and the possibility of additional procedures.

_____ The doctor has answered all of my questions regarding this procedure.

_____ I am aware and accept that no guarantees about the results of the procedure have been made.

I certify that I have read and understand the above and that all blanks were filled in prior to my signature.

________________________________ Patient Signature/Date

 ________________________________ Witness Signature/Date

I certify that I have explained the nature, purpose, benefits, and alternatives to the proposed treatment and the risks and consequences of not proceeding, have offered to answer any questions and have fully answered all such questions. I believe that the patient fully understands what I have explained.

Homebirth Outcome Study

Since I'm trying to gather as many scientific studies from credible journals as possible (as a result of being kicked off a mom/pregnancy board for posting a blog page of information/thoughts/options that only referred to the position of ACOG-American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and did not include long-term, double blind, scientific studies on the subjects)....I present a Canadian study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

In summary...

"The study analyzed all planned home births attended by registered midwives from Jan. 1, 2000, to Dec. 31, 2004, in British Columbia, Canada (n = 2889), and all planned hospital births meeting the eligibility requirements for home birth that were attended by the same cohort of midwives (n = 4752).  We also included a matched sample of physician-attended planned hospital births (n = 5331)."  Meaning...these were not necessarily "high risk" patients in the hospital. Everyone started out on the same playing field.


"The rate of perinatal death per 1000 births was 0.35 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.00–1.03) in the group
of planned home births; the rate in the group of planned hospital births was 0.57 (95% CI 0.00–1.43) among women attended by a midwife and 0.64 (95% CI 0.00–1.56) among those attended by a physician."

WOOT!

http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/reprint/181/6-7/377

Hooked Up

Seriously.  Is this really the most effective way to birth?

TWO

Number of loved ones suffering infections by hospitals and hospital procedures in the past two weeks...TWO.

THANKS HOSPITALS!!!

Myth #783 - Birth is Scaaaary

Uh, yeah.
What SHE said.

www.haveanaturalchildbirth.com

Hospitals

Good for the Quaids...

Dennis Quaid Settles With Cedars Over Twins' O.D.
Natalie Finn – Mon Dec 15, 11:58 pm ET
Los Angeles (E! Online)
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is looking to clear up any bad blood with Dennis Quaid. According to court documents obtained by E! News, Quaid and his wife Kimberly have accepted a settlement of $750,000 from the Los Angeles hospital, which last year took responsibility for giving the babies a life-threatening overdose of blood thinners.

Zoe Grace and Thomas Boone Quaid, now both 1, were being treated at Cedars for staph infections in November 2007 when an employee accidentally administered dosages of heparin (commonly used to flush out I.V.s) that were 1,000-times the recommended amounts for newborns, 10,000 units per millileter apiece instead of the standard 10.

Cedars was fined $25,000 earlier this year by the California Department of Public Health for "multiple failures by the facility to adhere to established policies and procedures for safe medication use."

Though they never sued Cedars, the Quaids, blaming poorly labeled bottles, sued heparin manufacturer Baxter Healthcare Corporation for negligence last December.

Quaid also testified before Congress in May against a proposed statute that would make it more difficult for patients to take pharmaceutical companies to court.

Once a judge signs off on the Quaids' deal with Cedars, the couple will no longer be able to pursue litigation against the hospital as part of a good-faith stipulation in the settlement, although they could sue on their children's behalf for future consequences of the accident.

The Cedars settlement does not affect the Quaids' lawsuit against Baxter.

Induce!!

In USA Today, on 10/8/2008, the paper quoted University of Wisconsin’s Douglas Laube, a former president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, who blames “very significant external forces” for the overuse of expensive technologies in maternity care.

“I don’t like to admit it, but there are economic incentives” for doctors and hospitals to use the procedures, says Laube, who reviewed the new report before its release. Dr. Laube goes on to say that some doctors might get bonuses for performing more labor inductions, which adds costs and increases the risk of C-sections, which, in turn, increase hospital profits because they require longer stays. In addition, some doctors order unnecessary tests and procedures to protect against malpractice suits, Laube says.

A Nurse Speaks

This was posted on the *Business of Being Born* website. It is a great summary of why I am SO passionate about non-hospital, non-surgeon births (in the case of a low-risk pregnancy).

Written by a Labor & Delivery Nurse
November 9th, 2008

I am a labor and delivery nurse and I must say that I see all too often women coming in who want a natural birth and are not being supported in their decision. A women comes in labor and we strap them to the bed so we can see the babies every heart beat. They want to move to their side or sit up but then we lose the heart beat and have to reposition them in sometimes uncomfortable positions. Women who are healthy and want a natural delivery should go to a birthing center or deliver at home where they can walk around and get into comfortable positions that make laboring bearable. If they come to the hospital doctors are all too eager to rush things along one intervention at a time.

First we break the water which puts you at greater risk for infection and fetal heart decels. Then we check you every couple of hours which after rupture of membranes further increases the risks of infection. If no progress is made we start pitocin which dramatically increases your risk of cesarean. Pitocin also makes contractions more intense and makes it very unlikely that you will be able to deliver without having an epidural. An epidural can lower your blood pressure which makes it hard for baby to get the oxygen it needs from your blood which very often turns into a stat cesarean. An epidural also decreases your urge to push and guess what…doctors don’t let you push for more than two hours…so if baby is not out you have a cesarean.

Its a snowball effect that I see all to often and I can’t help but wish these women had known about alternatives to hospitals. I’ve seen doctors lie to patients and say that the baby is in danger when it’s not and tell them that even if they don’t agree they will do a cesarean to save the baby. NOT TRUE. You cannot do a cesarean or start pitocin without written and verbal consent from the patient. If anybody tries to tell you otherwise, tell your nurse you want to speak to the hospital’s patient advocate. If you want a natural vaginal delivery and have had a healthy uneventful pregnancy with no past medical problems, I strongly urge you to consider your options. If however you have had increased blood pressure or sugar issues or any other health problems you should not attempt to deliver at home.

Heather