whitewriter (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
whitewriter) wrote2021-03-22 09:39 pm
whitewriter) wrote2021-03-22 09:39 pm
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Birth time: the movie
Birth time is an Australian documentary that involved midwives, Aboriginal midwives, obstetricians, women, and a lot of dads (which was, I think, my biggest take home message).
It was a private screening and actually, there were a lot of students in the room (I later found out).
It talks about the medical model of birth- and how over time this has become the overwhelming option for women who don't know (especially first timers) that they have options. They don't realise how options may be presented to them : and how this can profoundly affect (in both good and bad ways) their experience of birth, their bodies, and their relationship with their child and their partners - well into the future.
Like sure.
Many women go into the medical model and get churned through the system and turn out fine. (Don't forget that 36% end up as cesarians) -- and for those women who needed a cesarean -- or didn't really need one, at the end of the day - many of them are happy with what happened and either
- didn't see any issue
- agreed with what happened
- don't feel traumatised.
I think as a first timer it would be very hard to know
- your rights : more so, what you can say yes to and what you can say no to.
- if you can trust in these medical "professionals" that you've never met
I still hate, taking a handover from another midwife and having the vaginal exam being due-- and having to literally say "hi my name is Rita I'm taking care of you this afternoon. By the way, as your vaginal exam is due to see how your progressing -- I'm going to do it now, if that's okay with you." Cause inevitably their going to say yes its okay. --and if they don't have an epidural it's gonna be an uncomfortable introduction to me meeting you.
What a (terribly) great way to start a shift!
They go on about how money does not mean better care but rather, means intervention. Your paying for something, so you should get a service, a procedure, something.
After the screening they had a raffle for some merch related to the movie with proceeds going to a perinatal mental health service called PANDA. I bought a ticket eyeing the Birth time t-shirt and lo and behold I WON!!!! I never win anything I really want !! So that was cool. I cannot wait to wear the t-shirt!
It says one woman, one midwife on the back
and on the front it says #it's birth time.
After the screening they had a Q&A session.
People wondered if the evidence is there for continuity of care models, why aren't they being taken up. Evidence such as less intervention.
I brought up cost as a factor.
They all strenuously denied that less intervention is less cost therefore it should be evident that continuity models (women having the same midwife the whole way through, or a group of them, to ensure they are supported throughout, properly: and not just getting churned through the system where they meet a new face at every interaction from clinic appointment to birth to postnatally).
However I would like to argue that it is not obvious.
A continuity caseload midwife takes on 40 women a year. They do everything for these women, from their antenatal appointments, the birth , and postnatally and support them throughout.
Whilst a general hospital midwife would see hundreds of women a year in the churn. It would be a different face every day.
Management see woah, that midwife only does 40 women a *year*.
That sounds like a very low number compared to >200 for one midwife in a hospital shift setting.
Quantity does not equate to quality. It's very hard to build that therapeutic relationship in 5 minutes. You gotta gain their trust in literally the first hour. And then you spend the next 7 hours building that only to say goodbye and handover to the next person. So many times I've had women sad that I'm going to be leaving them.
If you can't trust who is caring for you, if that whom is helping you doesn't know you, how can they make decisions that's in your best interest.
Women have disempowered themselves. When you tell us that you "trust our judgement" and whatever you recommend, you've left yourself out of the picture. Women need to educate themselves, or just ask a tonne of questions: and then we will guide you from there.
That's something you build over time. Not in 5 mins.
It sucks balls.
It was great to see the dad's voice their point of view. I often don't have time to talk to them and I can all too often see how they get "feel left out" and powerless also.
I can't wait to wear that t-shirt.
It was a private screening and actually, there were a lot of students in the room (I later found out).
It talks about the medical model of birth- and how over time this has become the overwhelming option for women who don't know (especially first timers) that they have options. They don't realise how options may be presented to them : and how this can profoundly affect (in both good and bad ways) their experience of birth, their bodies, and their relationship with their child and their partners - well into the future.
Like sure.
Many women go into the medical model and get churned through the system and turn out fine. (Don't forget that 36% end up as cesarians) -- and for those women who needed a cesarean -- or didn't really need one, at the end of the day - many of them are happy with what happened and either
- didn't see any issue
- agreed with what happened
- don't feel traumatised.
I think as a first timer it would be very hard to know
- your rights : more so, what you can say yes to and what you can say no to.
- if you can trust in these medical "professionals" that you've never met
I still hate, taking a handover from another midwife and having the vaginal exam being due-- and having to literally say "hi my name is Rita I'm taking care of you this afternoon. By the way, as your vaginal exam is due to see how your progressing -- I'm going to do it now, if that's okay with you." Cause inevitably their going to say yes its okay. --and if they don't have an epidural it's gonna be an uncomfortable introduction to me meeting you.
What a (terribly) great way to start a shift!
They go on about how money does not mean better care but rather, means intervention. Your paying for something, so you should get a service, a procedure, something.
After the screening they had a raffle for some merch related to the movie with proceeds going to a perinatal mental health service called PANDA. I bought a ticket eyeing the Birth time t-shirt and lo and behold I WON!!!! I never win anything I really want !! So that was cool. I cannot wait to wear the t-shirt!
It says one woman, one midwife on the back
and on the front it says #it's birth time.
After the screening they had a Q&A session.
People wondered if the evidence is there for continuity of care models, why aren't they being taken up. Evidence such as less intervention.
I brought up cost as a factor.
They all strenuously denied that less intervention is less cost therefore it should be evident that continuity models (women having the same midwife the whole way through, or a group of them, to ensure they are supported throughout, properly: and not just getting churned through the system where they meet a new face at every interaction from clinic appointment to birth to postnatally).
However I would like to argue that it is not obvious.
A continuity caseload midwife takes on 40 women a year. They do everything for these women, from their antenatal appointments, the birth , and postnatally and support them throughout.
Whilst a general hospital midwife would see hundreds of women a year in the churn. It would be a different face every day.
Management see woah, that midwife only does 40 women a *year*.
That sounds like a very low number compared to >200 for one midwife in a hospital shift setting.
Quantity does not equate to quality. It's very hard to build that therapeutic relationship in 5 minutes. You gotta gain their trust in literally the first hour. And then you spend the next 7 hours building that only to say goodbye and handover to the next person. So many times I've had women sad that I'm going to be leaving them.
If you can't trust who is caring for you, if that whom is helping you doesn't know you, how can they make decisions that's in your best interest.
Women have disempowered themselves. When you tell us that you "trust our judgement" and whatever you recommend, you've left yourself out of the picture. Women need to educate themselves, or just ask a tonne of questions: and then we will guide you from there.
That's something you build over time. Not in 5 mins.
It sucks balls.
It was great to see the dad's voice their point of view. I often don't have time to talk to them and I can all too often see how they get "feel left out" and powerless also.
I can't wait to wear that t-shirt.