Comments on: Are vaginal births archaic? http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2007/02/are-vaginal-births-archaic.html Tue, 14 Feb 2012 17:18:00 +0000 hourly 1 By: Anonymoushttp://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2007/02/are-vaginal-births-archaic.html#comment-71529 Anonymous Fri, 09 Feb 2007 07:38:00 +0000 http://clients.emmense.com/kevinmd/2007/02/are-vaginal-births-archaic.html#comment-71529 Normal Vaginal Delivery is a retrospective diagnosis Normal Vaginal Delivery is a retrospective diagnosis

]]> By: Bad Pennyhttp://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2007/02/are-vaginal-births-archaic.html#comment-71512 Bad Penny Fri, 09 Feb 2007 01:59:00 +0000 http://clients.emmense.com/kevinmd/2007/02/are-vaginal-births-archaic.html#comment-71512 This post made me remember a passage in a book I'm reading on the fall of Rome (sorry no cite; it's at home and I don't remember the author and title.)<br/><br/>In the late 4th/early 5th century there was a precipitous decline in quality of life and availability of goods in the Roman empire. One important factor contributing to this decline was that occupations had become very specialized. When commerce was disrupted, goods that had been available at the markets were suddenly gone. If no one locally knew how to weave or make shoes or plows, you were out of luck. These skills had to be painfully relearned.<br/><br/>I know women aren't going to forget how to give birth, but I think it's foolish to make childbirth dependant on technology. Imagine a post-major-earthquake SF or LA in the year 2075. Will there be docs and nurses who know how to handle a difficult vaginal birth? I guess stuff like this happens all the time. Would all ER docs today would recognize small pox or polio? <br/><br/>Anyway, just food for thought. I'm a fiction writer, so it's kind of my nature to take any idea and twist it into a weird scenario. This post made me remember a passage in a book I’m reading on the fall of Rome (sorry no cite; it’s at home and I don’t remember the author and title.)

In the late 4th/early 5th century there was a precipitous decline in quality of life and availability of goods in the Roman empire. One important factor contributing to this decline was that occupations had become very specialized. When commerce was disrupted, goods that had been available at the markets were suddenly gone. If no one locally knew how to weave or make shoes or plows, you were out of luck. These skills had to be painfully relearned.

I know women aren’t going to forget how to give birth, but I think it’s foolish to make childbirth dependant on technology. Imagine a post-major-earthquake SF or LA in the year 2075. Will there be docs and nurses who know how to handle a difficult vaginal birth? I guess stuff like this happens all the time. Would all ER docs today would recognize small pox or polio?

Anyway, just food for thought. I’m a fiction writer, so it’s kind of my nature to take any idea and twist it into a weird scenario.

]]> By: Gasmanhttp://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2007/02/are-vaginal-births-archaic.html#comment-71506 Gasman Thu, 08 Feb 2007 23:59:00 +0000 http://clients.emmense.com/kevinmd/2007/02/are-vaginal-births-archaic.html#comment-71506 And once we've banished the vaginal delivery to the history books, then we can consider eliminating vaginal insemination. And once we’ve banished the vaginal delivery to the history books, then we can consider eliminating vaginal insemination.

]]> By: Anonymoushttp://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2007/02/are-vaginal-births-archaic.html#comment-71499 Anonymous Thu, 08 Feb 2007 20:24:00 +0000 http://clients.emmense.com/kevinmd/2007/02/are-vaginal-births-archaic.html#comment-71499 Well written article. However, the only appropriate Cesarean section rate today is either 0% or 100%. Each patient is an individual case. I ceased tracking my C-section rate years ago. It doesn't matter to me if my C-section rate is 5% or 50% as long as the individual patient was managed appropriately. In the 21st century a Cesarean is a normal delivery, and so is a vaginal delivery. Well written article. However, the only appropriate Cesarean section rate today is either 0% or 100%. Each patient is an individual case. I ceased tracking my C-section rate years ago. It doesn’t matter to me if my C-section rate is 5% or 50% as long as the individual patient was managed appropriately. In the 21st century a Cesarean is a normal delivery, and so is a vaginal delivery.

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