Being Born

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The documentary, The Business of Being Born was much different and far more educational than I was expecting it to be. I knew that labor and delivery in hospitals contributed a great deal to their profits, but I was not aware of a lot of the other statistical evidence the documentary included. I think Abby Epstein did a great job of including both sides of the debate and opposing opinions in the film; this really added to the educational value of it. To begin, I was most shocked by the information about drug use during labor. Especially the Pitocin related information; I think it caught my attention so much because during clinical last week Kara talked about how her patient was given Pitocin and then the baby’s heart rate increased and that was exactly what they talked about in the film. I thought the baby’s heart rate spiked because it was stressed being in the womb, not because of the drug. Additionally, I was not …show more content…

I knew there were a growing number of women having cesarean births, but the data trends related to the time of day were what really shocked me. The only explanation I have for them is doctors being lazy. I think it is completely unfair to the mother to have such a huge choice made for her based on the convenience of someone’s schedule. Furthermore, there are health implications to the baby and the mother in cesarean deliveries; one example being that the amniotic fluid is not expelled out of the baby’s lungs like it is during vaginal births because they are not being squeezed through the birth canal, and as I stated earlier, the mother does not experience the same hormonal changes as in a vaginal birth. I understand there are special and emergency circumstances where a cesarean birth may be necessary to save the mother or baby from further health problems, but performing cesarean sections out of convenience is something doctors should be ashamed

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