review

I am sorry for all of you out there who aren't really interested in this topic...but I really have birth on the brain right now! I officially have my own "on call" days at the birth center now.  Before, I would just pop in whenever one of my students invited me to be their Douala in labor.  Yesterday I spent the afternoon in training-- going over the emergency procedures with the other assistants at the birth center.  I learned things like how to prime an IV bag, how to draw up pitocin and methergine in syringes for postpartum bleeding, how to switch the regulators on the 02 tanks and how to set them up.  It reminded me that out of hospital birth is really safe for low risk candidates. I already knew this for myself...but it confirmed to me that we are indeed equipped to handle emergencies.

The conversation amongst my company turned to this movie.

It is the movie that Ricki Lake produced called, "The Business of Being Born".  It is now available for viewing via Netflix.  You can either have them send you the dvd or just stream it on your computer- which is what I did last night (I just signed up for the free trial offer and planned to cancel after the trial period was over.)  It was riveting.  I felt as though it perfectly articulated all of my frustrations with the way we handle obstetrics in this country.  I highly recommend watching it and I highly recommend that you get your friends to watch it.  It is very thought provoking and sweet at the same time.  There are several births shown..c-section and otherwise.  I have a hard time watching the sections.  Gruesome.  All in all, a great documentary about the state of birth in our country and what some women are doing about it.  Watch it and let me know what you think!