FDA siezes birthing pools/pregnancy is an illness

[runsw/scissors]

Women also died in childbirth from such things as toxemia, shoulder dystocia, placenta previa, cervix not dilating, or dilating so slowly so as to cause fetal distress which in turn can cause permanent harm or death to trying to be born... I have 1st hand knowledge of some and know women and their children who suffered from other of those issues.

Oh yeah, we do a LOT of things wrong as evidenced by our truly abysmal stats. But when something goes badly wrong I don't want a midwife, I want surgery. I want my child born.

I was going to go with a midwife with my 2nd son, but having had a C-Section before (a transverse breech that would NOT budge and heaven knows we tried!) I went to my crunchy OB to get a referral. I had my protein in my urine and high BP, it only got scarier from there.

Truly there is a time and place for everything, no pregnancy isn't an illness, but if we want paid time off then that is the classification we must live with. I'd hate to see us go back to a different time and place... The uniformed (whether MD or midwife) cause more grief and heartache in this one area alone.

And it's appalling what other people say to pregnant women, if they could just get a fat lip every time they opened their mouths at least other people would be warned!

I apologize for sounding so cross, but this subject just winds me up every time! I really wish more expecting women had more freedom, but I also wish they understood that their unborn children will live with the results of their choices, NOT them! Put another way, pregnancy and childbirth is the beginning of your journey...

Women died in child birth because nobody had figured out the whole hand washing thing until recently. Womwn giving birth in hospitals died a lot too untill they figured out what germs were.

 

[moolie]

Barbaras conversation with an FDA official may shed some light on this as a clash of perspectives. She explains that she was told, Pregnancy is an illness and birth is a medical event. Therefore, a pool that a woman gives birth in should be classified as medical equipment. So what about our toilets, our bathtubs, our showers? Kiddie pools, horse troughs, hot tubs? Oh, and what about the fact that pregnancy is *not* an illness?
More info here http://www.radicallynatural.com/2011/08/fda-lunacyattacks-on-real-food-and-real.html#more

Following the links, I'd say that a lot of people are jumping to conclusions here--the FDA is NOT saying that pregnancy is a disease (unless you can link me to a real quote, the only mention I find (other than your quote above which is hearsay and not backed up with an official FDA comment) in amongst the various links on that page is when someone posts a sarcastic comment in response to the definition of "medical device":

So MEDICAL EQUIPMENT means: equipment related to the science or practice of the science, or practice of the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention, of DISEASE!...

It also appears that the pools in question were imported and not FDA-approved (which may be a requirement in the state of Oregon, I have no idea what the rules are here in Canada for birthing pools let alone in the US or any particular state, but I would think that ensuring that something IS FDA-approved is a good thing, lest something go wrong and someone be injured or harmed):

In the case of a recall, owners of personal birthing pools, other than the one single FDA-approved model, would be expected to ship their pools to the FDA to be destroyed.

The further use of words such as "gestapo" (which is NOT at all appropriate unless Americans truly believe they've got it as bad as what went on during the Third Reich, and if you do I have some family diaries you can read so that you can get your point of view properly adjusted) is nothing but inflamatory. I see a great deal of hyperbole and persecution-complex talk rather than actual facts and I'd be very interested to hear both sides of the story.

Here in Canada I was encouraged to walk, have a bath, squat, sit in a special chair, even use the toilet to get comfortable during pushing, and generally do whatever was most comfortable during the births of both of my children 14 and 15 years ago and I know the same is still true amongst women at my church. With my first birth (both of my girls were born in hospital) I had terrible nausea/vomiting (which is a natural reaction to the hormonal surges that occur during the birth process) so I was given a shot of Demerol that contained Gravol, with my second I had a totally natural birth as she came so quickly that I barely got to the hospital on time. Women here by and large seem to like having an epidural shot AND IT IS THEIR CHOICE (I chose not to), and women who have had caesarean births are encouraged to try vaginal delivery next time. I can't imagine that the reality is much different south of the border, but who knows.

I think the current blog-everything-that-enters-your-head culture exploits opinion pieces like these to the point where no one truly knows what the truth is anymore. That string of linked blog pieces was quite the quagmire to read through to find what few facts I could find, and even those are not verified. Bias is extremely evident and I see no attempt at objective reporting of the "news" whatsoever.

It behooves everyone to seek truth and be educated before undertaking any major life event such as bringing children into the world. The uneducated suffer the consequences of their own ignorance, and reading opinion pieces like these in a vacuum leads to further dissemination of rumour and hearsay.

Do your research and live your life armed with truth.

 

[FarmerChick]

Moolie: That string of linked blog pieces was quite the quagmire to read through to find what few facts I could find, and even those are not verified. Bias is extremely evident and I see no attempt at objective reporting of the "news" whatsoever.




that was me. I asked the OP earlier to link something, anything that 'seemed real'

you are so right about the blogs and websites that only post opinions and then you don't get the backup. I need the backup LOL

 

[moolie]

I don't want to come off as harsh at all, but honestly you just can't get your "news" from opinionated bloggers. Everyone has bias, and some people have axes to grind. The average person on the street has no idea what to believe about anything anymore because we are just so overwhelmed with "information", much of which these days is merely opinion.

All I'm saying is to dig deeper when you see stuff like this. The truth is out there (and I don't mean that the way they did in the X-files) and it's likely far less heinous than some people think.

 

[FarmerChick]

again, I agree because the info is not 'just facts' most times. I do want the facts and true info. on the situation.

it isn't harsh. it is finding the truth about a situation/article/whatever someone posts.

the blogger rants just don't cut it for me, most times there are rational explainations why something happens the way it does.

 

[DrakeMaiden]

Kala -- I just read a lot of what other pregnant women were subjected to in terms of people saying dumb things. I was fortunate enough to not have anyone try to touch my belly. I guess I was lucky as I only had one woman say something to me when I was about full term that was just annoying . . . like I needed to hear that the baby should be here about now. I was just wanting to ignore the fact that the baby would be due soon until it was really and truly time.

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

I don't want to come off as harsh at all, but honestly you just can't get your "news" from opinionated bloggers. Everyone has bias, and some people have axes to grind. The average person on the street has no idea what to believe about anything anymore because we are just so overwhelmed with "information", much of which these days is merely opinion.

All I'm saying is to dig deeper when you see stuff like this. The truth is out there (and I don't mean that the way they did in the X-files) and it's likely far less heinous than some people think.

How do you know I did not dig deep myself?
We are all supposed to do that.
I do it all the time, and I love that others did so as well!

 

[moolie]

Wanna share some of it then? I'm not the only one who's asked