Nearly a month ago, the website Feminist Current featured a powerful, thought provoking piece entitled Eve’s punishment rebooted: The ideology of natural birth by philosophy graduate student C.K. Egbert. There’s ...
Spotlight
What would VBAC activists have done for Jennifer Goodall if her baby had died? Not a damn thing.
Yesterday I wrote about Jennifer Goodall, the Florida woman who wanted to ...
How RH Reality Check got the Florida VBAC case wrong
I’m already on record as a strong supporter of a woman’s right to ...
Can’t rebut the facts about homebirth deaths? Smear the messenger.
Some days it’s harder than others to get out the message that ...
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The philosophy of natural childbirth is sadistic
Nearly a month ago, the website Feminist Current featured a powerful, thought provoking piece entitled Eve’s punishment rebooted: The ideology of natural birth by philosophy graduate student C.K. Egbert. There’s something pornographic about the way we depict childbirth. A woman’s agony becomes either the brunt of a joke, or else it is discussed as an […]
Why I do what I do
An email from a reader, reprinted with permission: I had my first child, a daughter, via C-section in early March. A few weeks later, I came across your website while Googling “does a C-section make me a bad mom” during a tear-filled late-night feeding session. From adolescence, I had been taught that to have a […]
How ICAN could dramatically increase the VBAC rate with one simple step
ICAN, the International Cesarean Awareness Network, is the premier organization promoting vaginal birth after Cesarean (VBAC). ICAN has taken the lead in advocating for VBAC in nearly every circumstance, opposing VBAC restrictions put in place by hospitals and malpractice insurers, and arguing that principles of bodily autonomy mean that women should be able to force […]
What would VBAC activists have done for Jennifer Goodall if her baby had died? Not a damn thing.
Yesterday I wrote about Jennifer Goodall, the Florida woman who wanted to attempt a VBAC after 3 previous C-sections, and the misinformation used by VBAC activists to support her decision. Not a single organization or article that supported Goodhall had accurate statistics on the real risk that Goodhall faced. Most substituted statistics that applied to […]
How RH Reality Check got the Florida VBAC case wrong
I’m already on record as a strong supporter of a woman’s right to refuse a C-section: Our right to bodily autonomy is one of the most important rights that we have. Simply put, a woman (or a man) has a right to refuse medical or surgical treatment, regardless of whether or not the refusal might lead […]
Can’t rebut the facts about homebirth deaths? Smear the messenger.
Some days it’s harder than others to get out the message that homebirth kills babies who didn’t have to die. And some days, like today, it’s so easy that it’s like a battle of wits against unarmed opponents. Consider this gem found on Jan Tritten’s Facebook page: You remember Jan, don’t you? She’s the Editor […]
Epidurals may reduce the risk of postpartum depression
The mainstream media has been reporting on a new study that shows that epidurals may decrease the risk of postpartum depression. According to CBS News: New research published in the journal Anesthesia & Analgesia found that women with acute pain during birth had a 2.5-fold increased risk for chronic pain as a new mother and […]
10 even worse reasons to have a homebirth
Mommyish just posted a piece entitled 10 Terrible Reasons To Have A Home Birth by Bethany Ramos. It’s partly serious and partly tongue in cheek, and accompanied by lots of animated GIFs. Ramos’ reasons include: You hate you doctor You don’t trust modern medicine You want a memorable birth “experience” You don’t want to have […]
What do natural childbirth advocates like Milli Hill have in common with climate change denialists?
Sadly, we live in a world where people feel free to ignore scientific fact when it conflicts with their philosophy. There are large numbers of people who feel free to ignore the scientific fact of evolution because it conflicts with their philosophy that the Bible is literally true; there are large numbers of people who […]
Did midwifery merely replace the patriarchy with the matriarchy?
I’ve written extensively about the misogynistic views of Grantly Dick-Read, the father of natural childbirth. Dick-Read was deeply concerned that white women of the “better classes” were forsaking childbearing for political and economic rights. He viewed childbirth pain as one of the reasons, and strove to convince women that the pain of childbirth was in […]
Amy Tuteur, MD
Dr. Amy Tuteur is an obstetrician gynecologist. She received her undergraduate degree from Harvard College in 1979 and her medical degree from Boston University School of Medicine in 1984. Dr. Tuteur is a former clinical instructor at Harvard Medical School. She left the practice of medicine to raise her four children. Her book, How Your Baby Is Born, an illustrated guide to pregnancy, labor and delivery was published by Ziff-Davis Press in 1994. She can be reached at DrAmy5 at aol dot com.
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