Finally there is a resource out there for papas, The Other Side Of The Glass.
The link is a trailer for a film that will hopefully come out in 2009. It looks quite promising, especially if there are resources offered for healing birth trauma.
Babies are active participants in their birth. They are thinking, seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, feeling spiritual beings completely present in the here and now of their birth. To be in the presence of a newborn is holy. Especially when I sit back and observe.
Let the baby enter this world peacefully & gently, nestled close to mama and papa, attached to the placenta with the cord intact. While receiving the blood that is pulsing through the cord and skin to skin with mama and papa, the baby will have all he/she needs; warmth, breath and love.
If extra breath is needed, it can be given right there in mama's arms.
Routine suctioning is no longer recommended and hasn't been since 2005.
Here is a quote from the American Academy of Pediatrics journal:
Aspiration of meconium before delivery, during birth, or during resuscitation can cause severe aspiration pneumonia. One obstetrical technique to try to decrease aspiration has been to suction meconium from the infant's airway after delivery of the head but before delivery of the shoulders (intrapartum suctioning). Although some studies (LOE 315–17) suggested that intrapartum suctioning might be effective for decreasing the risk of aspiration syndrome, subsequent evidence from a large multicenter randomized trial (LOE 1)18did not show such an effect. Therefore, current recommendations no longer advise routine intrapartum oropharyngeal and nasopharyngeal suctioning for infants born to mothers with meconium staining of amniotic fluid (Class I). Traditional teaching (LOE 5)19–21recommended that meconium-stained infants have endotracheal intubation immediately following birth and that suction be applied to the endotracheal tube as it is withdrawn. Randomized, controlled trials (LOE 1)15,22have shown that this practice offers no benefit if the infant is vigorous (Class I). A vigorous infant is defined as one who has strong respiratory efforts, good muscle tone, and a heart rate >100 beats per minute (bpm). Endotracheal suctioning for infants who are not vigorous should be performed immediately after birth (Class Indeterminate).
Here is a direct link to the Lancet article on suctioning.
3 comments:
Brenda,
I'm not sure if this is relevant to this post but I was thinking about it today about how my oldest, Daniel, had a very rough entry into this world in the hospital then spent a week in the NICU etc.. When we got him home, he was very cuddly and liked sleeping on me, not so much about just being laid down to sleep. My two homebirth babies will cuddle but when it's time to sleep they just wanted to be laid down. In fact, Timothy RARELY sleeps on me, he'll sleep beside me but not laying on me like Daniel did. He just fusses and fusses until I just give up and lay him down then he goes right to sleep. Anyway, I started to think that maybe the "abuse," because that's really what it is, that Daniel received in the hospital made a difference in that cuddling realm. Like he needed more reassurance to start off.
I believe Daniel's experience is completely relevant to this post. His experience and subsequent cuddliness seem connected to me, though it is difficult to prove. I am happy for Daniel, sweet strong boy he is, that he has such loving parents. What a great place to recuperate, on mama's chest.
I do know of other homebirthed babies who also have wanted to be held all the time, sleep on parent's tummies and in general need lots of touch. Maybe some experienced trauma during their birth, maybe some are just people who like touch, maybe some have tender tummies. I don't know for sure. I imagine there are many reasons.
Thanks for posting Susan (big wave from over here).
Hi Sarah and blog watchers
Suction and early clamping of the cord are two rituals of managed birth that professionals have held on to - often believing that they are thereby saving lives.
In Australian maternity care the practice of suctioning newborns has been reduced a great deal over the past 20 years, and guidelines now recommend that only babies needing active resuscitation receive oropharingeal suction. I observe that the babies born in the more managed settings, including premature babies, caesareans, and other operative births, are most likely to be sucked out using catheters that are often passed down to the baby's stomach. Suction under direct vision of the vocal cords is often performed by a doctor.
In homebirths I attend, if any resuscitation is needed, I ask the mother to kneel and place her baby on the floor in front of her, so that we can work together, without clamping or cutting the cord. Joy Johnston
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