“But here’s a wrenching fact: 41 countries have better infant mortality rates than the US.
In 2002 our infant mortality rate went up, not down.
What about these infants’ mothers? Women in the United States are 70% more likely to die in childbirth than women in Europe. Although we are in no position to export our style of health care, finding examples in many countries where we have influenced the way of caring for pregnant and birthing women and their babies is not hard.
The Global Evolution of Birthing Practices
In order to understand why exporting a very flawed US maternity care system is a global disaster, we need to begin by looking at the evolution of maternity care practices. This evolution of global birthing practices is diagrammed in the graph below.
Two hundred years ago midwives were autonomous care providers who assisted women during childbirth. Essentially, the woman and midwife worked together without outside interference. Then as men and doctors began to interfere in childbirth and childbirth came under the control of doctors and hospitals, both the woman and the midwife gradually but surely lost more and more of their autonomy. Under this model, birthing women are no longer allowed to decide what happens during their pregnancy and birth and midwives are nothing more than slaves to the doctors.
Today, urban areas in developing countries are in this early part of the evolution of maternity care. This is what one sees in those parts of the world where the West has been able to penetrate, such as big cities and in places like China, Russia and much of Latin America, where they are so eager to be “modern.”
Marsden Wagner
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World Fact book
“U.S. Babies Die at Higher Rate
Infant Mortality Rates Are Rising in U.S., While Rates in Other Countries Are Improving
By MARC LALLANILLA
Nov. 1, 2005 — – What’s causing the increased death rate among babies in the United States?
While the health of infants in many countries is improving, babies born in the United States now face an increased risk of dying in the first year of life.
The U.S. infant mortality rate is on the rise for the first time since 1958, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2001, the infant mortality rate was 6.8 deaths per 1,000 live births — in 2002, the rate rose to 7.0. (2003 data is not yet complete.)”
The author of this ABC article implys that the socialized medicine of Cuba is the reason the infant mortality rates there are improving. I completely reject that notion, because the underlying implication is that more medicine will mean better outcomes. No, what will give the US better outcomes is for women to take personal responsibility for their own health, and not be so dependent on doctors who know nothing about prenatal nutrition. Then the prematurity rates will go down, and mothers of multiples will be able to carry twins to term.
We also need to move away from medicated birth to more natural birth.
AND, we need to more fully educate our mothers on the benefits of breastmilk.
This year it was reported that more babies than ever are being born to single mothers. I don’t know what effect this fact has on the infant mortality rate, but I do know that it will have a profound effect on the bonding between mother and baby and the ability of a mother to breastfeed her child.
I have described myself as a strong ANTI-feminist. What this means is that I completely acknowledge my dependance on my husband to provide me and my children the necessities of life, especially when I am pregnant and nursing.
Because the raging feminists have dismissed the need for a husband and father for children, claiming that they do just as well with a single mother, our young women are not being taught the truth about what intentionally bringing a child into the world will mean for them as single mothers.
For most it will mean lonliness, poverty, and the mother not being able to give the baby the best of herself in terms of bonding, breastfeeding, and a full time mother for the first three years. I found this article to be interesting. It was written with a very biased perspective towards single motherhood, and yet the undercurrent message, even from the four mothers who were profiled was; “I would not want to do this alone ever again”.
Motherhood is difficult. Nursing a baby on demand for years at a time has proved to be one of the most difficult tasks I have ever personally taken on. I have spent 12 of the 17 years of my marriage with one or two babies on the breast, and it is my husband who has enabled me to have the luxury to raise our kids this way. I know how completely dependant I am on him, and I honor and praise him for his clarity, and willingness to get out of bed every day and go to work for our family.
About 25% of the time I have absolutely hated breastfeeding. Sometimes it is annoying and bothersome to have a toddler constantly begging to nurse. What kept me going was my childrens clarity that I was what they wanted most. They simply wanted to be with me. And how could I forget them? Isaiah knew what he was talking about. I have tried to wean my babies when I was ready (and when the child was not ready) and it never worked out. They were just so sad.
Recently I tried to wean Ben, and he just moped around for a week. Finally I just let him back on, and his whole day revolves around when he gets to nurse. I figure if it means that much to him, then we’ll just proceed and let him self wean.
I would hope that smart women would take the time, energy, and effort to prepare themselves emotionally and physically for motherhood. Prepare yourself by staying morally clean. Go looking for a mate at church. Do you honestly want the person who is the father of your child to be someone you met at a bar? Look for a man who has a strong desire to be a good father, and is willing for you to stay at home to mother the children while he provides food, clothing, and shelter. This is the ideal situation to raise children, and it is one that I unapologetically promote as the best way to lower our infant mortality rates in America.
This set up coupled with good nutrition, gentle birth, and breastfeeding is the foundation for long term health in our nation and babies living healthy and happy lives.
Jenny Hatch