Funny article out of the UK about Epidurals.

Rixa has a great round up on her blog.
The funniest line from the piece was this one from the doctor:

“Natural childbirth has become a multimillion-dollar industry. The fear of epidurals is promoted by those who discourage their use – and who have a vested interest in doing so.”

The people who administer epidurals are some of the wealthiest people on the planet.

The one epidural doc (Anesthesiologist) I know in person lives in a two million dollar home, owns several vacation properties, and he and his wife are always on the go to luxury resorts and on expensive vacations, and drive the best cars money can buy.
During the eight years I taught the Bradley Method in my home, I put almost every dollar I made back into my business by using my income of $200.00 per couple per 12 class series (Please note that is approx $16 per class per couple) to purchase my lending library of books, videos, and the free materials handed out in class, which included a sixteen dollar student workbook and a folder stuffed with reprints.
I never taught a class larger than four couples, and always prepared home made snacks for class (Muffins, fruit, cheese) to illustrate the importance of good nutrition, and did not charge for the food.
I did not charge a penny for attending a birth as Birth Attendent/Doula. I always thought of my “help” during labor as a service of love, and although I attended many births, I could never bring myself to ask for money for birth work beyond my class. It was too sacred.
I never saw a doctor, nurse, or anesthesiologist give a woman in labor a three or eight hour massage, yet I did both for my best friend Susana and my sister Cathy, again not paid a dollar for this work. Both women were small body types who had large posterior boys and I know both would have prob used epidurals if I had not been available to administer the massage.
So who exactly is making money off natural birth?
For me the eight years I spent teaching was done out of sheer love of the topic. Many times I taught couples one on one in their home or mine, and I allowed several couples who were struggling financially to take the class for free, did not even ask them to pay for the class materials.
Since moving all of my childbirth outreach onto the web in the late 90’s, I have not made any money from my writings, videos or this blog. My husband has completely supported me financially while engaging in this “hobby” of birth activism.
During the month of January I had 600 people download my three books for free. Did not make one dollar. (What happens is one person will purchase the e-book and then share it freely with friends and email lists), and so because I have no firewall to protect me from free downloads, I consistently lose gobs of money from these internet efforts.
Not complaining, I’m just curious who the doctor is talking about. The promotion of natural childbirth in an epidural world has not brought anyone I personally know financial independence. So, yes Dr. Grant, I have issues with your claims that we are all doing this work for financial gain.
Enjoy your labor: A new approach to pain relief for childbirth, by Dr Gilbert Grant, director of obstetric anaesthesia at New York University Medical Center
Dr. Grant may not think of himself as a high class drug pusher, but that is what he is.
My advice as a natural childbirth teacher has always been thus:
The number one reason to avoid epidural anesthesia…
You can’t kick your doctor in the head when he or she attempts to give you an episiotomy.
Jenny Hatch