Here are a few things I have learned, and I have learned them in a pretty unique manner, mostly in the last year or two.
]]>Here are a few things I have learned, and I have learned them in a pretty unique manner, mostly in the last year or two.
]]>
My friend Grace hit the motherlode of videos for medical history junkies on the Wellcome Film YouTube channel.
This series of three silent British films from 1930 shows and describes (with language that reads like a standardization checklist) in detail the cesarean section.
Part 1:
Part 2:
Part 3:
Nice that there is research that shows that all of the time I have spent goofing around on the Internet has had a measurable effect and that continued photoshoppery has positive public health implications.
All I am going to say about this is that I walked past that blank bulletin board at the ACOG Annual Clinical Meeting and tried to tell myself not to do something this dorky. As usual, resistence was futile. This one is for the long-time readers.
]]>
]]>
Readers,
I have been confirmed as a panelist at the Human Rights in Childbirth Conference on May 31 - June 1, 2012 at The Hague University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands.
If you attend, please take a few seconds to fill out the box on the form which asks how you learned about the conference with some variation of Unnecesarean, The Unnecesarean, Jill Arnold, CesareanRates.com or anything that will let them know that I referred you. Without the benefit of institutional support and without a spare $1500 in my pocket, I asked if they would be willing to help me get there and was relieved that I could help them by filling seats.
If you are in the Netherlands, then please ga naar de conferentie en vertel hen dat ik van je verzonden.
For those of you who want to stay put and attend the conference from home, you will want to get a group together and sign up for the webinar for half-off just for saying I referred you!
Please read more and reserve your spot today. My new Dutch friends can now mock me for using Google Translate to destroy their language. Het spijt me.
Jill
Human Rights in Childbirth Conference
Healthcare in childbirth is of great importance to society. This conference takes a unique, consumer perspective. It will focus on the legal and human rights issues arising at the intersection of childbirth and healthcare. The conference is being organized and hosted by affected groups, a legal research institute, and an international law program at The Hague University. Therefore, it creates a unique opportunity for a wide spectrum of stakeholders to share perspectives on the issues relating to birthing women and their families.
Doctors, midwives, lawyers, and parents agree on the general principle of client-centered care in childbirth. The conference will be a platform to explore the practical aspects of human rights in 21st century healthcare systems, and how those systems can both maximize safety and respect the dignity of the women they support.
For more information on the conference and for an overview of our esteemed panelists, please visit our website: www.humanrightsinchildbirth.com. (Facebook | Twitter)
About the Human Rights in Childbirth Webinar
This webinar provides a unique opportunity for professionals and parents around the world to be a part of the global discussion on human rights in childbirth. The Human Rights in Childbirth Conference will be LIVE streamed by a professional team, so you can watch live and join the discussion via twitter.
If you are unable to join live, you will be able to watch the conference panels at your leisure for 30 days following the conference, join the ongoing discussion via the Facebook page, and connect with the regional and international networks of professionals capable of protecting women’s fundamental right to authority and support in childbirth.
We want the conference to be accessible for your community, and we have negotiated a special price for you to join this important event!
Regular Price: €175/2 days inclusive the pre-conference publication. [Edit 5/8/2012- One day webinar option dropped]
Special Price for The Unnecesarean: $75/2 days pre-conference publication not included.
How to get this special price:
1. Go to the Registration Form: Registration Page
2. Fill in the registration form and select the webinar (you will see the regular prices but don’t worry you will get your discount!), in the field “How did you learn about the conference? *” fill in “Unnecesarean Discount”
3. Do not pay by clicking on the PAY PAL directly (then you will pay the regular price). You will receive a confirmation email from our office with the discounted price and you can pay either via PAY PAL or via a bank transfer. The details for this will be provided in the email confirmation (this is created by a human, it is not an automatic mail, so won’t be sent directly).
Massachusetts cesarean rate history and VBAC bans | Massachusetts cesarean rates by hospital, 2009
The Atlantic’s piece, The Case for Hospital Births, seems to be sending segments of the internet into a stir.
]]>
Come on over to cesareanrates.com. The Unnecesarean will be updated weekly from this point on. May this post serve as an apology for the exceptionally weird and/or corny content in the past months while I got the new site ready. I am sure you have had your fill of photoshoppery and sarcasm.
]]>
I re-posted (from here) this glorious photo series of bellies to the Facebook page. Bellies… they’re so beautiful. I revere them. You should, too.
]]>After a decline from 1990 to 2004, the percentage of U.S. births that occurred at home increased by 29%, from 0.56% of births in 2004 to 0.72% in 2009.
For non-Hispanic white women, home births increased by 36%, from 0.80% in 2004 to 1.09% in 2009. About 1 in every 90 births for non-Hispanic white women is now a home birth. Home births are less common among women of other racial or ethnic groups.
Home births are more common among women aged 35 and over, and among women with several previous children.
Home births have a lower risk profile than hospital births, with fewer births to teenagers or unmarried women, and with fewer preterm, low birthweight, and multiple births.
The percentage of home births in 2009 varied from a low of 0.2% of births in Louisiana and the District of Columbia, to a high of 2.0% in Oregon and 2.6% in Montana.
I was asked my cesarean rate recently and gave my stock answer of “I do not know. I have never calculated the percentage because it is as low as possible, so why bother with the number?”
This.
Was.
The.
Wrong.
Answer.
]]>Here is question posted here by Nicole: “So what are you supposed to do when the hospital closest to you has a VBAC ban? Show up when ready to push?” What did you do? Stories?
Responses are pasted below.
]]>A couple thousand years ago, a nice Jewish girl has a baby in a stable. Rejoicing ensues. And so it should: the astonishing event of birth resonates with us at a primal level. It’s an everyday occurrence… ]]>
