Comments on: Rethinking Birth http://www.commonhealth.us/rethinking-birth/ Rethinking American Healthcare Fri, 02 Apr 2010 16:21:38 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: Steve Riggshttp://www.commonhealth.us/rethinking-birth/comment-page-1/#comment-73 Steve Riggs Wed, 17 Feb 2010 01:03:25 +0000 http://www.commonhealth.us/2007/rethinking-birth/#comment-73 After 32 years of working in acute care hospitals I have watched all of this "hardcare" given with no thought and supposedly no incidence of problems. I have two children, both healthy, intelligent, vibrant kids with creativity and hearts that I wish every parent could have the experience of.Neither of them had the umbilical cords cut before the cords stopped pulsating on their own.The breathing of the newborn seems obvious and is important. This transition time is for multiple reasons that I won't cover completely. Breathing and just as importantly as oxygen levels rise in the newborns system a hole between the two ventricles of the heart closes as it is supposed to providing an entire new process by which blood flows and oxygen is distributed.Clamping and cutting the cord immediately means that the infant immediately is in a life or death circumstance. Is this the way we want our children born, live or die? Neither of them had hepatitis B vaccinations at birth. Vitamin K shots were half dose and no antibiotic ointment in their eyes. Both our children were either with mom or dad at all times except for the initial examination from a pediatric doctor of my choice.Further we had a sling in which our children were placed in whenever we were doing anything and they slept and played and they had their first bath when they came home and were bathed as play and love when needed. Bathing a clean baby all the time is one of the lamest things we do. If you want to bath them because it makes you or them feel good, great. How many filthy babies do you see? If you are thinking they are diapered and need baths then you are not cleaning them well after each diaper.And no matter what the pampers box says on the side, please do not wait until the diaper has 15 pounds in it. ;)))) After 32 years of working in acute care hospitals I have watched all of this “hardcare” given with no thought and supposedly no incidence of problems. I have two children, both healthy, intelligent, vibrant kids with creativity and hearts that I wish every parent could have the experience of.

Neither of them had the umbilical cords cut before the cords stopped pulsating on their own.The breathing of the newborn seems obvious and is important. This transition time is for multiple reasons that I won’t cover completely. Breathing and just as importantly as oxygen levels rise in the newborns system a hole between the two ventricles of the heart closes as it is supposed to providing an entire new process by which blood flows and oxygen is distributed.Clamping and cutting the cord immediately means that the infant immediately is in a life or death circumstance. Is this the way we want our children born, live or die? Neither of them had hepatitis B vaccinations at birth. Vitamin K shots were half dose and no antibiotic ointment in their eyes. Both our children were either with mom or dad at all times except for the initial examination from a pediatric doctor of my choice.

Further we had a sling in which our children were placed in whenever we were doing anything and they slept and played and they had their first bath when they came home and were bathed as play and love when needed. Bathing a clean baby all the time is one of the lamest things we do. If you want to bath them because it makes you or them feel good, great. How many filthy babies do you see? If you are thinking they are diapered and need baths then you are not cleaning them well after each diaper.

And no matter what the pampers box says on the side, please do not wait until the diaper has 15 pounds in it. ;) )))

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