I am very concerned that the current labor and delivery tactics used by many Dr.'s and Hospitals around the US are causing some of the uprising neurological problems in our children, due to the improper use of Pitocin, Epidurals, and cord clamping immediately after birth, rather than waiting until the cord has quit pulsating. 

It seems that young first time mothers are generally the victims of these "interventions"  due to lack of knowledge about labor and delivery, and are being told horror stories about the "excruciating labor pain" and being talked in to induction of labor at 36 weeks, which then leads to intense labor due to Pitocin being cranked up to speed up labor (which is known to cause neurological effects to the infant), the pain is so intense the mother is then begging for the epidural, and because she is being induced prior to 40 weeks, inevitably ends up with a C-section, because she does not dilate enough to have the baby naturally, and the Pitocin is causing the contractions to be so hard and fast that the baby goes into fetal distress.  They make lots of money this way, especially if one has insurance, or is on Medicaid.  They also make it look like they are doing everything they can with all the monitoring, (making it impossible for the laboring women to move around). Thus avoiding the possibility of being sued.

Things seem to be a lot different from when I had my 3 kids.  It was all about NATURAL CHILD BIRTH IN THE HOSPITAL.  This was in the 70's and 80's.  I'd like to know what the heck happened between then and now, and how they came up with this 13 hour labor and deliviery protocal that they are so willing to follow, whether the mother chooses it or not??  Birth plans are disregarded, women are assumed to be uneducated, even when they have done a lot of research and are very knowledgable.  Since when did they start doing routine Inductions at 36-38 weeks, rather than wait until mom goes into labor naturally, as long as she is medically healthy enough to do so?  Epidurals are considered routine.  What????  They are sticking a needle in your spinal cord area, which could lead to permanant back problems if done improperly.  And when the heck did C-Sections become elective?? 

It is time for women to take back the power of labor and delivery from the hospitals, and force them to listen to our concerns.  We women need to educate ourselves on labor and delivery the natural way.  There used to be all kinds of classes for this when I was pregnant, but they seem to have dwindled away.  Why??  For thousands of years women would give birth at home with a midwife, or by themselves, etc... Yes the mortality rate was a little higher, but birth defects were much less prevelant.  I strongly believe that some of the interventions used today are completely uneccesary(sp) and are in fact causing some of the problems children are having at early ages, such as cerebral palsy, autism, and other neurological conditions.