laboring on back

[Honey693]

I know laboring/delivering on your back is one of, if not teh most, unproductive position for labor. Unfortunately my husband thinks doctors are usually God and refuses to believe anything that hasn't been proven to him through articles, reaserch, etc, preferably from a place like the AMA or WHO. (This whole medial people are great thinking from him boggles my mind. He hates the way the government is run, he's into conspiracy theories, thinks the government is out to get us, etc so why he has this high opinion of the medical community I have no idea.) He's pretty supportive of my choices even when he thinks they're whacko, but I'd really like him to realise how unproductive laboring on your back is (he thought it was the only way!) and I need articles to do this so he can spout statistics at the doctors for me. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

[EBeth0000]

there is a recent article from Mothering Magazine (linked in one of the stickies in this forum) called "Off Her Back" It's about a mom's journey toward natural birth, it does specifically address birthing positions but not necessarily research studies. Also Henci Goer's book is amazing for research and statistics. But the "Off Her Back" article is short and sweet, and would probably be a really great thing to get your DH to read. Good luck!

[alfabetsoup]

Are you planning to take a childbirthing class? Ours was really helpful in explaining labouring positions and reasons not to lie on your back. If you can find a good natural birthing class it might be just what you need.

[sapphire_chan]

Ask him to make the doctor show him with a fully articulated pelvic model exactly why laying on the back would be better than squatting (they can't, the only argument in favor of laying instead of being upright is that the doctor is too incompetent to tell what they're looking at). This is basic anatomy stuff.

[emma_goldman]

you can tell him that I labored on my back and developed a "cervical lip" which delayed birthing and was very painfully resolved (by cervical "massage" -yeow!). The uneven pressure on the cervix caused it.

[aprilsfools]

In Ina May's Guide to Childbirth she talks about how women only started delivering on their backs when doctors figured out it would be easier for THEM to use their nifty forceps.

There is a whole scene in the Business of Being Born where a doctor discusses how it is not productive to push on your back- that is for the Mom.

[aprilsfools]

Also, you should rent the movie Sicko. I doubt he will have a very good view of the medical profession in the US after watching that film.

[paquerette]

Maybe instead of convincing him you need a different labor coach/advocate? I'm not saying you have to kick him out of the room, but you might want to at least relegate him to the task of sitting there, shutting up, and holding your hand. You should at least have a doula with you, and preferably a doula plus a sympathetic friend or family member to be your "partner."

[SublimeBirthGirl]

You should start a campaign to show him how little evidence there is for anything obstetricians do. If he likes evidence, he'll love that. Show him The Business of Being Born. Make him read Henci Goer.

[~sweet pea~]

Originally Posted by SublimeBirthGirl

You should start a campaign to show him how little evidence there is for anything obstetricians do. If he likes evidence, he'll love that. Show him The Business of Being Born. Make him read Henci Goer.

Henci Goer's book (The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth) talks about how there have been studies done with x-rays that show that the pelvic opening is actually a smaller diameter when you are on your back, as compared to a squatting position. She has cites for those studies (and all her other research) in footnotes at the end of each chapter.

[gcgirl]

Originally Posted by sapphire_chan

Ask him to make the doctor show him with a fully articulated pelvic model exactly why laying on the back would be better than squatting (they can't, the only argument in favor of laying instead of being upright is that the doctor is too incompetent to tell what they're looking at). This is basic anatomy stuff.

ITA. You can also find him a diagram online or in books like Active Birth, which clearly outlines the difference.

[Honey693]

Originally Posted by SublimeBirthGirl

You should start a campaign to show him how little evidence there is for anything obstetricians do. If he likes evidence, he'll love that. Show him The Business of Being Born. Make him read Henci Goer.

Thank you guys so much! Between that and the Bradley classes we're taking I'm hoping he realizes that I'm not just being weird, I just want to do what's easiest and makes sense!

[Turquesa]

You'll be hard-pressed to find a study that supports lithotomy as an effective laboring position.

PPs are right in suggesting Henci Goer's book. You can preview portions of it on her website: http://www.hencigoer.com/betterbirth/

Also search the abstracts at the Cochrane Library Database: www.cochrane.org.
This one immediately comes to mind:
http://www.cochrane.org/reviews/en/ab002006.html

Finally, do some searches on scholar.google.com.

Good luck with your pregnancy and birth!

[lyttlewon]

Originally Posted by ~sweet pea~

Henci Goer's book (The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth) talks about how there have been studies done with x-rays that show that the pelvic opening is actually a smaller diameter when you are on your back, as compared to a squatting position. She has cites for those studies (and all her other research) in footnotes at the end of each chapter.

Also gently remind him that squatting is not the only laboring position either . I labored on all fours with DS or on my haunches with my arms wrapped around DH's front/shoulders.

[AlpineMama]

NAK With my first birth I wanted to labor on my back and arch it too; the midwives advised me not to. Babe was stuck until I ignored their advice. Later research proved my instincts correct; sometimes with back labor it actually helps. Or maybe if a woman wanted to slow labor it would be good too. With DD I was upright but that felt right for her birth. The main thing is to go with your instincts, not statistics. hth!

[Limabean1975]

A few simple lessons in pelvic anatomy - and the anatomy of childbirth - make it REALLY REALLY clear. Seriously.

[rozzie'sma]

I think I would show him the math. The force of gravity is 9.2 meters per second in a downward direction. If you are laying on your back that force is pushing baby into your tail bone, if you are upright it is helping baby down and out the birth canal.

[sapphire_chan]

Originally Posted by rozzie'sma

I think I would show him the math. The force of gravity is 9.2 meters per second in a downward direction. If you are laying on your back that force is pushing baby into your tail bone, if you are upright it is helping baby down and out the birth canal.

: If your dh really wants you to push on your back (which is really bizarre actually, have you actually talked to him about this or are you just scared to bring it up until you have evidence to the contrary?) make him go grocery shopping carrying all the bags at arms' length and then talk to you about the effects of gravity on physical effort. It's fatiguing to do things inefficiently.
(9.8 meters per second per second )

Have you talked with your doctor about this? Maybe your doctor will be sensible about positioning and this won't even matter. :

[Honey693]

I don't think he cares, he just seemed shocked when I said I didn't want to. All he's ever seen the mainstream media's portray of birth so he honestly thought that was the only to do it *smacks head*. I'm trying to enlighten him before I go into labor.