Introduction
The movie called the “Business of Being Born” explores the debate about “midwives, home births, and hospital births in America” (Tracy, 2008). The movie generally favor the argument that in cases of normal births without complications, midwives can conduct home deliveries and this is seen to be better as compared to hospital births that are normally conducted by medical officers.
“This movie is however strong on sound bites, emotional appeals, and superficial arguments, but weak on substance, depth, and scientific evidence for its claims” (Gaskin, 2003).
Arguments about “The Business of Being Born”
Access to Obstetric Care
In the United States of America, access to obstetric care still needs to be improved. This is because not all pregnant women are able to access this service. For example, some women do not always have a good prenatal care. “This is because in US people are from different social and economic backgrounds and this has always dictated the kind of health care they can afford to use” (Simkin, 2010).
C-section Delivery
C-section deliveries are currently being embraced by many people in US yet some of the deliveries are normal and do not even warrant the use of such services. According to some midwives, cases of c-section births can be prevented or reduced. For example,” if women can be allowed to ambulate, to deliver squatting rather than supine, and to avoid certain interventions like epidurals and fetal monitoring” (Tracy, 2008).
Apart from this, there is a group of obstetricians who think that delivery through c-section method is the best way for administering deliveries. Some of them use this method in order to act as evidence against any possible lawsuit that may arise if the outcome of the delivery process is challenged in a court of law. Some patients also persuade doctors to use c-section method because they prefer it to other modes of delivery. But I believe this is appalling.
Home Birth
The movie also creates an impression that when a woman screams and undergoes a lot of pain during delivery then she has achieved something great. This attitude was common among midwives and it does not have any significance to me. “This is because drugs can be used to alleviate pain during delivery and also when a woman is experiencing labor pains” (Tracy, 2008).
In addition to these, some midwives contend that c-section delivery services deny women the chance to forge close ties with their babies during birth. This is very wrong and that believe does not have any truth in it. Midwives also proved to be supportive during births as compared to obstetricians who seem to be tired of normal delivery services.
However, home deliveries are dangerous because they are more prone to complications. In the movie a doctor said that, “a woman can hemorrhage and bleed out in a matter of minutes” (Tracy, 2008). For example, “there is an episode in this movie in which the delivery process had to be halted due to some complications” (Tracy, 2008).
Conclusion
Since hospital births are proving to be expensive for some people, alternatives should be looked for. For example midwives should be trained properly and they should also be given the necessary equipment and materials that can help them to conduct the normal home delivery services. “A lot of scientific research can also help in developing new ways of conducting delivery services” (Tracy, 2008). The government of US can also support this process by ensuring that all pregnant women have access to good medical care.
References
Gaskin, I. (2003). Guide to child birth. New York: Bantam.
Simkin, P. (2010). Pregnancy, childbirth, and the newborn. Ohio: Meadobrook.
Tracy, J. (2008). The business of being born. New York: Wiley.