The Violence of Birth
I have a friend at work whose daughter died today in childbirth. I was especially affected by the news because the situation sounded so familiar to me and Brooklynne--a decision to induce, followed by heart-related complications, which led in this case to a catastrophic stroke. I had to call Brooklynne to tell her that I loved her, because I couldn't stop thinking about how that could have been us.
I used to take pregnancy for granted, but I have come to realize that it is a violent and dangerous process, even with the availability of modern medicine. Just one more sign that the broken world we live in is not as God intended.
Sorry this is such a downer. It's just what I keep thinking about tonight.
Read more about:
Misc.4 Comments
Leave a comment
0 TrackBacks
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: The Violence of Birth.
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.milestravis.org/cgi-bin/mt/mt-tb.cgi/595
Here is a video about a birthing miracle. I mean seriously, this IS A MIRACLE.
You have to cut and paste this in to the address bar...
http://news.yahoo.com/video/us-15749625/christmas-miracle-mom-and-baby-die-then-revive-17357728
OB nurse has to chime in...and please don't take this as a minimization of anyone's death. That's always sad, always a tragedy and my heart goes out to anyone who's had any sort of perinatal loss.
But birth is not as violent and as dangerous as the headlines would lead us to believe. Most of the time, when we leave well enough alone and let Mother Nature do her thing, birth happens like it's supposed to. I think our modern medicine has, for low-risk women, made birth MORE dangerous than it was previously. Induction for purely social reasons, elective primary c/sections, continuous monitoring, epidurals, they are all a double-edged sword. I'm not categorically knocking them all....but unless they're absolutely necessary, I'd stay away from them.
BethAnn,
Other than the OB nurse part, your comment took the words out of my mouth. The double-edged sword of modern medicine in birthing is something that I am very passionate about. The tools that should be minimally used to save lives are often used as a convenience without parents being fully aware of the risks that any intervention brings.
I am so sorry for this family's loss. It is a broken world where things are not the way they are supposed to be, and I pray that they would find comfort in this time.
Hey Miles,
I'm commenting really late (2 months late) on your birthing post. First, that's just tragic about your friend's daughter; I cannot imagine planning and dreaming about being a parent and then to have that happen.
I do have a question for you (and others, too): you mention about God's intention, and I think what you were going for is that God didn't intend for death, and that I agree. However, I'm curious if you have any thoughts on what reproduction might have been like without the fall? Are we to assume that our (well, specifically female's) physical forms have changed due to the fall? Is there any way that the current child birth process would be not painful? Just some curiosities on a cold February night. Hope you and family are well!