Western Medicine's Medical Model of Industrialized Birth.

Western Medicine's Medical Model of Industrialized Birth. 

Our Medical paradigm has hamstrung our progress in pivotal areas of life — health, happiness and peace. It has done wonders for corporations but not families. It has done even worse to our planet’s sustainability. No where is the damage more evident than in the so-called ‘progress’ we esteem in parturition. Our Medical Model of Industrialized Birth (MMIB) is a travesty of birth and a tragedy of health. It has become a control centre of the nation. It divides and conquers. The dyad nature has so carefully evolved over 3.5 million years to bring us the miracle of birth and all its power endowing properties to bond and bring families together have been put asunder with the deft slice of a knife and other no-less invasive and contraindicated procedures that are not unlike the torture of water boarding. A time nature has intended to empower women; while they experience the drama and miracle of birth and their most important part in the first act of life. North American and all the countries around the globe which emulate our heroic interventions at birth are predisposing us to harm and divesting us of health. Some countries even surpass us with cesarean section rates greater than our 33%. An astounding rate of 40% in South Korea, 65% in parts of Thailand, 67% in parts of Los Angeles and 80% in parts of Brazil. The wealthier the area the greater number of caesarean births. It screams for reason and understanding. Yet we continue with the status quo and layer more and more impediments to health upon mothers and babies. Why? For the money? Well, yes, but that is not all. Because of ignorance? Yes, however to make things even worse, education is tainted by the research of special interest groups. Education of the medical community is manipulated by groups such as the patented medicine lobby. Procedures are also dictated by lawyers and underwriters to circumvent the fear of malpractice and litigation. The west’s Medical Model of Birth contravenes the most important tenet of medicine— the Hippocratic oath, which demands doctors, “First do no harm”.

Harm is hidden by passing it through the latin obfuscating funnel, with terms like iatrogenesis, nosocomial and congenital. The blame is skewed with terms like incompetent body parts, failure to progress and many other ways to shift blame and wrest control from birthing mothers. At a time intended by nature to empower women and have them acknowledge and honour their miracle making powers for life and health; we instead rob them and disempower them and usurp control. A time of elation in many cultures, is a time in ours, of post partum depression, feelings of failure, incompetence, loss of trust in oneself and capitulation of control, short and long-term to corporatism. Depression leads us down the road to pharmaceutical's magic 'mother's helpers'. The path to pharmacy is paved with the doctor and hospital induced harm of invasive interventions and procedures which are contraindicated by evidence based medicine. Science keeps bringing the findings for optimal birth to the medical community for decades yet the status quo keeps us bound to a corporate agenda. It begs the question: WHY?


It is simple greed. Devastating greed, compounded by an overworked medical cohort wearing out trying to deal with health issues created through birth in a harmful environment.


When the instruments of a hospital are sharper than the cohort wielding them, there is a huge opportunity for harm. "When you only know how to use a hammer, everything looks like a nail".