Pregnant in America - the movie

This film is yet another socialist attempt to crucify America's capitalist ways.

The real reason the U.S. infant death rates are comparatively high? Moms here eat like crap, smoke, and drink DURING pregnancy, and they destory their bodies much more pre-pregnancy.

The 66% figure? That accounts for COLLECTED (paid) hospital revenue. It turns out that people are more willing to pay for birth-associated costs than other hospital expenses. So the number of people who PAY their hospital bill is higher among those who have just given birth than among patients using the hospital for other reasons - this would suggest the parents are PLEASED with the care they received.

Full disclosure: I don't believe ANY normal birth belongs in a hospital. But this guy is citing sham stats to support his socialist leanings.

Memo to the world: America is capitalist, we charge as much and no less than what someone will pay, and we don't have a bleeding heart. We are also the most powerful, successful nation in the world, so it makes sense that haters are hatin'. "Heavy is the head that wears the crown."

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I went to the site and it gave me a laugh - The filmmakers certainly don't mind a slice of that "greed." The contribution option is on the homepage, first thing you see.

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I had 2 C-sections and things went well for me (although I can't take a gut punch like I used to). While I was happy with healthy outcome of my childbirth experiences, I wouldn't doubt that there's often more intervention than is necessary.

But I do have to say one thing......wasn't mother mortality like 1 in 4 back in the day before modern medicine???? I don't know if that numbers right or not....just a vague recollection of something I read. But how often are C-sections interventions for mom rather than baby? Is that a factor?

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Where does he get those numbers? to my knowledge a quarter of women's hospital stays`are for childbirth, so once you factor in men, that's maybe an eighth. It's very hard for me to believe that all the other things you could go to the hospital for would be so much cheaper than childbirth that one in eight patients would account for two thirds of hospital revenues.

As for the high infant mortality rate, that, to my knowledge, is because there's no universal access to health insurance/prenatal care in the US. Which is a disgrace for sure, but still a separate issue. Hospitals don't have a higher infant mortality rate than home births.

The New Yorker had an interesting story about C-Sections a while back:
http://snipurl.com/1jles

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And the hater Miss is at it again.

There is something to what the film maker is presenting, hospitals and insurance are making the decision about who gets c-section nowadays rather then doctors and patients. You have to fight to get what you need and during labor you're very vulnerable and don't care anymore.

I think to that doctors are often the kind of folks that feel the need to take action and fuss over the what-ifs. They are drilled in med school to move forward and waiting is not easy when they know all the possibilities. For example, when I had a c-section I was beta-strep positive and I was leaking (not gushing) amionitic fluid. The fears of possible infections in the newborn, the fact I was not responding to the pitocin drip (which I believe had a lot to do with the incredible pain such a treatment gives without pain management), and that I had my cervix checked x number of times meant they were getting nervous when I got to over 24 hours and only 4 cm. A mid-wife would have just said "Don't have sex, don't insert anything vaginally, drink plenty of fluids and walk a lot. Oh, and if you get a fever come in right away." And let me proceed on my own. The nature of todays medicine is interventionist, and that is why our deaths are overly treated too.

Get a doula and research the physical costs of c-sections, and then avoid them as much as possible. I will tell you they are MUCH easier to recover from then vaginal delivery, but in the long run you are paying a price that may not be worth it.

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Could it be that in the US more women use drastic intervention to get pregnant in the first place?

K.

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miss
I wish someone would ban you from this website. Everything from you is negative. It makes me not even want to read.

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