Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (May 20, 1981)
No ‘unnecessary technology’ Teacher touts home childbirth By JANE DeVIRGILIO Of the Emerald Having a child at home is no longer a throwback to the Dark Ages for pregnant women, a natural birth teacher told a University audience Tuesday. With emotional support and the help of a skilled birth practi tioner, home delivery results in a sensitive, emotional and relax ing experience for the majority of women who choose it, said Linda Ware, whose appearance was part of this week’s women’s symposium. "Many women no longer want a cold, routine birthing process hospitals provide. They don’t want to be seen as just another lady in bed 13 who's been in labor for 20 hours," Ware said. Ware is director of Birthways, a Lane County childbirth re source center that provides counseling, natural childbirth classes and birth planning con sultation to expectant parents. Natural birth is defined not only by the use of little or no medication during delivery. It also stresses minimum use of medical technology with more openness, communication and support and reliance on a woman’s own intuition. Consideration of a woman’s emotional health during delivery is as important as her physical health, Ware said. She believes hospitals often inundate women with unnecessary medical tech nology during conventional delivery and, as a result, ignore their emotional needs. This technology enables phy sicians to help mothers and children through complicated deliveries. In the majority of pregnancies, however, those procedures are not required and may even impair the delivery, Ware said. "With routine use of procedures such as a fetal Wallet thefts hit library A recent rash of wallet thefts in the library has prompted library officials to urge students to hang on to their valuables. Wallet theft has increased over the past several days, says Kate Freidman, who is in charge of the library’s lost and found. "It’s been really bad,” Freidman says. "Gen erally, people who have been coming here (to the lost and found) have left their pack or purse to look up something in the dictionary, to Xerox something or to go to the bathroom, and when they return, their wallet or purse is gone." Ten thefts have been reported to her office, Freidman says. In each case, the wallets were stolen from women because men usually carry wallets in their back pockets, Freidman says. Freidman is concerned that the thefts may scare students away from the library. Assistant librarian Virginia Parr says the thief or thieves "seem to be hitting in the afternoon, but cautions that they may strike any time'. In the past, wallets have turned up — minus the money — in the bathrooms of the library and PLC. Parr says this time the wallets aren’t turning up. “We want people to know that they absolutely cannot leave their wallets in their packs even if they’re going to the water fountain or the Xerox machine just for a minute.” The thefts don't occur “just in the isolated areas” of the library, Parr says. One student reported a theft from the li brary’s main reference section — one of the library’s busiest areas. And library patrons aren't the only victims of theft — library staff members also must keep a close watch on their belongings, Parr says. “We lock our desks because we have had purses taken.” Head librarian George Shipman has asked Campus Security to visit the library at least once per day to “let their presence be noticed” and to discourage theft. But the security office has not honored his request, Shipman says. Campus Security officials were not available for comment. M German AUTO SERVICE VWs-MERCEDES-BMWs DATSUN-TOYOTA-AUDI Reliable service for your foreign car 342-2912 2025 Franklin Blvd Eugene, Oregon monitoring belt, anesthesia, and forceps, many obstetricians no longer have a feel for a normal, uneventful delivery,” Ware said. "They even become bored.” Many doctors now use nurse midwives for normal deliveries, reserving their services for more difficult births, Ware said. “The nurse-midwife will usually sit with the woman during the ac tive phase of her labor, rather than having a doctor come in just in time to catch the baby. It's actually what a lot of women pay a doctor $1,000 to do," she said. "Their preferences aren’t seen as rights but privileges, with women looking up at doc tors in an authoritarian relation ship when they should be work ing as a team.” The recent flood of malprac tice suits is one major reason for the overuse of technology, Ware said. Another is conven ience. “Often if the procedure helps shave a few hours off the delivery time, doctors will use it," Ware said. Several such practices include breaking a woman’s amniotic sac — com monly called a "water bag” — to speed contractions and an epi siotomy, the surgical practice of widening the vagina for delivery. Home delivery and natural childbirth no longer are prac ticed by just ‘‘the alternative crowd," Ware said. Many mid dle-class women are consider ing it not only because it is less expensive but also "because they don't have to deal with the technology being imposed on them." A birth at home or at a birthing center with a nurse-midwife or doctor averages about $1,000 less than at a hospital, accord ing to Ware. She stressed that profession al prenatal and postpartum care are still necessary and hospital back-up should be arranged if sudden complications arise at home. Some women won’t consider a home birth for a variety of reasons. Ware said these in clude unfamiliarity, lack of sup port and a conditioned depen dence on doctors and medicine. "But the proof is in the pud ding,” Ware said. "I hear of so many positive home-birth ex periences during the 'family reunions' we have after all our class members have given birth.” But home birth may not be for everyone, Ware said. "These women want to be awakened after the whole thing is over. It is up to every woman to become educated, know the alternatives she has and make her own decision." ML; i^WGtNE 40% Off any running singlet with a purchase of running shorts and this coupon. Expires 6/1/81 10th & Olive in the Atrium 342-5155
