Wednesday 2 March 2016

Yarn Along!

I've been wondering for a while how to talk about the book I have just finished, Michel Odent's Do We Need Midwives? I do not have a scientific or medical background, and this book pushed me right to the limits of my knowledge. It was like being a grad student again, and I was glad to have those skills to fall back on!


Odent is concerned with the future of human birth practices, and the implications of this for our species as a whole. Drawing on a large selection of sources Odent points to implications of our birthing practices that can already be identified in terms of epidemiology. However, some of these conclusions seem to have been reached by looking back into studies that actually had a different focus, so it is hard to say how accurate they might be. Odent talks about how our birthing practices have evolved. In the primitive case he suggests (using anthropological cases) that the birthing woman would have been alone, possibly with a trusted woman guarding the space from a distance. These women were more likely to experience fetal ejection reflex and an easy birth. The midwife has developed as a social construct from companion to helper/guide/coach, and has assumed more and more control over the process. Odent points out that their very presence may mean a harder birth for the mother (certainly I experienced a fetal ejection reflex during my easy second birth, significantly when I was alone in the room). Odent considers the impact that the increased use of artificial hormones in managed births may be having on us as a species. Given that synthetic oxytocin does not cross the blood/brain barrier, it is easy to see the use of artificial hormones will change they way we parent, and as this becomes a normal way to give birth this will be reinforced by social conventions. There must also be evolutionary biological repercussions for our abilities to produce and respond to these hormones. In terms of cesarean section Odent considers the long term implications of several factors, such as the fundamental differences between pre-labour and in-labour cesarean, and the popular idea of "seeding the microbiome" of section babies with their mother's vaginal flora. Odent finishes the book with an addendum to be read in 2030, which is concerned with the issue of genetic selection/manipulation. The book reminds me of a Malthusian concern for the future of mankind, that something must be done to steer us, as a species, down the right path; a call for us to make conscious decisions about our evolution. This idea is so overwhelming for me. There are, of course, no hard and fast answers in the book, and for me certainly it raises a lot more questions. Where do we go from here? I have no idea! I would LOVE to hear the thoughts of others who have read this book, especially those with a background in obstetrics and midwifery.


This week I am mostly knitting on the Baby Bluejay for Bob, to match Sausages' Bluejay, which is completed and waiting for buttons and blocking. The smaller one has whizzed up and is nearly at the end of the hood, so I should have a matching pair by Easter! My car knitting has been a pair of basic socks, but my experiments with gauge and fit meant that I have ripped them out to start again. Still, a good opportunity to practice the German stretchy cast on!


The picture above is my little collection from Unravel. SocksYeah was the thing I most wanted to get. I'm hoping to get Rachel's collection When Granny Weatherwax Knits Socks for my birthday, and these skeins will be a pair for me! I wanted a skein of lace weight to knit Who Goes With Fergus, and on the day I went for this glowing green skein from Triskelion Yarn. I have no idea what the cream and brown yak will become, but there's 75g of DK there, and it's the softest thing on earth! My favourite walking boots are made from yak leather, and I have an urge to make something I can wear at the same time! Probably a hat, I guess. Did you go? What did you choose?


I'm so grateful to Ginny for creating and curating this wonderful link up. I love to see what other people are creating and reading around the world, and it has led me on so many adventures! Do leave me a note to let me know you've been by, and thank you for visiting!

E

12 comments:

  1. somehow that sock book never crossed my radar....and i love the patterns!!! (I just peeked!) What an interesting book you just finished....don't you think in our ever increasing need to 'fix' everything or make things 'better' we're often messing with things we should leave be. I'm fascinated that there is a section to be read at a much later date....

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    1. The socks are awesome aren't they?! I think you're probably right about leaving things be. It's valuable to have access to c sections, drugs etc for those who need them, but they are completely overused in many health care systems.

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  2. what an interesting read!! i am amazed at current childbirth practices. epidural, read a book, take a nap and then push out a baby.

    your yarn choices are beautiful!!!!

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    1. Ha no epidurals for me! No pain either! I can't wait to get knitting these treasures!

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  3. Yes, so interesting to read. We really made use of modern medicine to the max! But modern attitudes really made the whole thing extra stressful :/

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    1. What an interesting way to put it! I'm pretty glad we have modern medicine and you're still here!

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  4. Thanks for the link for the sock book - Love Granny Weatherwax. Yak is my favorite thing to spin and I like the idea of making something to wear with your boots. As to the midwifery book, I have had four births, with drugs, without, with an epidural and without, with hormones and without, with a vacuum assist and without, no c-sections but at the end of the day I have four beautiful healthy children. I have friends who had different experiences from mine and they have beautiful healthy children. What is the right way? None of them and all of them. Also, the first person who tried to make me deliver all alone who not have lived to observe if I experienced any reflexes.

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  5. Hi Elizabeth, thanks for your kind words on my blog! I see you read a book from a French obstetrician that seems very interesting, I heard about his methods but never read his books. He lived not far from my home in France! As regards knitting, I think that your little Bob will look great in this Baby Bluejay jacket! Wish you a wonderful week-end!

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  6. Love these skeins! Green and yellow are so perfect together. As for the book, I really can't give any opinion here, as I am not a mother, but it's definitely something to think about!

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  7. Oh my goodness, those skeins are my kind of colors!! the book sounds intriguing and I think I would have loved to have a midwife :)

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  8. Such great colors! Knitting socks is so incredibly therapeutic and happy colors always help too. xoxo Andrea @ This Knitted Life

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  9. Quite an enticing collection of yarn!
    Baby Bluejay is just adorable. If only I had someone to knit it for!

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