Delivering quality medical care requires responding intelligently to emerging evidence about best practices.
Unfortunately, in the case of Caesarian sections, that is often not the case. The result can be injuries to children at birth from interventions that may not have been needed at all.
Over a decade ago, in 2001, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) did recommend that C-sections were the best way to deliver breech babies.
Breech babies are those who present themselves bottom or feet-first in the birth canal, rather than head first.
Five years later, in 2006, ACOG revised its recommendation. But seven years after that revision, C-sections are still performed on over 90 percent of breech babies.
But the art of vaginal breech delivery is not completely lost. This is in no small part thanks to Ina May Gasin, a 72-year-old midwife who has become one of the leading advocates for a greater role for midwife-assisted births. Last month, the New York Times ran a long article about her, focusing on her midwife practice.
Ms. Gasin is so well known in the field of birth and maternity that an obstetric procedure has been named for her. This is a recognition no other midwife can claim.
The Gaskin Maneuver is a procedure for addressing shoulder dystocia, in which a baby’s shoulders get stuck in the birth canal, even though the head is out.
Ms. Gasin’s book, “Spiritual Midwifery,” is a powerful testimony to the benefits of vaginal birth. The book has been translated into half a dozen languages and has sold more over 500,000 copies.
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Jay W. Dankner
JAY W. DANKNER was born, raised and educated in Brooklyn, New York. After graduation from law school in 1973, he joined the firm of the legendary, Harry H, Lipsig, under whose tutelage he learned the intricacies of civil litigation and trials. He tried and won his first case against General Motors in a case involving a design defect within weeks after his admission. Thereafter, he focused his attention on the emerging and developing field of law known as products liability litigation.
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