Weekend Movie: "Infant Mortality: Causes and Prevention"

Reducing Infant Mortality and Improving the Health of Babies

Listen to Obstetricians, Doulas, Neonatologists, Midwives, Psychologists, Pediatricians, and other Physicians explain how our health care system is failing babies and mothers and what we can do about it. 

http://www.reducinginfantmortality.com/

Reducing Infant Mortality from Debby Takikawa on Vimeo.

"Of the most common procedures in the hospital the top 6 come out of maternity care" 

"We're making it more technologically advanced in our country and we're not doing any better, and we're actually getting worse."

"The rate of prematuriy in the US has increased by 36% since the 1980's"

"Where we get into problems is when we decide that other women then those that are clearly indicated to need them, need to have interventions."

"Most maternity practices that are commonly used in the hospital were never designed to be used at the frequency we're seeing them used now..."

"We have become a little bit cavalier..." 

"It is estimated that for every week that a baby is born before term that they double their risk of having problems..." 

"We know that the use of narcotics at any point interferes with breastfeeding"

"Studies now that show that when women have interventions there are deficits in maternal infant attachment and in breastfeeding as well..."

"Among African American women, breastfeeding numbers are the lowest" 

"Midwives and family doctors primarily are the providers that we've seen in the research have the best outcomes." 

"You do not need someone with the skills of a board certified OB/GYN to do a normal vaginal birth"

"The US is the only industrialized country in the world that uses surgeons to attend normal childbirth."

 "And then we look at those other countries and we see that their healthcare costs are lower..."

"If the system is set up properly where you have a there's a safety net where you work in collaboration and have a nice team effort I think it can be a safe process"

 "A collaborative process...will give patients a better opportunity to have better outcomes."

"There are entire states where midwives are unable to find an OB/GYN who is willing to be available should a woman need to go to the hospital and access those services."