Examining Gawande before reading Goer, you can see that Gawande's idea of medicine as an industry, but it is hard to totally accept it. Industry is described as: Commercial production and sale of goods. A specific branch of manufacture and trade. Energetic devotion to a task or an endeavor; diligencee......alot of these tie into Gawande's idea. When Gawande says "You begin to wonder whether forty-two thousand obstetricians in the U.S. could really master all these techniques" speaking about all the different techniques it takes to deliver a baby safely. Are they not doctors? I assume a heart surgeon has numerous ways and techniques to his trade, so I have to disagree him doubting that doctors can adapt and master the numerous ways to birth a child. There is ALWAYS a risk in any kind or medical procedure, there is no miracle surgery, which Gawande suggests the C-section is. His story about the queens 50 hour surgery over a hundred years ago, comparing to Rourke's tale today is a shot at trying to automatically make us believe that C-sections are a best/the best option for survival in today's life.
After reading Goer, we can tell that he takes a more realistic approach to medicine. He weighs the risks/rewards of c-section vs. vaginal birth, the somewhat selective nature of Gawanda's scientific evidence. Goer also shows reasons as to why Rourke had to resort to a C-section, and shows that all of Gowande's so called medical advancements could have ultimately led to the dangerous surgery
From reading these two articles, we can say with no doubt that medical advancements have led to more newborns and more mothers lives being saved, but natural childbirth is not something to be discarded, as well as some techniques that have been used for many years.
I am skipping my second blog of the semester.
ReplyDeleteSkipping today's blog.
ReplyDeleteI think Brittany does a very good job of explaining how after reading and comparing the two articles, it is clear that there are many different procedures and solutions to child-birth; however each procedure is not exactly as it seems and there is not always an obvious solution to issues regarding child-birth. I agree with Goer that one of the problems in Gawande's article is that he makes C-section out to be an "easy-fix" that can solve any problems that may occur during child-birth without really discussing the dangers of such a surgery.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I think Goer comes off as a bit ignorant in saying "Rourke’s failed attempt at normal birth cannot be taken as typical of what happens to women foolish enough to reject obstetric management" in the sense that some women simply prefer to have a natural child birth without medicine or drugs. Thus I do not consider these women to be "foolish" for rejecting such treatment if their personal opinions or perhaps belief systems lead them to have a drug-free child birth. Of course these women are aware of the number of things that could go wrong during pregnancy and that medicine can often times help ease these problems. However I think it's important to recognize that each pregnancy is different and each mother has a different plan and reacts differently to the available procedures when giving birth. However, as Rourke explains in the end of the Gawande article, once the baby is born, nothing else is more important than the beautiful new life that a mother and a family now have.
Good thoughts, Brittany and Jessi. Part of the problem with Goer's article, in my mind, is that she treats Gawande as if he is completely against natural childbirth; based on my reading of his article, I'd suggest that he's actually quite conflicted. While he values the advances that have been made in birthing techniques, he's concerned about how industrialized it has become, and how there's been a one-size-fits-all approach to childbirth. As he points out, industry has trumped craft. As Jessi points out, pregnancies and women are different. Are there ways to ensure that what's best for women - as opposed to doctors, hospitals, and insurance companies - remains the primary concern?
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