Mama Says "No!"

I've been planning my homebirth here in Germany, pretty much since I got pregnant. The medical system here is a little confusing and it's difficult to understand who is responsible. A few months ago I read in the paper about a doctor who instead of removing a cyst from a woman's kidney, removed the whole kidney and damaged the other one. The woman died the same day. It seems that it was more convenient for the doctor to just take out the whole kidney instead of performing competent surgery which would have left her with two healthy kidneys - which is what she gave him authorization to do. The family is suing but as far as I know, nothing has happened to the doctor. He is still practicing medicine.
I have my share of horror stories when it comes to German doctors but I won't go into that now. For the moment, I just want you to know how scared I was moving back to Germany to have my baby and deliver it into incompetent hands. It's been something that has kept me up at night, terrified that I might choose some monster like my parents did "for me." This trauma of incompetent, apathetic doctors and parents has made me one of the most "resourceful" or paranoid people I have ever encountered.

Most of the books I'm reading about natural childbirth are from American sources. As I read through the chapters and descriptions of what to expect from an American hospital birth, I am somewhat surprised at the amount of freedom birthing women are given here especially when it comes to their right to decide what their babies will be given after birth.

In Germany -
Every pregnant woman gets a little book where the midwife, the doctor and the ultrasound record their results from each meeting. At first I was annoyed by this, that my midwife didn't have some centralized record keeping system that was shared with hospitals and (!) what if I lose the book? All records of my pregnancy will have been lost! I've gotten used to the idea and like to look at the entries every now and then and see what the ultrasound tech wrote about the size of my baby or when we heard the heartbeat with the midwife. It's nice. It's also something handy to have - I just decided - if you are having an unassisted birth and are doing your own prenatal care. It's really not rocket science. I think this experience is actually bringing me more in tune with how my body works and how to do basic health checks on myself.

Jumping to after the birth and you are holding your baby - In the state where I live Baden-Wuerttemberg, they do not put anything into babies eyes after birth. That goopy stuff they force on you in a lot of hospitals in America called Erythromycin is meant to prevent the mother from giving her baby STD germs. In Germany, at one of the first meetings with a midwife, you will have blood drawn if you wish to test for STD, if positive, then you know that you should be vigilant when it comes to the health of your baby's eyes, if negative no worries. Since I was tested, I know I have nothing to worry about and I love that the default is to give the baby nothing. I think it was in The Babytalk Insider's Guide to Your Baby's First Year where I read about alternatives to the goop. They recommended gently wiping your baby's eyes with a damp wash cloth with a little echinacea root on it or putting a few drops of breast milk in the baby's eyes if you notice that they are red or gunky. Breast milk was by far the most recommended "treatment" on the forum sites I visited. So, as a mama who doesn't want unnecessary chemicals put in her baby's eyes, which makes the baby's vision even more blurry thus impairing bonding, this Mama says No to goop and Erythromycin!

Another thing is the Hep B shot that they give babies en masse when they are born without regard for whether either of the parents has the illness. I looked it up online and for the most part, the biggest symptom of Hep B is liver failure (if you were curious: Hep B Symptoms, About the Vaccine). I am not against vaccinations in general but I am very protective of my baby. I don't think it's necessary for my newborn to get this shot. It is recommended in the US that a baby get this vaccine between birth and 2 months of age. There is no requirement in Germany for your child to have this vaccination. Mama says No to Hep B vaccination - especially since I've been tested for it..

Then there's the Vitamin K shot (see: Vit K, Inject Or Not?). The shot is meant to reduce the risk internal bleeding into the brain caused by liver disease in the newborn that goes undetected. The risk of your child having this illness is 5/100,000. The main problem is that liver disease impairs the baby's ability to produce blood clotting chemicals from the Vit K in his system - so the injection is supposed to help the baby by giving it more Vit K to work with. The argument against this injection is that it is known to increase your child's risk of cancer (leukemia) as Vit K promotes cell division - and cell division that gets out of hand is called cancer. There are a few different studies some saying it increases your child's odds by 80% and some say it up the odds by 10-20%. Either way, your child's odds of getting leukemia from Vit K are higher than your child having the illness it is supposed to treat in the first place. The main argument being made by people against this injection is that it is a ridiculously high amount of Vit K to be pumping into a small baby in one injection. Two alternatives are suggested, if you really want to give your baby Vit K. One would be that you give your baby several small doses of Vit K per mouth "possibly 200 micrograms per week for 5 weeks, totaling 1 milligram, even more gradual introduction may be better" and the other is for the breastfeeding mother to take Vit K supplements herself which then gets transferred to the baby via milk. Anyway, this Mama says no to a massive dose of Vit K right after birth. Not necessary and potentially dangerous. Friggin give me a vitamin and I've got it covered!