The United States continues to have a higher rate of women dying in pregnancy, childbirth or postpartum compared with all other high-income nations, even despite recent declines in the US maternal death rate, a new report shows.
Black women especially. Up until recently it was actually taught in nursing and medical education that black people feel less pain for the same amount of emotion expressed (aka they’re exaggerating). It turns out when you assume a woman is exagerrating postpartum abdominal pain, that’s how she dies of a hemorrhage.
You all may also be interested to know that the “traditional” lithotomy position (laying back w legs up in the stirrups) is actually one of if not the worst position to give birth in. I put it in quotes because it’s not even actually traditional. As a preferred birthing position it only dates back to the 17th century (before that it was used for kidney stone removal, where the name lithotomy comes from). Before that women typically squatted, kneeled, or were on all fours. Lithotomy became popular because it was more accessible to the male physician, and because the French king at the time wanted to watch his wife give birth, and that was the position in which he could best watch. So… do with that information what you will.
Black women especially. Up until recently it was actually taught in nursing and medical education that black people feel less pain for the same amount of emotion expressed (aka they’re exaggerating). It turns out when you assume a woman is exagerrating postpartum abdominal pain, that’s how she dies of a hemorrhage.
You all may also be interested to know that the “traditional” lithotomy position (laying back w legs up in the stirrups) is actually one of if not the worst position to give birth in. I put it in quotes because it’s not even actually traditional. As a preferred birthing position it only dates back to the 17th century (before that it was used for kidney stone removal, where the name lithotomy comes from). Before that women typically squatted, kneeled, or were on all fours. Lithotomy became popular because it was more accessible to the male physician, and because the French king at the time wanted to watch his wife give birth, and that was the position in which he could best watch. So… do with that information what you will.