31 May 2007

Pre-Partum Panic

I mentioned in my last post that I went to the U's Health Science Library, but I didn't explain why. You see, I've decided to become a doctoress. Okay. That's a lie.

The truth is that I'm writing my final research paper for my final class on obstetricians' perspectives on midwifery during the 1920s. (Basically, the class consists of writing this 25-30 page paper).

So, today I flipped through all the applicable volumes of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. I read bits and pieces of several articles, not because they applied to midwives, but because I found them interesting and terrifying at the same time. Mostly terrifying. Not only because the idea of a person moving from inside of me to outside of me sends fear throughout my entire body, but also because most of the articles were about health problems. And some had pictures. Really frightening pictures.

The point, I suppose is this: I'm really glad that I will have babies in sterile environments with well-educated people who have a pretty solid understanding of delivering babies and all that goes with it. Not to mention the epidural. It might not feel as good as the opiates that were given to women in the 1920s (yeah, I skimmed an article about that), but a large shot in my spine will suit me quite nicely, thank you. Ahh, modern medicine.

Um, and no, I'm not pregnant.

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