Who knows more about childbirth? A mother, or the doctor who delivered the kids?
I came across this question in a philosophy class I took last year. We got hung up on it for a week. But we never came to a definitive (or satisfying) answer.
So what do y’all think? Who has more knowledge of the experience of childbirht?
The mother.There is no teacher like experience.
My guess would be a female obstetrician with kids of her own.
Personally I’d say the doctor, because they know childbirth through all stages, with many different people, and indepth technicaly stuff. However, some levels (ex. emotional) mothers have might have more knowledge.
However, what if the doctor is a mother too?
My first child was born 2 weeks late, minimal to no productive labor, and to the dismay of the midwife, by cesarean…after 37 hours of being induced. I know what crazy feels like. We also spent an extra week in the hospital because we both developed an infection due to the length of the labor (and the amniotic fluid becoming infected…) Four and a half years later I reported all of this to my new doctor…Only to relive the same problems (except the infections). It’s very scary to be pregnant and not see that baby for those extra two weeks. My children were both over ten pounds! They are very healthy and intelligent, but I kept thinking that they and/or I could have reached the point of no return so easily.
Philosphically the best answer is listening, trusting and teamwork. Not everyone is textbook. I think the mother knows her body and responses and the doctor needs to be receptive to this knowledge, even if it sounds like it’s coming from left field.
A mother has the most knowledge about her own birthing experiences. An obstetrician has the most knowledge about childbirth in general.
AudreyK, could you be a bit more specific, please?
“Childbirth in general”? You mean the scientific, anatomical stuff that goes on in labor? Or just the obstetrician knows more, period?
In the same way that a woman who has given birth has the deepest, most direct knowledge possible of her experience giving birth, she cannot claim to have a deep knowledge of another woman’s experience. I’ve talked to woman who’s births went easily, and who’s births went badly.
As far as who knows more, period, I’d have to say the obstetrician, even one who hasn’t given birth herself. She knows the medical side, and she knows the experience of many, many women, where a woman who’s given birth knows only her own.
But what about men? Can a male doctor know as much about childbirth as a mother?
Sure. I used to deliver kids, over 800 of them, before I dropped OB. I have much more factual data about labor and delivery than any mom who is not also an midwife or physician who delivers. I’ve seen many nice, normal ones, I’ve seen them go horribly sour, I’ve seen stillbirths, fetal demises, abrupted placentae, c-section of an unexpected second twin after the vaginal delivery of the first one, etc. etc. etc. I have far more factual knowledge about the process than 99+ percent of the mothers out there.
Do I know how it feels? No. Moms got me beat all to hell there. I’ll never experience it from that point of view. I’ll never be able to relate my own experiences to that. I miss out on a large and important piece of knowledge, that I can’t share.
So who do you want to deliver your baby? A male doc like me (except one who still delivers), or a mother, who’s never delivered anyone else’s baby?
QtheM, I’d pick you as long as you wouldn’t give me a hard time if I wish to scream with the pain.
The doctor who delivered my first child YELLED at me if I even groaned during a contraction. I was so pissed off. I mean, who the hell does he think he is? He has no idea how much labour hurts, so how dare he act as if childbirth is a breeze.
On the whole, I’d say a doctor knows more about childbirth. But he/she should not presume to be all-knowing, and should actually LISTEN to what the mother has to tell them.
He probably got PO’d at all; the women screaming at him like the End Times had come. Gives people a real headache all day long.
There, I said it. It wasn’t very nice, but its probably true.
It’s not strictly comparable to childbirth, but you might as well ask who “knows more” about cancer, the patient who experiences it or the oncologist who treats it? The oncologist can have all the training and empathy possible, but without having had cancer him/herself, cannot be said to have experienced it on the same level as the patient.
I knew an oncologist who had a bone marrow biopsy performed on her (with no medical indication for it), so that she could tell patients about to undergo the procedure exactly what to expect.
People’s experience of and reaction to pain vary so widely, that I don’t believe that experiencing surgery/medical procedures/childbirth necessarily gives you the key understanding of what it’s like for others. It certainly is no substitute for training, experience and empathy.
I think it’s kind of a false question. As folks have said, a doctor and a woman who has given birth will have knowledge based on different experiences regarding birth. I don’t know how you’d quantify it to see who had “more” knowledge. Certainly the doc would be immensely more qualified to help someone give birth, especially if there are any complications. Does he/she “know” what it feels like to give birth? Probably not. Does a woman who has given birth to three kids “know” how to deliver a baby? Probably not. We’ve got apples and oranges here.
smiling bandit, if you’re not willing to deal with women in labor, why on earth would you become an obstetrician?
I’m with Mr. Moto. I’d prefer an obstetrician who has also given birth.
I think you had my doctor, Tsubaki! The first time I hollered during labor, my doctor tsk tsk-ed me, chastised me for wasting my energy, and PUT HIS HAND OVER MY MOUTH. I bit his fingers as hard as I could. He didn’t say anything about it again.
As for the OP, I’d say it depends a lot on what type of information you’re looking for. If you want the science, statistics, or medical details ask a doctor. If you want to discuss the related emotions, the physical sensations, or the fears ask a mother.
bella
I agree with AudreyK and Qadgop’s echo of this statement.
The best example I can use from personal experience, since I have neither given birth nor assisted with any (humans, that is), is of a pet owner vs. veternarian.
The vet has the most general knowledge, but a pet owner probably is more sensitive to changes in a pet’s habits and characteristics. If a cat meows a certain way, the owner might know something is wrong, but a vet might need to run tests to detect it.
Perhaps we can put this question in sharp relief: if you could only choose one, who would you rather have advising you and helping you through your pregnancy and delivery? A woman who’s given birth to four children, including one who died in childbirth, and with one miscarriage in addition; or a male obstetrician who’s treated four hundred women from initial test through delivery? If you had both, and they contradicted each other on some practical matter of pregnancy, who’s advice would you take?
I think the answer is obvious: the doctor, even lacking the personal experience of giving birth. Of the sum total of knowledge about childbirth, the personal experience is a very significant part, but not the majority of it; additionally, the doctor has witnessed how each of his patients has dealt with the personal experience, and so shouldn’t completely clueless about it.
If I was pregnant, I would ask other woman who’d given birth about the subjective side of it, but I would trust my doctor’s advice on everything else over the advice of mothers.
Yup. I think Qadgop and Musicat have elaborated well enough.
The “right” answer to your question really depends on what kind of information you’re looking for. It’s not as simple as asking which is better. If you want an example of one person’s experiences, whether it be in childbearing or cancer treatment, you should ask a person who has experienced that. You needn’t ask a doctor. On the other hand, if you want general, objective, educated, and trained input, you’re way better off asking a doctor. Any shmoe off the street, after all, can get cancer, and most woman can become pregnant.
Funny. That’s exactly what the teacher used the question for - to make us consider that there might be different kinds of knowledge (big concept to a bunch of highschoolers).
But that really wasn’t what I was looking for. Being highschoolers, we had little life experience - I thought there might actually be a definitive answer to this question. Oh well. I guess not.
Got to hear some neat opinions though. 