New York Times Examines Trend Of Posting Childbirth Videos On YouTube
The New York Times on Thursday examined how thousands of women have posted videos on YouTube showing themselves giving birth. According to the Times, the women believe the videos help "demystify" childbirth by candidly presenting the process in a manner that pregnant women and their partners otherwise might not see. Along with YouTube, Web sites like Internet chat rooms and pregnancy blogs are helping to shift dynamics between pregnant women and their care providers, the Times reports. Eileen Ehudin Beard, an adviser for the American College of Nurse-Midwives, said, "The more information you have, the more s you have, the more informed you are, the better questions you ask." However, she added that the videos could have negative effects, particularly if they make women more fearful of childbirth. The childbirth videos are relatively controversial because of their graphic nature, which has challenged some of YouTube"s rules and raised issues of propriety. Victoria Grand, the head of policy for YouTube, said that nudity generally is banned from YouTube but that the site "make[s] exceptions for videos that are educational, documentary or scientific." Most childbirth videos on YouTube are age restricted to ages 18 and older. A majority of them show home births because most U.S. hospitals prohibit patients from recording births due to liability concerns, the Times reports. Although childbirth education classes have shown edited videos of births since the 1970s, the Internet and YouTube could change the way such classes are taught, according to Jeanette Schwartz, president of the International Childbirth Education Association. She noted that most videos currently used in childbirth classes are heavily edited and out of date, adding that the YouTube videos "create a wonderful opportunity to show free, real life, candid videos in a classroom setting." Eugene Declercq, a professor at the Boston University School of Public Health, said, "A hundred and fifty years ago, women viewed birth on a pretty regular basis -- they saw their sisters of neighbors give birth." He said that changed with a trend toward hospital births beginning in the late 19th century. "But now, with YouTube, we"ve come back around and women have this opportunity to view births again," Declercq said (Wollan, New York Times, 6/11).
Diagnostics
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What Is Anemia? What Causes Anemia?
the iron supplements. What are the complications of anemia? *Pregnancy Pregnant women who are severely anemic have a significant risk of complications, especially when they give birth and afterwards. Giving birth often involves losing blood; being anemic already and then losing blood can result in serious complications. If a mother is severely anemic her baby is much more likely to be born prematurely and underweight. Babies born to mothers with anemia are much more likely to have problems with anemia themselves later on in infancy. *Fatigue Fatigue may have a considerable impact on the quality of life of the patient. If the anemia is severe the patient may feel too tired to work, or carry out essential daily tasks. Long-term fatigue may eventually lead to clinical depression. Researchers from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center found that elderly people with anemia have more disabilities and score lower on physical performance and strength tests than those without anemia. *Susceptibility to illness and infection People with untreated anemia are more susceptible to illness and infection, compared to healthy people. *Heart Problems The heart needs to pump more blood to make up for the lack of oxygen and nutrients if you are anemic. This can eventually lead to congestive heart failure. Researchers from Charles Sturt University found that the presence of anemia in patients with chronic heart failure is associated with a significantly increased risk of death. *Nerve damage Lack of vitamin B-12, one of the causes of anemia, can result in nerve damage. Good nerve function requires an adequate supply of vitamin B-12. Written by Christian Nordqvist Copyright: Medical News Today Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News TodayPages: 1 [2]