Re: FRI Preeclampsia Solved
From: Anna Meenan, MD (annam@uic.edu)
Sat Feb 4 00:29:13 2006
If I remember correctly, Dr. DeLee was originally involved in the
creation of the Chicago Maternity Service, a home birth service that
mostly catered to indigent women in the city. Anyone could call them
anytime in labor, and they would send out (initially) a student nurse
and a medical student to assess the situation, followed by a resident if
needed. Their instructions were to make the environment immediately
surrounding the mother as clean as possible, then sit on their hands and
do nothing until the baby showed up and catch it (sounds kinda like what
Gail does in England). Their morbidity and mortality statistics were
incredible, considering the population they worked with, and the lack of
prenatal care. The service closed down in the 70's. There was an
excellent history of the service in a book I read, titled "the Fight for
Life" I think. (I'll look it up tomorrow). Not sure How Dr. DeLee
became an interventionist along the way.
--
Anna Meenan, MD
At Fri, 3 Feb 2006, Gerald P. Rodríguez wrote:
>
>You are demeaning a great American physician who dedicated his entire life
>to bring obstetrics in America out of the dark ages.
>Dr. Joseph Bolivar DeLee, called the father of modern obstetrical care,
>established his maternity facility, the Chicago Lying-in Hospital, at the
>University of Chicago in 1931. Under his direction, Chicago Lying-in opened
>one of the nation's first premature infant nurseries, produced the first
>medical motion pictures and pioneered the study of toxemia in pregnancy.
>
>BTW, I do not find either "medicalized" or "pathologized" in my dictionary.
>
>Gerald P. Rodríguez, M.D., FACOG
>
>Santa Fe
>
>>>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Grace Loehr" <divinegracie@earthlink.net>
>To: "Multiple recipients of list OB-GYN-L" <ob-gyn-l@dns.obgyn.net>
>Sent: Friday, February 03, 2006 5:20 AM
>Subject: Re: FRI Preeclampsia Solved
>
>>> As for the award from the Chicago Lying in Hosptial, I
>>> believe the hospital is no more.
>>
>> Must be those damned midwives and that home-delivery stuff. Maybe they
>> should
>> build a "Chicago Lying-out Birthing Centre" or something.
>>
>> I wish -- that would be an improvement.
>>
>> Chicago Lying-In Hospital merged decades ago with University of Chicago
>> Hospitals. It was home to Dr Joseph De Lee, father of medicalized,
>> pathologized birthing practices in America. Back in the day maternity
>> hospitals were called "Lying-In" hospitals.
>>
>> U of C Hospitals finally eliminated their midwifery practice a couple of
>> years ago amid much local protest. That OB dept (and the nursing dept) is
>> one of the most toxic, pro-medicine, anti midwife departments to be found
>> anywhere (the medical students were saying this, too), and when the
>> director of MFM retired (he liked the midwives) the rest of them kicked
>> the midwives out -- and these weren't exactly your "crunchy granola"
>> midwives, either - they were wonderful women, but they practiced more like
>> residents, IMHO.
>>
>> Illinois isn't exactly a beacon of progress on the alternative birth
>> scene, either, or a friend to midwives, or APRNs, due to ACOG, AMA, AHA,
>> other major medical societies being centered in Chicago and having highly
>> paid lobbyists in Springfield. Illinois eliminated its lay midwives a few
>> years ago by prosecuting them all for practicing medicine without a
>> license -- they also hounded the School of Oriental Medicine. I think
>> there are still no freestanding birthing centers in the state.
>>
>> Disgrace
>>
