Big Doins in Brazil

You’ve probably heard by now about the seventeen pound baby born in Brazil. Not surprisingly, he was delivered by Cesarean section (half the babies in Brazil are). Not surprisingly his mother was diabetic. In fact, his size makes one wonder how much prenatal care the mother received. My experience is that the babies of mothers with diabetes of any type are monitored closely for size.

An interesting counterpoint to the high Cesarean rate in Brazil is the videotape “Birth in the Squatting Position.” In ten minutes this film, with hardly any narration, shows a handful of women delivering spontaneously and without assistance in a full squat. They use a specially designed chair that has a soft place for the babies to land. The chairs and the delivery “technique” (namely leaving women alone) were promoted by a Brazilian obstetrician. Every woman I’ve worked with who’s seen this video in her childbirth class has been impressed by it.