Doctors: Benevolent Buffoons or Satanic Sadists?

There are some good doctors out there. This is like saying that there are some innocent people on death row, or that there are some people who live as hermits. Although it is true, the exception doesn't disprove the rule. Lots of doctors suck.

i know that medicine is an inexact science. lots of things that work are a total shot in the dark- we don't know why they work, or sometimes even how they work- we just know that they generally do, so we get them prescribed and take them. many things work because they can't not- like curing an "untreatable" infection by amputation of a limb, or killing cancer cells by killing the person through chemo or radiation. sadly, most doctors are too brain-washed into the supposed superiority of their body of knowledge to even allow for the possibility that they are no better than witch doctors- although often with more catastrophic results. the idea that many people who get better would get just as better if left alone as get better with medical intervention is as blasphemous as anything you could say.

but, as usual i digress.

my sister had a baby last week. it was her first baby, but she works in the medical field, so she is rather well-versed in doctorisms. all had gone well with the delivery, and mother and baby were doing great. the day after the baby was born, the g-d of pediactric medicine graced my sister and her newbron with a visit. as he was manhandling the child (lucky my sister's husband was not there to witness this, as i hear he is somewhat of an overprotective daddy...), he explained to my sister- the supposedly naive first-time mother- the art of baby care. the cornerstone of his advice? don't reinforce the baby's crying by responding to it in any way. huh? the baby in question was all of about 11 hours old. she had never manipulated anyone, nor committed any crime, nor- to the best of myt knowledge- questioned the holiness of the doctor. so why was he running this agenda on peaceful, happy mother and baby? so they should all know the Rules from day one. he gave my sister specific examples of what not to do, in case she had any inkling to actually follow her heart or her mother's intuition in any way: when the baby cries, don't look at her. don't even look in her direction. if she cries when you're holding her, put her down and ignore her until she stops. i swear, i wish i was making up that this person, who had gone into the field of pediatrics- i guess at some point to help children?- was advocating full-on neglect of a one day old baby. that air bubble in her tummy? guess she'd better learn to bring that up on her own. that hungry feeling? she should learn the number of the local pizza shop- but in a civilized adult manner, please. just lonely after nine months of being snuggled inside of mommy with warmth and familiar noises? suck it up and realize that the world is a cold hard place and nobody cares if you cry. because isn't that what it teaches a baby if you don't respond to its only means of communication? when my sister said that, basically she had no intention of doing any such thing, AND informed him that she planned further abuse on her child by actually feeding her on demand and holding her just for comfort, the doctor whipped out his...

pamplets.

gotcha.

really, though- why do people bow down to the written word as if it was cast upon the page by G-d himself? why can people say the most stupid random stuff, but if it is written down people suddenly become awed? watch what happens when any person in any business points to a sign or poster or memo that has the WRITTEN POLICY. ooooooooooooooooooooooh. okay... try this next time you are negotiating for something. ask who thought up the policy- for if it can be thought up by charles on the eighth floor, it can be changed by charles' replacement on the ninth floor... if you are in a bind, try to fake your way out by referencing some real or bogus policy- you will be delighted and horrified to find out what slaves people are to written statements and how well harnessing this knee-jerk reaction will work...

anyway, back to the story. massa doctor says, "look right here in this here handbook. it's a pamphlet about babies that i had printed up myself. it says specifically not to reinforce the baby's crying by responding to it" my sister laughed in his face, but how many women don't? the society is all about feminism when it means 12 year old girls should "claim their womanhood" by having group sex with random strangers, but where is society on women's rights when those rights are to be a good mother? not to be all soap-boxy here about women's issues, but what's up with allowing this doctor to inflict his mental illness upon one more mother or one more baby? what's up with teaching 10 year old girls about condoms but not pregnant moms about how to breastfeed so they can succeed instead of turning to bottles of formula, as so many do? why is it okay to have your thong showing over the back of your low-rider jeans, but not to breastfeed in public? (see previous rant on this...) in this generation where so many girls and women are estranged from their mothers by distance or ideology or incapacity or a zillion other reasons, why is motherhood an afterthought instead of a thesis statement?

i don't know where i'm going with this post, which i guess leaves you a lot of room to comment, since there are at least 86 ideas here to comment on. i am frustrated by my sister's experience, because it is so NOT uncommon. (by the way, he told her that infants don't really need to be fed for the first three days of life, so she should rest her -let's say breastfeeding aparatus- and not worry about nursing the baby- AAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!! i won't even get started on this one...)

okay- i have to go, but feel free to give some direction to this post...