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From: @S1-A.ARPA:BRUC@MIT-MC.ARPA
Newsgroups: net.space
Subject: Space Delivery
Message-ID: <2781@mordor.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 24-Jul-85 00:54:26 EDT
Article-I.D.: mordor.2781
Posted: Wed Jul 24 00:54:26 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 26-Jul-85 00:17:24 EDT
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From: BRUC@MIT-MC.ARPA   (Robert E. Bruccoleri)

After having helped my wife with the pregnancy and delivery of our
two children (one is 2 months old, the other is 2 years old), I found
the remarks about pregnancy and birth in zero-G amusing to say the least.
There are some misconceptions here.

First, Scott Brim is correct about how babies are born; they are
squeezed out. The longest phase of labor is nothing more than the
uterus contracting with great force at short intervals (every few
minutes) using the baby to dilate the cervix to a size large enough to
let the baby out (about 4 inches!). The influence of gravity in this
process is subtle in that the blood vessels to the uterus are located
in the back, so that the weight of the uterus restricts the blood flow
when the mother is on her back, and the uterus will not contract so
forcefully (and painfully, as it happens) If she stands or merely
turns to her side, then the contractions get stronger. In zero-G, this
blood flow restriction will not occur, so labor will probably proceed
more quickly.

Second, during the actual birth, our doctor had my wife ease off pushing
when the maximum width of the baby's was emerging. He did this in order
to reduce the likelyhood of a tear. A gravity assist at this juncture
would not have been appreciated.

Third, the process of getting the baby oriented properly appears
to be one of fit between the baby's head and the pelvis of the mother,
since head down makes optimum use of the abdominal space. With our
second child, he kept switching between head down and sideways,
although towards the end, he began to spend most of his time sideways.
He was moved into the head down position by externally pushing on
his head while taking care that his umbilical cord was not getting
wrapped about his neck. During the last two weeks in utero, he
stayed head down. My wife did notice that he would shift upward
a little when she laid down, so gravity does play some role here.
An ultrasound imager will definitely be helpful for delivery in space.

One final thought: delivery is mighty messy, and a little gravity
would help a lot in keeping liquid matter from getting all over
the place.

Bob Bruccoleri