"GK" == Gary Kleppe <KLEPPE@execpc.com> writes:
"Ranma no BAKE!" Akane hit him on the head with her pillow. "Get
up, I said!"
I think that's a typo, Gary. Don't you mean bakA? :) (Please
explain this gag, for those of us who don't speak Japanese. Or just
for me, anyway.)
GK> Bake- is a Japanese prefix that indicates a ghost or spirit; as in
GK> bake-neko, the ghost cat.
I think it probably should be `Ranma no Obake' as obake is the general
form. . .
The doctor didn't mention that they could get an amniocentesis done
and check for deformities before the birth? What a strange omission.
GK> Um... his HMO wouldn't pay for it? :-) Actually, just a case of author
GK> ignorance.
Probly the doctor should mention that it could be done, but that there
are occasional side effects that could be bad for the child.
Also, I think Ranma would have more sense than to go to a hospital; I
know that Japan doesn't have as well-developed a midwife community as
the States, but even there they will have doctors who make house
calls.
Probably the best method would be to have the ob. show up, do a
belly-feeling (to make sure that the child is in the right position),
and have the child at home.
If he is stupid enough to have a hospital delivery, he will object to
being shaved, and probably make it stick.
Also, we're talking about someone who gets embedded two feet into
concrete walls without passing out; I think she would object quite a
bit bit to anesthesia, not because of any macho posing but because of
just how many nasty encounters she's had with it.
(background for this: both me and my little sister were home births,
doctor showed up for mine, the midwife didn't show for my sister's.
My mom is about Ranma's height, and reports that labor was `not nearly
as bad as a headache, about like stubbing a toe.' Can't personally
say, not having experienced this myself, but it seems that the person
who has a really nasty labor is a rarity.
One of my friends had a 45 minute labor on her first child, and I
think it was eight hours (of which she was up and about for the first
six or so) for the second and three for the third. (this friend also
was on birth control pills that didn't work for her through out this
period. Her husband was giving her the pill every morning and they
were marking it down each time. After she got pregnant the third time
the doctor finally admitted that the kind she was taking might not
work for her and gave her a different kind.))
GK> OK, I'll add something to this effect.
I kinda think that Ranma would have looked at the whole thing as a
martial art problem and done a lot more research than is evident
here.
(How does one learn about martial arts? one hassles martial artists.
Same with birthing. Admittedly the information from people of his own
generation would be very slanted towards the hospital route; he'd
probably get information from people of his grandparent's generation
as well, which (unless that aspect of western culture was adopted
early) would probably be a lot less _nasty_ to the mother.)
ja ne,
Suika (who would have responded earlier, but only read this
today.)
PS: Since I'm one of those people who finds this kinda stuff
interesting, does anyone have any real facts on this? What I've
written is based on primarily stateside information, combined with
what I've heard about Japanese medical practices.