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windchymes -> RE: Fundamentalist Scientology (10/13/2010 8:57:09 AM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: GotSteel
Sorry about the text brick, but I found it interesting in that it showed that the Amish are willing to use modern medicine but also that their beliefs do have some negative effects when it comes to seeking medical care.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3446212
"The Amish are exempted from social security and reject health insurance coverage, do not practice birth control, and often veto preventive practices such as immunization and prenatal care. A nonjudgmental, open attitude is required on the part of health professionals to encourage Amish families to attend clinics where health monitoring can be maintained and health education provided. As a result of a view of illness that defines it in terms of a failure to function in the work role rather than as a set of symptoms, there is often a delay in seeking medical treatment. Amish men outlive Amish women, in part because of the high birth rate (average of 7 live births/woman). Birth control and abortion are forbidden by religious doctrine, even when pregnancy is life threatening. The Amish church has no rule against immunization, but only 16-26% of Amish children have received immunizations against the common childhood diseases. Reinforcing the rejection of preventive medicine is the low educational status of the Amish people; higher education is prohibited. This further implies that health instructions must be given in simple, clear language. Nurse practitioners must accept the fact that no amount of education will persuade Amish women to practice contraception. To continue to advocate family planning in the Amish community is to risk alienating couples from the health care system."
I totally disagree with this quote, and if I read the website page correctly, it's from an article written in 1986...
Back in the early to mid-90's, I managed the lab of a medical practice in Orrville, Ohio that had a large Amish clientele. I got to know many of the patients, one woman told me personally that she was having her "tubes tied" after her 10th baby, and when I looked surprised, she laughed and said, "We're allowed to do that, we just don't choose to very often!" Many of them deliver in a nearby, very modern and well-equipped birthing center, though they go home several hours after giving birth. Others actually travel by horse and buggy to an osteopathic hospital about 25 miles away. They very much do seek out good medical care, bring their babies in for tests and immunizations, though the babies are dressed all in black, not pink and blue froo-froo. They are selective about who they go to, but they do seek it out.
One thing that always struck me was how well-behaved their children were when receiving injections or having their blood drawn. Usually the parent would whisper something to them, and every one of those kids sat down with a stoic look on their face and held their arm out through the whole procedure and DID NOT CRY. The only one who ever did cry was a little 3-year-old girl who had very small veins and had to be stuck multiple times to get enough for the tests. She gave it her best not to, though.
They do have education, though it's limited to approximately the 8th or 9th grade. Many of them go to public schools for a number of years, and then finish up at the Amish schools. Don't ever underestimate the Amish's intelligence level, they're smarter than they let on sometimes. And shouldn't ALL medical advice be given in simple, clear language?
Also, English isn't their first language, it's Pennsylvania Dutch. Except for the "lower" (their terminology, not ours) orders of Amish sects, who are the small percentage who are more reclusive, sticking to the older, tradional customs, they speak excellent English, though. And they still do seek out decent medical care....and pay cash for it. Although the doctor I worked for then had the heart of an old-fashioned country doctor, and occasionally accepted baked goods and vegetables for payment :)
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