The Womanization of Birth

Yesterday I got to be part of an amazing experience. I spent eight hours with a friend as she gave birth, in her own home, with the help of her husband and a team of midwives.

Since having my daughter two years ago, I have attended at three births, a hospital birth with epidural and a hospital drug-free birth (which my birth also was), but this was the first home birth I had seen.

The difference was astounding.

Instead of being constantly on a fetal monitor, and kept to a doctor's schedule, she was free to move as she needed to, and the midwives checked in with her before checking the baby's heartrate by doppler. When she was going through transition, and felt that she couldn't continue, instead of offering drugs the midwife gently reminded her that the strength of her contractions was her own strength, and that they would never get harder than she could handle. When she was having difficulty getting rid of the last bit of cervix to be able to begin pushing, the midwives helped her into a position that made it easier for her to breathe through contractions, and helped speed her dilation. Instead of an episiotomy, she had only a very minor surface-level tear. Instead of the gloved hands of a stranger, his father gently caught the baby as he emerged and helped to lay him on his mother's chest. Instead of immediately clamping and cutting the umbilical cord, the baby was allowed to get his full supply of blood before clamping. What a difference it made; he was the pinkest baby I have ever seen!

Throughout the whole experience the atmosphere was supportive, kind, gentle, and woman-centered. What happened, and when, was determined by what the mother wanted and needed.

The result: a healthy 10 pound baby boy, a mother impressed by her own strength, a father who actively participated in the birth, and a happy family at home.

Home birth may not work for everyone (especially any mother with pregnancy risk factors), but it is a beautiful alternative to the medical intervention experience of birth that so many mothers are subjected to today.

Comments

[Midhusband]

Dear CA NOW,

Stand ready. The ACOG and the AMA would deny women their birthing decisions and constrain them to hospital if they have their way. Their legislative agenda promotes passing legislation proclaiming that the hospital is the safest setting for giving birth (http://mana.org/). The only purpose in doing this is to put obstacles in the way of women who choose to birth at home. They accomplish this by denying women access to midwifery care.

California is lucky (for now) in that Certified Professional Midwives (the national standard for home birth midwives) can acquire a license and practice legally. The CPM is recognized in 24 states. In my state, they are considered as practicing midwifery without a license. While Certified Nurse Midwives are recognized in all 50 states, with varying degrees of flexibility to attend home birthing women, only a small fraction do.

We are fighting hard to pass legislation to assure that women who choose to birth at home have access to trained, credentialed and licensed midwives. We are bumping heads with the leadership of organized medicine. We need help (your help).

Whatever setting and care provider suits a woman and her family, all women should stand up and demand their rights of self determination and access to care be preserved. Otherwise, we may next be facing the ACOG and AMA striving to pass legislation proclaiming that planned C-section is the safest method of birthing. This should be high on the NOW’s legislative agenda all over the country. Please help urge NOW organizations around the country to engage the effort to preserve this option for women who choose it.

Yours,

Russ Fawcett
Legislative Chair, North Carolina Friends of Midwives

Please see the following article for reference: http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/blog/2008/07/18/whos-catching-your-baby

Also see: http://www.thebigpushformidwives.org/

[tiggrrl]

I know people hear horror stories about home births, but I have a couple of friends who are doulas (birth attendants) and you wouldn't believe the hospital horror stories they have!

Speaking of clamping and cutting the umbilical cord too early, I was at a birth where the doctor was explicitly told by both parents not to clamp or cut the cord, and did it anyway. The parents filed a complaint, but the hospital did nothing. This is just another area where it seems like we're just supposed to accept that women's bodies and rights can be violated.

Kind of like that surgeon who put the (temporary) tattoo on his female patient: http://womenshealthnews.wordpress.com/2008/07/23/no-leaving-your-mark-on-women-while-theyre-unconscious-does-not-make-them-feel-better/

[Sasha Grate]

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