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We are living in a society where medical procedures are routine in labor and birth. The rate of births by Cesarean Section is now close to 30% in the United States. Epidurals are used by around two-thirds of U.S. women in labor. Not surprisingly, some women doubt their innate ability to give birth. Women are also faced with very limited options for birth in a hospital setting and are often afraid to give birth outside of a hospital. Women need to have much more control over their environment and how they birth, regardless of where they decide to have their baby.
I want to reassure all women who are pregnant that your body knows how to give birth. Your task is to nurture yourself and your baby during pregnancy, surround yourself with loving and supportive people, and to give up enough control during labor to let your body do its work.
Birth is a normal process that works beautifully most of the time when it is not interfered with. Any medical procedure or "intervention" that is done during labor inevitably carries with it a risk of leading to complications that lead to further interventions. Hospital staff often do a poor job of informing laboring women of these possibilities. I do not believe that interventions such as epidurals and C-sections are never needed or helpful, or that everyone should give birth at home. Rather, I want to emphasize that these interventions are extremely over-used in American hospitals, and women and families are often not given all the information before consenting to these procedures. To help rectify this, I created this list of resources. If you have suggestions or comments, please email me at marcia@portlandmidwife.com. |
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