Getting the Birth You Want: Some Food for Thought

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Written by MomE

Thursday, 16 October 2008

Most women I know have not read an entire book about childbirth. Some have read abbreviated versions of what happens during labor and delivery in books like What to Expect When You're Expecting, some others haven't read about it but instead have opted to get their information from a childbirth education class, and still some others might have decided to just look it up online or to just "wing it."

Now, don't get me wrong, I do believe that reading books about your pregnancy and taking a childbirth education class are both wonderful preparation tools. However, I also think it is just as important to read an entire book dedicated to the nitty gritty details of what actually happens to your body during the entire birthing process and I'll tell you why.

In most other cultures (and even by some of us in this country), childbirth is viewed, not as an ailment that needs medical attention, but rather as a natural process for which your female body was beautifully "designed" (or "evolved" as we science-minded like to call it). Unfortunately, there are many people in the medical community today who (although they'd never admit it) want women to believe that all births are risky and that all births need some type of medical intervention. However, this is simply not true. And, quite frankly, it is a scare tactic that is used to make more money for doctors and insurance companies.

Now, I know that there are truly many women out there who experience high-risk pregnancies for one reason or another. And these women absolutely should be monitored more closely and some may actually need medical intervention; that I don't deny.

What I disagree with is the notion that all women should fear childbirth because of the potential "risks" to the mother and/or baby. According to the National Safety Council and a News Review from Harvard Medical School, a woman has greater odds of being struck by lightening in her lifetime or of being killed in a car crash this year than she has of dying in childbirth. Additionally, a woman who has a typical low risk, unintervened labor and delivery can improve those odds even more. And, when I say "unintervened," what I mean is: no epidural, no Pitocin, no drugs...period. The moment you start introducing synthetic materials (a.k.a. drugs) into the birthing process, the risks increase.

It's very sad that women are taught to be more afraid of the pain of childbirth than of the risks associated with getting "the drugs." And there are real risks involved with taking drugs of any kind, from something as simple as an aspirin to something as strong and powerful as Pitocin. Unfortunately, the medical community views Pitocin as a good money-maker and, for them, that outweighs the risks. But the facts are this: when you get an epidural, when you get an induction, when you take any type of drug (childbirth-related or otherwise), you greatly increase the risk that you will end up needing a Cesarean section.

And, what some people just don't realize (probably because it has become so common), is that a C-section is a MAJOR surgery. It can negatively impact many aspects of the overall recovery process including, but not limited to:

Baby's ability to nurse
Mom's ability to care for baby
Time it takes for mom's milk supply to come in
Time it takes for mom to fully recover (physically and emotionally)

Why aren't more women afraid of these things than they are of labor pains? The answer to that question lies in the way our society views childbirth and its ever increasing belief in the need for more and more medical interventions.

It would be one thing if these medical interventions were truly making a difference both in helping women to have successful childbirths and in improving the infant mortality rate, but the fact is that neither is happening. C-sections are on the rise and the infant mortality rate is basically stagnant.

In fact, the US infant mortality rate is ranked 29th in the world...that's right, in the WORLD. According to the CDC, "The United States' international ranking fell from 12th in 1960 to 23rd in 1990, and to 29th in 2004. And the 2000-2005 plateau in the U.S. infant mortality rate represents the first period of sustained lack of decline in the U.S. infant mortality rate since the 1950s." For a country as wealthy and as technologically advanced as the United States of America, these statistics are inexcusable.

So, my advice to pregnant women is to thoroughly prepare for their birth by setting aside a little extra time to read a book on childbirth. When I was pregnant I read four books about childbirth (*see below for titles) -- I know, it sounds a bit excessive, but I was on a reading frenzy during my pregnancy -- and, as a result of my hard work and preparation, I successfully birthed my son vaginally without any drugs or interventions.

However, that said, I certainly do not consider myself an expert for having read so much or some kind of a "hero" for having refused drugs. No, what I take pride in is the fact that I thoroughly educated myself on the birthing process and took control of my own birth experience. I knew what was happening to my body and why and, although it was the most difficult thing I have ever done, I was still able (with my husband's help) to get the kind of birth I wanted.

I honestly believe the mistake that many women make is not in accepting the suggestions of the medical community, but in not knowing any better. If more women would take the time to read a book (after all, most of us do get about 7 or 8 months to prepare for the birth!) and become more knowledgeable about the entire process, then they would greatly empower themselves and put themselves in a better position to decide what, if any, interventions they are willing or unwilling to accept.

*Recommended Books: The Birth Book by William & Martha Sears, Ina May's Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin, Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way by Susan McCutcheon, and Husband-Coached Childbirth by Robert Bradley -AND- Recommended DVD: The Business of Being Born