My Thoughts...

I realized the other day that I haven't really put my own thoughts, opinions, or views of childbirth on my blog. My intention is not to offend or cause a ruckus, but since I'm so passionate about birth this might be hard. One might speculate from my posts, that I'm a certain way or the other. Hopefully the following will clarify a few things.


First of all, I'm a follower of Christ and believe that our lives are not about ourselves and our accomplishments. But rather, about God's glory and being completely satisfied in him. As Jonathan Edwards states: "The enjoyment of God is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied. To go to Heaven, fully to enjoy God, is infinitely better than the most pleasant experiences here. Fathers and mothers, husbands, wives or children, or the company of earthly friends are but shadows; but God is the substance. These are but scattered beams, but God is the sun. These are but streams. God is the ocean."


Secondly, I do believe that childbirth is a very natural thing created by God. He designed it and therefore it is beautiful. A laboring woman should be allowed to let the birth unfold naturally, in its own timing. Everybody is so different. Some labors may take 3 days and other's 3hrs. There is nothing wrong with that, unless of course there is a legitimate medical concern that could cause danger to the mother or baby. In my opinion, a lot of hospitals and doctors set up laboring women to fail. They convince them that their bodies don't know how to labor and birth correctly. If the labor is not going fast enough for their liking, they will force it in a way. They will administer Pitocin to cause contractions, which can make the pain even worse. They will give an Epidural to then alleviate the pain, which can sometimes then slow down the labor or cause so much numbness that the woman can't feel herself push and she fails to progress. After all that, if she fails even more to progress after all the unnecessary interventions, they will try to pull the baby out with forceps, vacuum, or cesarean. I wonder what would happen if the doctors and hospital staff took a more hands off approach and let the woman's labor unfold on it's own??? I believe that the majority of women would be able to birth naturally(vaginally without medicine). I'm not talking about women who are considered high risk; breech babies, multiples, preeclampsia or other conditions. That is a different story and should be handled with caution. 


I believe our maternal health crisis in the U.S. shouldn't be blamed on the decisions pregnant women make, but rather the birth educators. Obviously, we have a problem with the way our country handles childbirth. We have a very high maternal death rate and cesarean rate. So many women leave the hospital feeling stripped of there birth experience. This is incredibly sad to me and it needs to change.


My passion and desire is that pregnant women be informed correctly about the process of child birth. You cannot put all your eggs in one basket and fully trust one source, like your doctor. This is not a slam against all doctors, as I actually had a great one with my 1st son's birth. One should do research on there own. Take classes. Learn about natural childbirth and the benefits. Learn about the medicines administered and how they can effect your body and baby. Talk to other birth educators like Midwives and doulas. Please don't choose to be ignorant about this. Make informed decisions. After all your research, come up with a birth plan and talk to your doctor, OB or midwife. Make sure you're on the same page. In the end, if you choose to use, for example, medication or other interventions in your labor,  because you believe it will be best for you and your family, then great! You can feel assured that you are doing the right thing. I totally respect that if you've done your own research and have come up with an informed decision. Remember this is YOUR body, baby and birth. No one else can deliver your baby for you. YOU deliver your baby.


Another issue is that a lot of women, who decide they want to give birth naturally without medication in a hospital, often fail because they don't have a good support system. A lot of times the woman gets into the heat of labor and thinks she can't handle it anymore. She then becomes vulnerable to the hospital staff. She is weak and compromising her original plan. I can relate to this because when I arrived at the hospital, for my first birth experience, I begged the staff for some kind of pain reliever. Even though I originally wanted to deliver naturally. Fortunately, I had my husband to advocate for me what I truly wanted. I also was 9cm dilated, so they probably wouldn't have given me anything anyway. Regardless, I had complete trust in my husband and know that in the situation of me not being very far along, he would have stood up and taken charge. If you feel your husband or partner will not be a good support for you,or you just simply want more support, then hire a doula. A doula is a non-medical support to women and their families. They focus on loving and encouraging the woman during labor. They are referred to as natural pain relievers. They can also serve as a source of information during pregnancy and birth. They desire for women to have safe and satisfying birth experiences. They will be your birth advocate; your voice.


I understand that sometimes our birth plans don't go as planned. For example a breech baby that must be delivered by cesarean. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Just view it as God's will for you and take peace in that. Just know that you did everything you could and had the best intentions. Thank God for cesarean sections! They can save lives during an emergency. Feel empowered in your decisions! The way our children come into the world matters right?


Whether you choose a  hospital birth with doctor, OB or Midwife, a birth center or home birth with a Midwife and doula...you can have a beautiful, satisfying and life changing birth experience. The decision is yours; run with it.