I watched a documentary called The Business of Being Born {produced by Ricki Lake and directed by Abby Epstein} it changed my life...
Up until this point I thought midwives were a bunch of hippie hoopla {sorry but true} I thought birth plan??? Who needs a birth plan- that's for girls who think they actually can control what happens during labor. I had watched enough TLC's "A Baby Story" to know that was not the case. I would probably not be able to progress quick enough need some pitocin, thus need and epidural to deal with the intense contracts the pitocin produces, probably then the baby's heart rate would drop {it almost always does on this show} and I would be rushed in for a C- Section.
And I was ok with that?!?
I was under the same assumption that I think 99% of American woman are under. My body is not capable of doing this- at least with out lots of major medical attention. I was scared. Very scared but I knew what would go down. The doctors were in control and I was just gonna be there to do what they said needed to be done to get this baby out "safely".
But...
What if my body is capable of doing this? What if I can do this on my own with out any medication? Not just because it is better for my baby but because it's better for myself? Did you know that the United States has the second highest death rate for infants in the developed world? Only Latvia {have you even heard of that country?} has a higher rate then the US. We also have more neonatologists per person then Canada, the UK, and Australia and yet our death rate is still higher then those countries {
says the annual State of the World's Mothers Report}. What are we doing wrong in this country?
When I lived in Germany I got bronchitis- really bad bronchitis to the point where I had to sleep sitting up and was so weak from not sleeping that I couldn't function. It took forever {ok like 2 weeks} and 2 or 3 trips to the doctor before this lady would give me some antibiotics. I thought they were loony! I wanted America with it's shiny, clean hospitals and Amoxicillian and I wanted it NOW! Soon after my mom mailed me my own mini Walgreens and I was dealing Ibruprofen to all my closest friends {in Germany you pay like 10 euros for 8-10 tabs- I had a bottle of 500 that my mom got for $5} Do you see a difference here?
What the doctor was waiting for was my body to fight the illness on it's own. Our bodies are amazing things if we let them do what they need to do. Most of the time when you have bronchitis you will have it every year for the rest of your life. But somehow after 5 years this year I didn't get it. Do you wanna know why? Cause I didn't treat it with antibiotics every time I got it. If it got really bad- then yes but if it was mild then I fought it out.
So what if I let my body do what it needs to do to labor? Instead of numbing it up and not being in control of my legs let alone what is happening around me? So now I am making a birth plan...this is not to say I am going to have a home birth or that I don't believe in modern medicine but I do have questions and concerns like...
Why are over 30% of births in America C-Sections?
Why are almost all women given pitocen to speed labor up instead of letting them progress naturally? Especially with the risks involved to mother and baby?
Why do most C-Sections take place around 4pm and 10pm? This sounds to me like doctors who want to go home at the end of the day and who don't want to be there all night...
Why are we giving birth on our backs? This seems like the most uncomfortable position ever and doesn't make sense to me at all.
Why do I feel intimidated and guilty for questioning what my doctors tell me?
So I am gonna make me a birth plan and maybe it will not happen exactly how I want it to. Maybe I will end up needing a C-Section but I am no longer going to believe that I can't do it. I am going to be prepared and know what I want for me and my baby and if worse comes to worse I will know I did all in my power to do what I feel is best. I think it is important to research and know what you are getting into. To have facts to back up your questions and doubts. We do this when buying cars and cameras- why not when we birth our babies?
I have worked for doctors for a long time. I know that they aren't going to purposefully put you in danger but I also know that sometimes the decisions they make are more for their time and schedules as much as it is for the doing what is best for the patient. They are human after all.
I will end it on this story. A few weeks ago I was having some spotting. It was very scary and it took the nurse almost 4 hours to call me back. I came in for a sonogram and then met with the doctor. The baby was fine we could see that for ourselves on the sono screen and hearing the heartbeat. The doctor on the other hand came in and said this..."Sometimes women just bleed"...ok
That's when I should have know that things can be different. That you can get quality care and if doctors in America are going to treat birth like a business and team up with the insurance companies against us. That if natural childbirth is not exciting enough for them that I am not just going to go along with their urges for a C-Section. That I am not going to be a part of that. I am looking into the whole Midwife thing. Call me a hippie if you must but if the tie-dyed shirt fits then I guess I'll wear it.
*Disclaimer- If you have had a C-Section, Pitocen, or an Epidural please do not feel I am judging you. How can I? I have only started on this journey to discover the facts and the risks involved. I have not walked in your shoes or been in the situations you have been in. Sometimes these are necessary things. am just saying that I am not going to accept them as the only way. That we can all have the birth experience that we want and that fear doesn't have to be a part of it.
