I\'m Summer, a mouthy, sarcastic bitch. I\'m passionate about natural birth, long term breastfeeding, and living naturally. I curse too much, love tattoos, and will some day be crushed to death by my book collection. I homeschool, dream of gardening, and swing to the left. 
Giving Birth is Big Business
ABC did a “news” piece on unassisted birth, or DIY birth as they called it. I say “news” because it’s full of nice scare tactics, sprinkled with some misinformation, and just enough doctors afraid of losing their fat paychecks to condemn the whole thing.
I’m not even going to try to discuss their story, mostly because Jill does it much better than I ever could.
One good thing is that the piece did highlight the book by Jennifer Block, Pushed: The Painful Truth About Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care
Birth has also stepped into the spotlight as “The Business of Being Born” has opened in Manhattan. This film helps educate more women on the standard birth practices in America and what they really mean. It is an eye opening experience for anyone who has always just accepted what is as what should be. I still remember the wide eyed horror I felt the first time 1+1 was added up to me.
Yes, we all know some one who has the “if I hadn’t been in the hospital I/the baby/we would have died!” Unfortunately, I’ve met too many who found themselves in that situation not because birth is dangerous, but because standard procedure makes it so. You can praise the man who stopped you from bleeding to death all day, but if you find out that he’s also the one who shot you it takes on a new view point. For example, the dangerous risks of epidurals.
I know that not everyone woman should have a home birth, let alone an unassisted one. And for those with real complications medical technology is a true life saver. However, not every birth is a medical disaster waiting to happen, and not every woman is a helpless maiden who needs a doctor to ride in and save her. There is a great interview with Jennifer Block that really shows how birth is a feminist issue as well as a medical one.
When women agree to, say, induce labor because they’re “overdue,” or to schedule a cesarean because they’re told the baby has grown too big (both are common reasons) those might be considered “patient choice” procedures, but we need to ask what kind of information they were given about the risks and benefits. The fear of a lawsuit and the financial pressures exerted by malpractice premiums drive physicians to intervene more. Many doctors told me that they are moving to cesareans more quickly because “you don’t get sued for doing a cesarean.”
At the same time, women are just bombarded by messages that our bodies don’t work, that physiological childbirth isn’t important. And the cesarean trend feeds this doubt, because women begin to think that if one-third of their sisters can’t do it, then maybe they can’t either. The fact is, we know from studies of healthy women who labor and give birth in supportive environments, with care providers who are trained to support the physiological process, 95% can birth vaginally. And that’s optimal, for both mother and baby. The cesarean trend does not represent necessary cesareans.
[tags]birth, childbirth, unassisted birth, UC, Pushed, Jennifer Block, The Business of Being Born, homebirth[/tags]
Sometimes I forget that the world doesn’t just see things a bit more naturally. It always surprises me when people balk at natural childbirth before even educating themselves about it!
kim’s last blog post..We’ve been reading Calvin and Hobbes. It livens things up around here.
Wow, that title is certainly stating the obvious!