Birth As Safe As Life Gets
Monday morning I woke up at 4am. I couldn't get back to sleep so I came downstairs had a glass of milk, took a shower, heated my rice pillow and snuggled back in bed. A few minutes later I got a phone call from Chris saying that Laura was having contractions. So, I got up got dressed and headed over. When I got there Laura was laboring really well and getting herself ready to get into the pool. I got my baselines, took a few notes, called my assistant and went in to lay down on the couch. Everything was so calm and felt so perfect. I was elated to be at this birth. As I lay on the couch listening to Laura moan and breath through contractions, I thought about the conversations we had about the doctors and how they said she should have just planned her c-section from the beginning. At about 7:45am I started to hear Laura doing some involuntary pushing but, I wanted to wait a bit before we went in and disturbed her flow. Finally, around 8:15am I went in and sat beside the pool. She was really starting to push. I saw the babies head emerge gently. Then slowly she pushed the rest of the baby out into my hands. I lifted him out of the water so he could take his first breath and handed him over to Laura. It’s a boy! She and Chris began to cry with joy. It was such a sweet victory. You see Laura has a heart shaped uterus. Her first birth was a c-section and the doctors told her that she would never be able to carry term or give birth naturally. She was 10 days overdue and those doctors were so wrong!
Laura’s birth, along with the births of many other women have taught me a very important lesson. When women are left alone, to do what is natural, and to experience birth unhindered, they will (more times than not) give birth gently, vaginally, and without need for intervention. Midwives have known this fact for centuries and the statistics prove it. There are countless articles written on the safety of home birth. The numbers show that home birth is as safe as hospital birth. As a home birthing woman and midwife, I am unsatisfied with this conclusion. Though we may have comparable statistics in terms of infant and maternal mortality, clearly hospitals have higher rates for c-section and intervention. Little is said about the damaging psychological and spiritual consequences that routine interventions have on women and newborns. But, when one evaluates these consequences it is easy to see that home birth is not only as safe as hospital birth, it is SAFER.
Laura’s birth, along with the births of many other women have taught me a very important lesson. When women are left alone, to do what is natural, and to experience birth unhindered, they will (more times than not) give birth gently, vaginally, and without need for intervention. Midwives have known this fact for centuries and the statistics prove it. There are countless articles written on the safety of home birth. The numbers show that home birth is as safe as hospital birth. As a home birthing woman and midwife, I am unsatisfied with this conclusion. Though we may have comparable statistics in terms of infant and maternal mortality, clearly hospitals have higher rates for c-section and intervention. Little is said about the damaging psychological and spiritual consequences that routine interventions have on women and newborns. But, when one evaluates these consequences it is easy to see that home birth is not only as safe as hospital birth, it is SAFER.