When I had my son, I did not even consider an alternate method. Back in India, going to an ob-gyn is the norm and it is so because we don't have qualified mid wives. I was quite happy with my giving birth experience as my labor lasted only about seven to eight hours, I did not take any epidural or any other medication and delivered "normally". But much later did I learn that this was not the best way for it to happen.
An article I read in The Hindu, was about a woman in Trivandrum, Kerala who chose an unassisted childbirth (UC) and it was really inspiring. You can read that article here. That was the first time I understood that having a baby is not a medical emergency, it is the most natural thing for a woman. Of course, before I go on, I want to make it clear that when complications arise, we need to go the hospital and that's the best place to get care for the expecting mother and the baby. My contention is when a healthy mother has a normal baby, she does not need an operating theatre or drugs or even that weird position where the child is pushed out against gravity just so that it is easy for the doctor to access!
A few weeks back I saw this wonderful documentary on birthing in the United States of America. It is called the business of being born and it very methodically and factually documents what is happening in the medical system in this country. It goes on to say that more than 60% of births in Europe and Japan are assisted by midwives but that number is less than 8% in the US. One has to watch this or even any one natural birth video to understand and feel the difference. Seeing those women take full control of giving birth is in itself liberating. To go on and realize how hospitals work and many a time start this vicious cycle of inducing pain and then leading to a C section that then cannot be avoided is painful and frustrating. It makes sense as hospitals are needed to cater to real emergencies and cannot keep mothers hanging around waiting for their babies to be born. It is their "business model", so to speak. I don't entirely blame them but people need to be given options and allowed to choose.
I wish giving birth naturally with the help of qualified mid wives was an option available everywhere in the world. UC is great too but that calls for a higher degree of guts because just in case a complication arises, you need to have precise steps as a backup in place.
Unfortunately, there is so much myth and fear surrounding birth that most women are terrified and feel safe in the hands of a doctor. All this talk of so much pain and unimaginably long hours of labor has made this experience more horrifying than anything. But the truth is really far from anything like that. There is pain but very bearable and in most cases your body will tell you what to do. Just listen and go with your instincts.
I remember very clearly that when I was giving birth, I would have these cramps like pain that would help push the baby out. After a couple of such pushes, the doctor was excited and said that she could see the baby's face and I have to push again real fast. But I just didn't have the urge to. Then she began to scare me by saying, the longer I take, my child will not get enough oxygen. I really got annoyed and screamed back at her that if I don't feel like pushing then I cannot artificially do it! She was surprised and said that she understood and asked me to wait for the push. In the next second, the wave of pain came and the baby was out! Now, to remove the placenta, the nurses really punched my tummy like it was a punch bag. Infact that hurt the most. Now when I think back, if I had done it naturally, I would have been squatting or sitting and not with my legs dangling in air. That squatting would have been the ideal position to push the baby and then the placenta out.
Another common procedure they do while delivering is make a small cut and the doctor's explanation is that if we don't do a precise straight cut, then during delivery it will be out of our control and can turn out to be a bad tear that will prove hard to be stitched up again. My greatest fear before giving birth was this cut, the dreaded monster. I begged and pleaded the doctor not to do this at any cost, but alas, it had to be done. And now when I think, yes, it had to be done because I was trying to push a 3.5 kg baby out of a tiny opening AGAINST gravity!!! So much for Stupidity!
I urge all of you out there who are having a baby or considering to have one at any point in their lives, to explore and choose a natural birth if it is viable to you.
An article I read in The Hindu, was about a woman in Trivandrum, Kerala who chose an unassisted childbirth (UC) and it was really inspiring. You can read that article here. That was the first time I understood that having a baby is not a medical emergency, it is the most natural thing for a woman. Of course, before I go on, I want to make it clear that when complications arise, we need to go the hospital and that's the best place to get care for the expecting mother and the baby. My contention is when a healthy mother has a normal baby, she does not need an operating theatre or drugs or even that weird position where the child is pushed out against gravity just so that it is easy for the doctor to access!
A few weeks back I saw this wonderful documentary on birthing in the United States of America. It is called the business of being born and it very methodically and factually documents what is happening in the medical system in this country. It goes on to say that more than 60% of births in Europe and Japan are assisted by midwives but that number is less than 8% in the US. One has to watch this or even any one natural birth video to understand and feel the difference. Seeing those women take full control of giving birth is in itself liberating. To go on and realize how hospitals work and many a time start this vicious cycle of inducing pain and then leading to a C section that then cannot be avoided is painful and frustrating. It makes sense as hospitals are needed to cater to real emergencies and cannot keep mothers hanging around waiting for their babies to be born. It is their "business model", so to speak. I don't entirely blame them but people need to be given options and allowed to choose.
I wish giving birth naturally with the help of qualified mid wives was an option available everywhere in the world. UC is great too but that calls for a higher degree of guts because just in case a complication arises, you need to have precise steps as a backup in place.
Unfortunately, there is so much myth and fear surrounding birth that most women are terrified and feel safe in the hands of a doctor. All this talk of so much pain and unimaginably long hours of labor has made this experience more horrifying than anything. But the truth is really far from anything like that. There is pain but very bearable and in most cases your body will tell you what to do. Just listen and go with your instincts.
I remember very clearly that when I was giving birth, I would have these cramps like pain that would help push the baby out. After a couple of such pushes, the doctor was excited and said that she could see the baby's face and I have to push again real fast. But I just didn't have the urge to. Then she began to scare me by saying, the longer I take, my child will not get enough oxygen. I really got annoyed and screamed back at her that if I don't feel like pushing then I cannot artificially do it! She was surprised and said that she understood and asked me to wait for the push. In the next second, the wave of pain came and the baby was out! Now, to remove the placenta, the nurses really punched my tummy like it was a punch bag. Infact that hurt the most. Now when I think back, if I had done it naturally, I would have been squatting or sitting and not with my legs dangling in air. That squatting would have been the ideal position to push the baby and then the placenta out.
Another common procedure they do while delivering is make a small cut and the doctor's explanation is that if we don't do a precise straight cut, then during delivery it will be out of our control and can turn out to be a bad tear that will prove hard to be stitched up again. My greatest fear before giving birth was this cut, the dreaded monster. I begged and pleaded the doctor not to do this at any cost, but alas, it had to be done. And now when I think, yes, it had to be done because I was trying to push a 3.5 kg baby out of a tiny opening AGAINST gravity!!! So much for Stupidity!
I urge all of you out there who are having a baby or considering to have one at any point in their lives, to explore and choose a natural birth if it is viable to you.
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