Hospitals Are Not the Safest Place to Birth
We all have a perception of birth that has been shaped by experiences and the stories we have heard. For many people today, these stories are stories of uncontrollable pain and fear. The media portrays women screaming, being rushed through the hospital while birthing. But I have a different perception of birth. I believe birth is a normal physiological function humans have been doing since the dawn of time. We can do it on our own, without medication or intervention, and in an empowered way. Hand-in-hand with this belief is my other belief that often medical settings are not the safest place to birth (of course this is not always true, but for the majority of people I think it is). My birth worldview is shaped primarily by personal stories and the vast collection of books I have read.
My Birth Story (Shared with my mother’s permission)
As a child, I was told many times the story of my birth. My mom was young with an unplanned pregnancy that ultimately had the complication of a “weak cervix” (excuse my language). So, I came into the world at 26 weeks gestation. My mom gave birth in a teaching hospital and was quickly the subject of a medical school lesson. An entire class of future doctors observed her birth as doctors coldly narrated. At one point, my mom was being pumped full of medications and told the doctor “I can’t breathe”. In return, the doctor said, “stop being selfish and care about your baby!” Moments later, my mom died, drowned in fluids that had filled in her lungs due to the medication she was given. Luckily, she was resuscitated, and we both recovered in ICU/NICU. I grew up afraid of birth because of this story. Yet, as I came into my child birthing years, I saw the story differently. Birth isn’t scary. The scary part of this story to me is the doctor who did not listen to my mother or trust what her body was telling her. Obviously, modern medicine saved our lives, and the hospital was probably the safest place to birth such a premature baby, but it is undeniable that medical abuse killed my mother.
My Son’s Birth Story
The second story that shapes my birth worldview is the birth of my son. I had planned a beautiful home birth with a wonderful midwife, but at 38 weeks, I was diagnosed with pregnancy induced hypertension. As a result, I was transferred to the hospital and induced. Once the induction happened, a snowball of interventions followed. Misoprostol, Pitocin, pressured into an epidural, breaking my water, antibiotics for infection, and ultimately a cesarean when I could not feel my body enough to push my large, OP baby out or change position. I was left with a scar and lasting birth trauma. This is another example of when the average person (like my partner) might think “what a great thing we were in the hospital!” But in the research I’ve done since then, I have learned that everything could have gone differently. First of all, I could have very likely avoided hospital transfer by caring for my diet and body better. Further, if I had not let the hospital midwives scare and pressure me into an epidural, I could have moved around, changed positions, helped my baby shift, breathed my baby out, birthed standing, and pushed with all my feeling. I know my birth experience could have been an unmedicated, trauma-free, home birth. The hospital was not the safest place for me.
A Friend’s Birth Story (shared with permission)
The third story is a birth story of a close friend and mentor of mine. She has birthed three times. The first time she was a teenager and was told that her baby was too big and would have to be born via cesarean. She believed the doctor and did as she was told. It was only after the experience and associated trauma that she started to learn about birth. The next time around she wanted to do things differently but was ultimately intimidated and bullied into having another cesarean. Finally, when her third birth came around, she decided she was going to have a home birth no matter what. Unfortunately, after two cesareans in the early 90’s no midwife would take her. So, she free birthed at home with her husband surrounded by love and peace. Her largest baby passed through her pelvis without any issue. The way she tells this story is beautiful, inspiring, and empowering. She has told me this story many times and I can never get enough of it. The hospital was not the safest place for her either.
All of that being said, obviously everyone is different. In the United States we are taught to fear birth, that it is dangerous. That doctors are godly and can save us from the pain and danger of birth (Actually, no one can “save us”, not midwives, not even ourselves, but that’s a conversation for another day). Most people birth in hospitals. Despite this, I am happy to support these people without pushing my beliefs onto them. This is because another part of my birth worldview is that my client’s births are not about me. Birth is only about her and where she feels comfortable. Ultimately, where and how she feels comfortable birthing is entirely up to her and the safest way for her to birth. This is true whether she chooses an unmedicated home birth or an elective cesarean.
