As most people reading this blog know I had a natural, vaginal birth for my son, Owen. I laboured at home with a midwife until the very end, at which point we got our butts to the hospital as quickly as possible (I progressed more quickly than expected for a first baby). That was our birth plan from the very beginning. Luke and I decided, with the input of my mom taken heavily under advisement, that for our first child we would not attempt a home birth in it's entirety, but would transfer to the hospital for delivery "just in case", so we'd have access to any emergency treatments and facilities that one could possibly need if, God forbid, a scary situation were to arise. Fortunately, everything went perfectly. My total labour was 13 hours, and I did it without the intervention of drugs of any kind (for the sake of honesty, though, I must admit that in a moment of weakness when I thought Owen was going to come out of my back I did insist that I needed an epidural). Luckily, Owen came out so quickly that I could not be obliged.
Owen was born in perfect health at 5:57am, and placed directly on my naked chest, where he remained while I "finished up" (I'll spare you the details, but in short this is about a twenty minute process of delivering the placenta, and being thoroughly examined and cleaned by my midwife). He was not rushed off for a cleaning or immediate assessment. He was not wrapped and diapered, and the delivered to me like a little present - until much later on, that is. I was given the proper time to bond with my newborn son in the most natural way possible. It was the most miraculous night of my life. I felt like a superhero - so strong, so capable. I also felt like I had joined this secret society of women who birth naturally. I had my midwife, my mother and my husband as the only people there with me. It felt so private and personal.
From the moment she arrived, my midwife never left me to check other labouring women, let alone stroll in just in time to "catch" the baby and stroll back out again after giving her stamp of approval. She came to my home in the middle of the night, and calmly guided me through my labour. I was able to be naked, writhing around, sometimes thrashing around. Sometimes I yelled and shrieked, but mostly I groaned deeply with each contraction. I moved from my bedroom to the living room, to my bathtub, to the toilet, and was encouraged to do whatever helped me through it. There was never a sense that we needed to hurry it along, or introduce medication because of anyone's time schedule but Owen's. She would simply follow me around, check his heart rate with a stethoscope periodically, and reassure me that everything was happening as it should.
By 9:30 that same morning I was lying in my own bed, with my son and my husband. People always assume that when I say 9:30 I mean PM or the next day, and marvel when I correct them. "You were home 3 1/2 hours after he was born?" No one realizes that when you give birth without drugs that you can go home! You don't need to wait until the effects wear off, or remain under constant assessment because of insurance purposes. And because I wasn't drugged Owen obviously wasn't either, so they didn't need to keep him to monitor him for the lethargy to subside or watch for signs of stress. My midwife came to my home later in the day to check on us - a luxury that hospital births can not provide as one OBGYN tends to multiple babies, moms and other non-birth related patients, therefore and understandably so, everyone needs to stay put. Midwives are in the business of birth alone. They specialize and are highly trained in one area, so their focus and experience is astounding. My midwife had only been certified for a year or so at the time of my labour, yet she had delivered approximately 130 babies!! Each and every one of those with the care and attention that Owen and I received. Not 3 or 10 in one day like an OBGYN could do. Doesn't that put things into perspective? And pregnancy/delivery care is 100% covered by OHIP. My prenatal care cost nothing and it is my strong opinion that it was far superior to any care a medical doctor could provide.
My inspiration to write this post came from watching a new documentary, executive produced by and featuring Ricki Lake (Go Ricki!), called The Business of Being Born. Luke and I just finished watching it, and it just reaffirmed why we chose this route for our son's birth, and I am now 100% convinced that we will plan for a complete home birth for our next child. Women have been birthing their children with great success for thousands of years, and it is only in the last century that they began to be told that what their bodies could do instinctively was obsolete and they needed medical intervention. Pregnancy is not a condition, and birth should not be a procedure. It is the most natural and wonderful experience we women are able to have and I worry that we are misinformed by the medical community, and eachother about it. I wish all women could feel how amazing and truly unbelievable it is to birth your child - to go through it without finding it "unnecessary" to feel pain. It's worth it, so very worth it to feel it all. The bond, and the power of your own strength makes birth the most moving and intense event a woman could ever experience. Why would you want to dull that?
2 comments:
There's nothing a doctor or being at the hospital could have done to make the labour better or easier. In fact, if we had been at the hospital when you had your 'I need drugs' moment, you'd already have had an IV in your arm, and they would've just said "ok, here you go" and given you the drugs, when what you really needed was a calm voice and encouragement.
The movie is full of interesting statistics and commentary on the OB-GYN/hospital approach to birth and the mindset and motivation behind it. It's definitely a good one to watch if you plan on having a baby.
Katelyn, you've entirely sold me and when the time comes in my life to make that decision I will definitely go the route of a midwife. I can't thank you enough for sharing the beautiful description of your birth and what the experience felt like. It was wonderful to read.
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