I believe that the foundation that old
midwifery has created should continue to be our informational pool to
draw from. Less intervention results in a happier and more successful
birth experience. According to midwiferytoday.com, the early1700's
and before, promised women a fearless birth. There was a positive
live birth rate and therefor nothing for women to be afraid of.
Instead, they looked forward to bringing new life into the world.
Being that women gave birth in their homes, instead of hospitals
which were ridden with disease, there was a decreased risk of
infection which naturally resulted in better outcomes for both mom
and baby.
As stated on neonatology.org, the idea that birth was a medical issue rose and so women that could afford it started seeing physicians for their birthing needs. Coincidentally, the live birth rate was higher for physician assisted births than midwife births. This was probably because the wealthier people (who were also healthier since they had access to a better diet and living conditions in general) were seeing physicians and the less healthy, poorer people saw midwives. However, Birthsong discusses the fact that there were more women dying after childbirth due to infection after hospital births than in home births.
As medicine evolved, so did childbirth. Interventions enabled women to give birth successfully that would otherwise not have been able to. These practices became common and essentially pushed midwifery and natural birth out of the way all together. According to Birthsong, this could have resulting in bone structure problems in women as well because women that should have been unable to birth children were suddenly able to, thus passing along the gene to their daughters and so on. This would have caused an increase in the number of interventions as well. I feel that our culture is at a strange point on the midwifery time line. As a culture, we are afraid of birth. There does seem to be a positive turn around the corner but for the time being, we are in an age of designer birth days and pain free birth.
It is my hope that we will make a return to old midwifery, where we will empower women to trust their bodies and birth fearlessly. We should be able to draw upon the evidence and facts that we trusted before and set aside the unnecessary interventions. I am drawn to midwifery in part because it is not about making money. Obviously there is profit to be had, as all services should. Midwifery is about supporting women in their natural abilities to give birth and assisting when needed. This is exactly what I hope to do. I hope that we are able to see what the evidence suggests and return to simplicity. I hope that we can unlearn the fear that we have learned about pregnancy and childbirth and get away from the stigmas that we learned during the dark ages. I believe that we will make the journey back to a simpler time as we begin to influence and empower more women to advocate for themselves to get the birth experiences that they want. Midwifery is growing again and I believe that our culture will grow with it.
As stated on neonatology.org, the idea that birth was a medical issue rose and so women that could afford it started seeing physicians for their birthing needs. Coincidentally, the live birth rate was higher for physician assisted births than midwife births. This was probably because the wealthier people (who were also healthier since they had access to a better diet and living conditions in general) were seeing physicians and the less healthy, poorer people saw midwives. However, Birthsong discusses the fact that there were more women dying after childbirth due to infection after hospital births than in home births.
As medicine evolved, so did childbirth. Interventions enabled women to give birth successfully that would otherwise not have been able to. These practices became common and essentially pushed midwifery and natural birth out of the way all together. According to Birthsong, this could have resulting in bone structure problems in women as well because women that should have been unable to birth children were suddenly able to, thus passing along the gene to their daughters and so on. This would have caused an increase in the number of interventions as well. I feel that our culture is at a strange point on the midwifery time line. As a culture, we are afraid of birth. There does seem to be a positive turn around the corner but for the time being, we are in an age of designer birth days and pain free birth.
It is my hope that we will make a return to old midwifery, where we will empower women to trust their bodies and birth fearlessly. We should be able to draw upon the evidence and facts that we trusted before and set aside the unnecessary interventions. I am drawn to midwifery in part because it is not about making money. Obviously there is profit to be had, as all services should. Midwifery is about supporting women in their natural abilities to give birth and assisting when needed. This is exactly what I hope to do. I hope that we are able to see what the evidence suggests and return to simplicity. I hope that we can unlearn the fear that we have learned about pregnancy and childbirth and get away from the stigmas that we learned during the dark ages. I believe that we will make the journey back to a simpler time as we begin to influence and empower more women to advocate for themselves to get the birth experiences that they want. Midwifery is growing again and I believe that our culture will grow with it.
Please feel free to comment or ask any questions in the comments below.
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I used a midwife for the majority of my pregnancy with Porter and she delivered him as well. I loved our OB but I think if I had him I wouldn't have delivered Porter without an epidural like I did. She did such a great job encouraging me and reassuring me that I could do it without the epidural ( I didn't have time to have it so it wouldn't have mattered anyway). She made me feel at ease and sure of myself and I'm so thankful for her help and encouragment. If we have future children I will go with a midwife and no epidural by choice :)
ReplyDeleteI loved my midwife experience because they spent an entire hour talking to me at my appointments with no rush. I started in OB care and all I got was 5 minutes with the doctor. :( I could never turn back.
DeleteI had an excellent experience with my midwives. They cared about my fears and concerns over my multiple losses during previous pregnancies and did everything they could to create confidence and peace with this pregnancy. I know for a fact there is no way I ever would have achieved my natural labor and delivery without my midwife. She was a true servant. I hope you are right about a return to midwifery and supported birth. Birth matters!
ReplyDeleteI can feel it! I know there is a shift coming. People want a real birth experience. Thanks for reading!
DeleteI am looking forward to reading more about childbirth on your blog since I am a "birth junkie" and hope to be a certified Doula by the end of the year. We do not have a midwife locally but I had a great OB & wonderful nurses. They, along with my husband & mom, knew my wishes and were huge supports when I needed them during active labor. Thank you for the shout out!
ReplyDeleteIn Nevada, home births are A-Legal.. at least that's how they call it. There are no laws governing midwifery. Anybody can call themselves a midwife. It's a dangerous idea but at the same time, I am glad midwifery isn't banned.
DeleteThanks for reading!