The Business of Being Born

Ok, so this is called a RANT.

All that needs to be said is if you haven't seen it, WATCH IT.

I wasn't sure what to think about The Business of Being Born, knowing that it was focused on home birth, midwives and the like. I was worried it would be too biased, too one-sided, too crunchy/hippie... Yes, it was definitely focused on this side of things, but I thought both sides of birth (hospital/interventions vs. home/natural) were presented in a very open and factual way. This is my favourite way to think about this debate: simply look at the facts. When comparing percentages from the States to the rest of the world...it's pretty surprising.

What has hit me the most about hospital births and interventions is the snowball effect. In the hospital, you are on their schedule. As soon as you are admitted to a bed, you are on the clock. And most likely, your body's schedule doesn't match up with theirs. Now you're progressing too slowly and things need to get moving. Pitocin it is! If you're lucky, you can convince the nurses to give you the lowest dose, and not get hooked up to an IV permanently. But usually, Pitocin goes in, and you're bed bound for the rest of your labour. The traditional means of walking, changing positions and countless other tricks to speed up labour simply don't measure up to a needle in your arm. Pitocin kicks in and, oh wait, so do the side effects! You get itchy, so in goes a medication to counteract that. That medication dulls the effect of the Pitocin, so the response is, MORE PITOCIN! Now your uterus is going bananas with crazy intense contractions, you simply can't keep up, so....it's epidural time. Epidural goes in, slows things down. More Pitocin to speed things up. Oh right, there's also a baby to check on in there! Wait, what? You mean baby isn't "tolerating labour very well" with your uterus going nuts for the past few hours? Fancy that, as their once natural environment has been turned inside out and they just want to get the heck outta there. One more check of the clock, and it seems baby really isn't sticking to the time table, so in you go for your Cesarean. You can worry about your split stomach muscles and nice big scar after you see your baby for a full 4 seconds over the sheet before they are whisked away from you to be cleaned and swaddled and probably formula fed.

Okay. So much for putting it lightly...

I 100% realize that sometimes these interventions are necessary and will save your baby's life or your own. I am completely thankful that we have the medicine, technology and techniques to step in when things just aren't working the way they should. I definitely believe that there are doctors out there who will do whatever they can to support your birth plan, whatever that looks like, rather than make their own schedule a priority. And I know without a doubt that no matter what we plan, I could have one contraction and beeline it to the hospital, or could have this baby refuse to switch positions and end up in a C-section.

BUT.

If you have had a complication-free pregnancy, if you are healthy and full-term, if baby is in the right place at the right time.....why not work through your contractions in your own bed, in your own clothes, with your own candles and music to relax you? Why not have a bean bag warmed up in your own microwave to sooth your back and washcloths in your own freezer to cool your face? Why not take a shower in your own shower and pace the rooms of your own home? Why not do things YOUR way, so you feel safe, comfortable, and as in control of the situation as possible?

Even now, I almost hesitate to picture it, wanting to stay open minded about whatever situation comes our way during labour. I never would have pictured having a home birth. A midwife, a doula, making a birth plan. This was before I started reading, researching, asking questions, reading, going to classes, reading, watching videos and just becoming informed about my options. Sure, you can read the studies on how, all things equal, a home birth is just as safe as a hospital birth. But it's reading the stories, getting educated, watching movies like this, and really thinking about what's most important for your birth experience that will bring you to make the right choice for you. If that's a scheduled C-section, go for it, if that's what is right for you and will give you the birth experience you want. For me, all I want is to have my baby in my arms when they first open their eyes to the world.

That's all.

(said in Meryl Streep's Devil Wears Prada voice)