| | As I was getting read y for today, getting ready to meet with my "advisor" at the college about my next classes to take this semester, I thought about why it is that I want to be a midwife in Iowa.
And the answer? There aren't enough legal midwives in Iowa. There aren't enough legal midwives who do homebirths in Iowa. The lack of midwives who are legally allowed to attend homebirths in Iowa leaves the women of Iowa at risk. This is something I CAN do something about. While nursing isn't a particular passion of mine, I can say that expanding women's options is, and changing how we as a society view birth is as well. So, nursing school, and then midwifery certification to become a Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM) it is.
I thought back through my four births. I thought how many of them COULD have been different if how we as a society view birth was different. How I viewed birth changed with the more kids I had, and as my friends themselves changed, and by extension the culture that surround births changed.
When I had my first son no one I knew had anything other than a hospital birth. The only books about birth I read were the ones the Ob's office gave me, and "What to Expect When You're Expecting". It goes without saying, it was a very medicalized view of birth.
With my second son not much had changed. I had "mommy" friends now, but we had all birthed in the same hospital. Half of us with the same doctor. I wasn't the only one with a c-section scar from my first birth, but we were in the small minority. I still didn't know that midwives still practised in hospitals, let alone attended homebirths. No one talked about staying home as long as possible to help with labor management. I went in to the hospital when contractions were 7 minutes apart and it was over 12 hours before our second son was born.
There was a shift with my third son. A slight shift. I knew there were midwives. I knew people who had birthed their children at home. U was still struggling between the view of birth that I had been... well, steeped in for so long, and this new view of birth that was emerging.
My third sons birth I was able to see the ways in which it was "managed" that weren't for my benefit, but for my doctors. Induction at 38 weeks with no signs of fetal distress, or maternal distress other than uncomfortableness. A LOOOOOOOOOOOOONG induction. Started at 7 am. That ended in an epidural and pitocin even though I had adamantly wanted to avoid those. This, is the birth that upset me. I could see why it was unneccasary, at least after the fact. My Ob should not have offered an induction at 38 weeks for no medical reason other than convenience.
I went over my third sons birth, and it is what changed how I viewed birth. There was nothing wrong with him that his birth should have been induced. There was nothing wrong with ME that his birth should have been induced. There was something VERY wrong with the system because I KNEW that my story was not uncommon.
When I got pregnant with my four son I was adamant that things would be different. They were, or perhaps I should say they were as different as they could be while still having the same doctor in the same office with the same hospital. Which is to say... not very. I refused the inductions that were being offered starting at 37 weeks. I labored on my own for most of my labor at home before going to the hospital. This birth made me angry. It is what truly propelled into the stance that I currently hold. How we view birth must change for the health and welfare of women, and their children.
Unfortunately, I do not see the way that women birth in hospitals changing much with the current status quo in place. The doctors are in charge, and the doctors like very much how things are working. What has to change is how WOMEN view birth. What we accept as standard practice. We need to accept that doctors are not gods. They do not know everything. They do have specialized information, and they should be
We need to see, and be told, and embrace, that birth is not this scary, scary thing fraught with pitfalls and traps waiting for the birthing woman. We shouldn't dismiss their advice simply because it comes from a doctor, or because of their attitude - though that can at times make it hard to do-, but we should understand that it is just that. Advice. Their opinion -educated though it may be. It is still only an opinion. Their recommendation. Worth listening to. Not gospel.
And so, I am off today to register for classes. To complete requirements to start the nursing course. To become a midwife. To help women birth as best they can.
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| | Posted 12/10/2008 8:51 AM - 48 Views - 8 eProps - 6 comments
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