In simple terms
If you have a minute, go and read (or reread) What Women Aren’t Told About Childbirth
Key points (edited so I don’t steal too much of the article:
- Obstetricians are surgeons, who have probably rarely seen a natural birth - it’s unlikely they’re going to support you if you want one unless they’re very open minded.
- People ask more questions about major purchases than about the birth of their family.
- Don’t argue that it’s unsafe to birth at home or in a birth centre - show me that it’s safe to birth in hospital.
- Pitocin has never been approved by the FDA for augmenting labour.
- Continuous electronic fetal monitoring is not very useful for indicating fetal distress, and when you’re on the monitor you’re trussed up like a turkey, unable to move around and manage pain or use gravity, so c-section rates rise.
- Women who can’t afford private insurance have better outcomes for birth.
- Birth has changed from a normal process to a medically-managed crisis
