I would give birth in my local hospital if.....

For over a century, Western medicine has told us an unsubstantiated lie:

BIRTH IS SAFER IN THE HOSPITAL.

I will believe this when my local hospital:

• can eliminate MRSA.
  
• stops inductions that are performed solely for the fact that the pregnancy is "post-dates".
• allows newborn babies to receive all of their blood supply by waiting to clamp and cut the cord until all pulsation has ceased and the cord is white and limp.
• stops routine suctioning of all newborn babies.
• institutes, as routine procedure, intermittent fetal surveillance with a fetoscope or portable Doppler in lieu of continuous electronic fetal monitor (EFM), and eliminates the 15-30 min "strip" on the EFM upon admission.
• offers a waterbirth pool to every woman for both pain relief and birth if she so desires.
• encourages mothers to eat and drink during labour.
• encourages mothers to wear their own clothing.
• encourages positions other than semi-sit or Lamaze for the second stage.
• allows for the fetal ejection reflex and ceases coached pushing/Valsalva technique.
• discourages doctors from cutting episiotomies (perceived need for episiotomies would see an immediate reduction once mothers were birthing in their own positions, pushing when and how they want to)
• ensures an undisturbed third stage, including immediate skin to skin contact of mother and baby, without routine use of pitocin or cord traction.
• respects a mother's decisions and ensures she is fully informed of all her choices in a given situation
  

I know I'm asking a lot. All of the above, which I consider to be "best practices", really stem from the idea that in the vast majority of cases, birth is a natural, normal physiological event. That we just need to allow mothers to birth unhindered, and be the quiet guardians, ready but hardly ever needing to use the powerful tools at our disposal.

I think this may be a lot to ask. Maybe moms will just choose the easier route, and have these types of births at home, and the last century will just be a strange blip in childbirth trends when someone is looking back at us in a couple of thousand years.