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.

So here we go

I guess it's telling that a title such as "The Lay Midwife" was still free for me to take on Blogger, and on Gmail. Calling oneself a "lay midwife" is akin to saying one is not a "real" midwife, not a "trained" midwife, not good enough to be licenced by any organization. And that is perfectly fine by me.

When I got into this, I had a very romantic vision of what a midwife does. To me, a midwife protected the birth space, believed birth is a normal physiological function, and protected true informed choice for women. I still believe, with all my heart, that this is what a true midwife does...but the term midwife has been perverted, stolen, changed. Now a midwife must prove that she is a safe option for pregnant women, and she is expected to do so by showing that she can perform the same manoevers, the same practices as doctors. Instead of empowering and educating women, and supporting them as they discover their innate strength, the modern midwife has become yet another patronizing, state-serving dictator in unsuspecting women's lives. Why on Earth are midwives trying to emulate obstetricians?

When I started on this journey, it only made sense to me that midwives should learn from each other, from birth experiences, from personal and group study. Formal university or college training only serves to indoctrinate one into a group mentality. Unfortunately, following the herd will do nothing to bring about the birth revolution that is so badly needed.

When I first felt midwifery tugging at my heart, I found myself drawn to the personal stories of women who, in the 1970s and 1980s, learned the art of midwifery by chance and by dedication. They were open to learning all they could about birth, and there was a sense that they would bring about a birth revolution. Somewhere they fell flat. Perhaps it was their lack of information: many of them brought hospital practices to the home in an effort to ensure safety. They learned from sympathetic doctors, employing episiotomies, castor oil inductions and dilation checks. Today we know that these practices are at best unnecessary and at worse interfere with the perfectly tuned processes of birth and early mothering. Yet there was a sense of hope and excitement.

Today many of these same midwives have given up. They have allowed powerful organizations with strong interests to back them into a corner: they are being regulated and licensed to the point that many of them are giving up and even more of them are hating their profession. In a desperate act of self-protection, they are aiding in the attack and persecution of their more "radical" sisters, instead of joining them in an act of protest and really standing up for the rights of mothers and babies.

I am a lay midwife. I am seen as dangerous because I refuse to conform other people's visions of what a midwife is. I see birth as a normal physiological event for most women. I see my role as being the protector of the birth space. I want more women to have full choice in childbirth, whether they are having twins, a VBAC, a breech birth, or whatever the "experts" have decided is "too risky" to "allow" women to choose to do. And that is the most important word: choose. We need to stop seeing women as incubators and instead see them as having absolute right to decide who touches their bodies and supports their birth. We need to realize that the act of birth is one that is sacred, one that allows women to fully become mothers, a rite of passage that allows women to realize their strength and metamorphosize into leaders in our world.

I hope to explore my own experiences, educate people and give voice to my divine calling, exploring birth, fears, and life. Please join me.