Birth as an American Rite of Passage

I finally finished this book yesterday (along with a few other assignments). Very interesting on the rites and rituals performed in the medical model of birth and why women choose to birth this way. Really helped me understand why I feel called toward midwifery. And I didn't even have bad births. Which makes me want to respond to Letisha's blog:

LABOR MEME

Since it is labor day and what woman does not love to hear about other labor stories? So here we go!

How long were your labors?
#1: 4.5 hours
#2: 3.5 hours - today is his birthday!
#3 & #4: 5.5 hours

How did you know you were in labor?
#1: I went in for a 5-day late checkup and the monitor showed me having contractions. I could't feel them so I went home. After my water broke, it was labor.
#2: I was grocery shopping and having to stop every few minutes to catch my breath. Got home and after an hour of contractions while watching TV realized that maybe it was real contractions.
#3 & #4: Contractions woke me up.

Where did you deliver?
#1 - a natural birth suite at a hospital
#2 - at home with Certified Nurse Midwife
#3 & #4 - unassisted birth of twins at home, and YES IT WAS PLANNED

Drugs?
#1 - I opted for Demerol after it was heavily pushed on me; if only I'd known that I was so close to the end I would've refused

C-Section?
No way no how was I going to opt for a "Planned Cesarean" of twins as my "only" choice, so we stayed home.

Who Delivered?
I "birthed" my babies. Delivery is for pizzas.