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.

I'm certified!!! (and other info)

As of this week, I am officially:

Erin Kannon, Doula (CD CBI) and Childbirth Educator (CBE CBI)

I finished all of the births and requirements needed! The two required births were fulfilled in a non-conventional way. The first was a friend who wanted me to doula at her unassisted birth (Hi "M"!) which ended up at my house... maybe she'll OK it for me to post about it here??? The second birth ended up being for a mom that I did all of the prenatal meetings with. Did not attend her C-section, but still gave many hours in a Postpartum Doula role helping with breastfeeding, etc..


Midwifery studies: Though I'm not supposed to start officially with AAMI until Aug. 1st, I'm going ahead and doing the pre-orientation paperwork. I'm also ordering tons (probably 100lb worth!) of books to bring back from our summer visit.


Recently I have been asked how I as a midwife would support a woman in unassisted birth. Many midwives do not support women wanting this option. I am obviously a big fan of unassisted birth: I did a UC with my twins! Let me paste in one of my assignments on the topic.

Unassisted Birth

Unassisted birth is a great option for most women, if they choose to go that route. Women choose to go unassisted for many reasons, such as the need for privacy, previous sexual abuse, lack of money, lack of insurance, no caregiver with the same birth philosophy, previous birth history, or no desire for assistance. I believe that planned unassisted birth is one of the safest options for childbirth. Yes, most women choose a midwife for homebirth, but that isn’t necessarily always safe depending on the midwife’s ways of practice. It is unfortunate that little to no research has been done on this aspect of childbirth.
Living in a country with no options for childbirth other than high-intervention hospitals, I do know of some women who have chosen unassisted birth. I did labor support for one woman on one of the remote islands … over the phone! I am currently pregnant with twins and am planning an unassisted birth for my babies. I refuse the risky testing, “high risk” label, or the “necessary planned” C-section.
As a future midwife, I would be willing to offer support to pregnant women wanting unassisted births. That could be in any prenatal facet, for phone support during labor, coming over to assist when asked, to do postpartum checks, or to help with a birth certificate. The legal situation for a midwife doing this maybe be questionable, but I believe that women have the right to choose what they want for their own medical care and birth.