Coming out

So I don't even know why I decided to avoid this on my own blog *shrug* but I'm going to come out and say it.

I'm a natural childbirth supporter.

Yeah, I bet that's a bit of an anticlimax LOL.
So what's the big deal about me being a natural childbirth supporter anyway? Well first off in all my travels around cyberspace in search of information about childbirth I kept finding things about "natural" childbirth. I read all sorts of books during my first pregnancy, up to and including Pregnancy for Dummies. Yes, there is a book called Pregnancy for Dummies.
I SCOURED my local library, picking up every book about pregnancy and childbirth I could find. I read them all. I soaked up all the new information and all the new opinions like a sponge. Some of the opinions and information I mentally put question marks beside but still, I read it all. I already had a few opinions myself on childbirth and whatnot but nothing solid.

Then I found the eye opening book "Pushed" by Jennifer Block. After reading that I just couldn't look at childbirth the same. I was horrified by the atrocities I was reading about that seemed to be the "norm" in American childbirth. Sure, I had read about a majority of them in all the other books but those books didn't paint anywhere near the same picture as "Pushed" did.

My eyes were opened. I couldn't look at routine interventions in childbirth the same again. Thus, I went looking into the alternatives to the "hospital norm" that I kept reading about (bear in mind that a lot of the books I was reading were written in the USA and more geared towards the maternity system in that country, the maternity system in New Zealand is completely different, it's like comparing apples and pumpkins). I read about a woman in "Pushed", Ina May Gaskin, who was hailed as the mother of American Midwifery and went looking for the book she had written called "Spiritual Midwifery". A spark was flaring into a blaze, I had to find out more about Natural childbirth! I read the book and though some of the concepts in it sounded a bit out there even for my extremely open mind, I took it all in. It clicked with me. It just sounded so RIGHT to me.

Thus began my foray into Natural childbirth. I haven't stopped reading about it since. Luckily here in New Zealand we have a much more midwifery model of care rather than the American Obstetric model. Obstetricians are required, just like any other branch of medicine is required, the USA has just pushed that to the extreme.

I for one am very glad we have Obstetricians and I am seeing one myself, simply because my pregnancy is classed as high risk first due to my Osteogenesis Imperfecta and second because of my incompetent cervix (which could possibly be linked in to the OI) so I'm glad that I have the professional backup there if and when I need it. That being said, at my prenatal appointments and everything I see a midwife (all of my prenatal care is through the hospital) which I certainly think is better than seeing the OB at every appointment. My OB is a busy woman who certainly has better things to be doing than seeing me for the basic antenatal appointments where I pee on a stick and have my blood pressure taken.

I'm currently seeing my OB fortnightly (due to my dodgy cervix lol) and I'm glad that I have her on board. Would I much rather that I didn't need to see her at all? Definitely. She's lovely and all and I like her but she's proof that I'm screwed up and sometimes I could do without the reminder *wink*.

Ok so this ended up going on a bit of a tangent, oops, lol.

I'm a natural childbirth supporter because I agree with other natural childbirth supporters that birth has been medicalised to the point where more women and children are harmed than lives are saved. Whether it be physical or mental trauma. I'm a natural childbirth supporter because I believe that women (and their families) should have options available for their care. A one size fits all birthing policy can be detrimental to the health of either mother, child or both.
I, like many of the other natural childbirth supporters that I have come across in my cyber-travels, thoroughly dislike (and some even hate) the phrase "All that matters is a healthy baby" because there is much more at stake than just a healthy baby.