Patience, patience, patients...

I was at a birth that was over 30 hours this week, and WHEW it was hard work for all of us-- obviously less for me than the laboring mother, but you get the idea. I just wanted to say KUDOS to those women who carefully choose their providers, and THANK YOU to those providers with enough confidence in 'normal' birth to not mess with things.

This was for my 'anonymous' mom who switched to my FAVE midwives at 35 weeks. What a brave, but sensationally brilliant move. I know a lot is said about how offices are supportive (or unsupportive) of VBAC moms, but I want to point out that AVOIDING cesarean should be applauded, as well. And this was certainly done.

They exhibited NOTHING but patience, despite the midwife being well into her third trimester herself, and despite an all hands on deck showing by the staff in the office, I really really fell strongly that she got the BEST care possible, and a beautiful vaginal birth.

I learned from one of these midwives that last week they let a different mother push for 6 hours. SIX HOURS-- she obviously had an epidural, but the point here is that most people would have cited 'failure to progress' or CPD and sent her to the OR after 2 or 3 hours. But baby looked fine, and this office let her go for 6. God bless Midwives. I know where I am having my next baby!

The Doula's Ripple Effect

Recently, I blogged about the importance of finding the right provider, and how that's not always easy. This is made more difficult if your needs change, or if you overlook a small detail in your discussions, only to learn late in your third tri that your one missed point is a deal breaker with a doctor or CNM you thought you loved. This is very stressful position to be in, when moms are often 'nesting' and needing to know they are in good hands, and all is ready.

I recently helped a client in this particular situation get a new office whom she and DH are VERY happy with, and now things are smooth as silk again. There was a one question deal-breaker, that was somehow overlooked, and when it came to light, we were 33 weeks or so, and not happy. I am pleased, though, that she stood her ground, and found someone who could offer her more, because I know it will make her birth day much better. Well, this mom emailed me again this week to let me know that her late term switch inspired her friend to do the same.

This friend of hers walked into her OBs office with a 'birth plan' or something like it, and the doctor refused to even look at it. He then went ON about how OFFENDED (yes, actually offended) he was that she would bring something like this in to him. He has been delivering babies for (blah blah blah), and what does she know about it as a first time mom? How DARE she question 'his majesty'. Thankfully, this woman had a very level head, and said, 'thanks but no thanks', and walked.

She is now on the search for her new obstetrical mr. or mrs. right, and has told my client that her last minute search's success gave her the strength to stand up for what she believed in and get more for herself.

Now it upsets me to the Nth degree that there are ACTUALLY medical professionals out there who behave this way. God Complex, much? Since when is informed consent a frivolity, and since when does a woman not have a right to ask questions and make requests about what's done to her body when she's in labor?? Those outdated people who see birth as 'frought with danger... but we have the technology to save you from these perils', and who see it as a 'medical procedure' and not a life-changing, spiritual, beautiful right of passage, well, they make me ill. But all we can do is say NO, and go to someone who will respect us.

We need to be educated consumers, and to vote with our dollar.... and it is my hope that more and more women will do this, after hearing stories like my clients', and being encouraged by their doulas and other support professionals, that these outdated control freaks will soon step aside-- forced into early retirement due to public pressure for an open-minded, respectful physician.

I take this as a good sign-- that someone I don't even know is going to get the birth she wants because of encouragement I gave to someone else. So while this is a job that comes with many frustrations, it's important to take moments like this revel in the ripple effects your empowerment has on the community you live in. Personally, I couldn't be happier with my small role in the outcomes for these two women. And it has me pumped up to keep going, and to change the world a bit more each time!

Go Doula!!! Go Women!!! Go Birth!!!


RAH! RAH! RAH!
I hope the sidelines are always this powerful!

More on the dangers of Inducing Labor

Here is a very short video on the dangers of elective induction.

As we all know, babies come when they are good and ready, and NO ONE is ever pregnant forever. In the absence of a medical condition that has cause for alarm, an induction should not even be considered-- but someone forgot to tell a lot ob OBs that, and I'm hearing more and more about inductions being asked for and allowed at any point past 37 weeks, or the point of 'viability'. If baby was done cooking, it would come out, she doesn't know she's supposed to be viable yet! And if she's not, you have a preemie on your hands because of allowing non-evidence based medicine.

This is just some more information for your tool kit that I hope you never have to use!

Article on laboring womens' rights

Is a woman in labor a person? Legally?

This article really shook me. I cannot believe that something like this could even happen. It is so upsetting that a woman's rights over her own body could be superceded by anyone, let alone her physician.

This is just another reason to make sure you have chosen a like-minded provider who understands and respects your wishes. Granted, this will not ensure the labor and delivery of your choosing~ there are too many variables (the largest of which is mother nature) while woman and child work through this stressful but momentous event. It is not clear in the article whether the mother did endanger herself or her child by refusing a C-section, but what is clear is that there was a healthy outcome.

The idea of 'safety' is a relative one, especially when it comes to something as random and up for interpretation as medical testing and procedures. Truly, labor and delivery is more of an art than a science, and I wish that there were some philosophy in there as well. Sadly, the philosophy of medicine in Obstetrics has been replaced by legality, and attorneys. But regardless, whether is was 'safe' for this mother to deliver vaginally is not the issue here, the issue is that no two people have the same idea of what 'safe' means. To some, nothing is more safe than a C section, and to some, nothing is more safe than the natural process of labor. Most of us fall in the middle somewhere, and there is no 'right' answer. We all have to answer to the forces of our environment, be they our malpractice insurance, the hospital, our bodies, or our hopes and dreams for a beautiful baby and a beautiful birth.

Once again, I urge you all to try to understand where the other 'team' is coming from, and instead of becoming more polarized and combative, try to meet in the middle. Perhaps if the 'natural' and 'medical' camps spent energy on this instead of fighting against the other side, sad cases like this would not have to happen.

Consumerism in medicine has never been as important as it is now~ so choose your birth team and facility wisely, and let the almighty dollar cast it's vote on what kind of care will succeed in the end. Choose wisely for yourself, your friends, and your daughter, so we may hope to have a better system in place sometime soon.