There is nothing nicer than to get out of bed and hear good news. And that’s exactly what happen this week to me when I opened my local newspaper and found this AP Story:
Despite Skeptical Medical Establishment, More Women Choosing Natural Birth At Home
I re-read the article several times before the reality sank in. Then I told my oldest son, who is well-schooled in birth politics.
“I guess women finally get that that their bodies rock,” he said.
cue: tear drops.
If you’ve read about my experience trying to even write an article about the maternity care crisis a decade ago, how the door was sealed, nobody would believe a rising c-section rate was cause for attention so I decided to write a play and show how in the United States the medical model of care for pregnant mothers is deeply flawed and at times downright abusive. Maybe this would wake people up. Maybe this would be the fuel pregnant mothers could use to make birth choices that put them center stage.
I think it’s working.
Not just by showing the abuse, which I felt I had to, but also by showing the possibility women have when they are pregnant to touch their true nature and honor their wisdom. If you’ve seen the end of BIRTH – Jillian’s home birth scene – you get the feeling that this feminine knowing is not such a bad thing to embrace during pregnancy.
And that’s what I feel is shifting. More and more pregnant moms are ready to embrace the feminine….to literally wake up and be more conscious about giving birth.
While a 20 percent rise in home birth is great news, my goal in writing BIRTH has never been to tell women home birth is best. My goal has always been to wake pregnant mothers up, clue them in to how powerful they are, and then let them make the adjustments in their birth choices to have an empowered experience.
I don’t think it’s surprising more and more are choosing home birth as they’re waking up. This only points out the desperate need for better childbirth options for pregnant mothers. And this can only come when the medical establishment wakes up too.
The skepticism around models of birth that work for pregnant mothers must end.
Mothers are finally starting to speak up and make birth choices that work for them. Let’s be BOLD and work hard to wake up the medical establishment too so they create birth choices that put pregnant mothers center stage. It’s time.
---
Photo credit: BOLD 2009 Charlotte, North Carolina
2 comments:
Yes, Karen, humanity is emerging from their Rip Van Winkle medicalized slumber and scratching their heads and saying, "just how bad does it have to get before the birth practices start to change.". If the OBs are sensing it and publishing in their own journals that maybe they should ask the question, "are common birth practices justified by the evidence of their effectiveness" as was the case recently and in a November 2008 editorial in the Journal of OB/GYN, then yes, Karen, we have made and continue to make a difference.
Keep the BOLD thoughts coming.
Blessings,
Barbara (BOLD) Harper
Founder & Director of Waterbirth International
Author of Gentle Birth Choices and
the upcoming, Embracing the Miracle.
Yes...I have loved reading several BOLD people in the Medical Establishment who are beginning to publicly question current practices. Shifting consciousness takes time...and it looks to me like the ship (and shift) is rolling in!
I'm thinking already about how to keep consciousness up...I love that our BOLD Montreal team has a strong partnership now with Society of OBs and GYNs of Canada to bring BIRTH to their OBs!
BOLD up!
Thank you for all you do Barbara "BOLD" Harper. You've certainly earned your name (on stage and in the hallways of hospitals!). You're right there in the establishment reminding them that everyone benefits when birth practices meet the needs of mothers.
xoxo
Post a Comment