Talk Birth

The induction rate in our country has gone way up. It has nearly doubled since 1990 (when only 1 in 10 women were getting their labors induced). In 2006, that rate went up to 1 in 5 labors being induced! Call me a skeptic, but it seems highly unlikely that in 16 years time, a woman suddenly became incapable of going into labor on her own, or of having a baby without any type of labor augmentation. In a world of instant gratification, fast food, “time is money”, and all of our modern conveniences, we are seeing this same “McDonaldization” when it comes to birth. Medical practitioners are putting stricter time limits and numbers on everything related to pregnancy and birth (such as due dates, length of labor, etc.), usually out of convenience for themselves, fear of being sued, or hospital/medical practice “protocol”. There are also many mothers who are eager to go in for an induction because they are so uncomfortable at the end of their pregnancy, or they want to plan around a specific date. Unfortunately, this is putting women and babies at great risk for short and long-term complications–perhaps just being uncomfortable for an extra week or two until the baby is ready to come on its own could prevent many of these issues. continue reading »

Unlike what you see in the movies, only a very small percentage of women have their water break spontaneously as the first sign of labor.  Most often, your water will break naturally while in labor, possibly during a strong contraction.  It may happen early on, it may happen towards the end, and in rare cases, the baby may actually be born in the bag of water.  Having your water broken artificially by an OB or midwife, also known as an amniotomy, is one of the most common medical interventions performed today.  A long, thin instrument with a hook on the end is inserted into the vagina, and through the cervix, to tear the amniotic membranes open.  The hope of the medical provider is to speed up your labor through this procedure.  But is it really working?  Is it really making labor faster?  Is it benefiting anyone?  Studies are saying no. continue reading »

Putting together a written birth plan is an important way to communicate with your care providers about the exact kind of birth you wish for.  If you are planning a hospital birth, you don’t want to be expending your energy while you are in labor fighting with the nurses because what you want might not be what they want.  They have some protocol that they generally follow as a part of their job, so they may want to do certain procedures as a sort of “default”, not always as a “necessity”.  You may or may not agree with some of this, so it is up to you to plan ahead!  Another great thing that comes out of putting a birth plan together—it requires you to do research!  With a higher level of informed consent, you will be more confident in your decisions.  So, where do you begin? continue reading »

When you plan a vacation, you do all of the research on the best hotels, dining, attractions, etc.  When you set out to buy a new car, you want to know the details like gas mileage, safety, and all of the possible options the car may include.  What about when you become pregnant?  No one wants to hurt their bodies or their babies, and we all wish for the safest birth of a healthy newborn. Yet, many women are still subjecting themselves to unnecessary medical procedures that may actually be hurting their bodies, their birth, their babies. continue reading »