I watched a great movie last night that I really think all women, especially those that might potentially give birth at some time in their life, should see.
The Business of Being Born is a documentary about the current state of giving birth in America. It tackles the tough questions like Why is our C-Section rate 1 in 3 births? Why do we have the second worst newborn death rate in the developed world? How has women's thinking about giving birth been shaped by hospitals and doctors? What are the real facts about midwife assisted births?
The truth is that most women, myself included, do not have all the information when it comes to what a normal birth can and should be. We make our decisions about birth based largely on what the medical profession has put out there for us, and frankly the medical profession may not have the best motives. (Medical care is at the bottom line a business, with major business and legal concerns driving many of their decisions.) For example, I did not know that one of the major reasons midwifery is so limited today is because of an organized physician smear campaign (through the media) against midwifery in the 1920's. Many other countries use midwifery abundantly (70% of births in Europe and Japan are midwife assisted), but in America it has a bad wrap.
I happen to be a big believer in natural childbirth, but the last thing I want to do is imply that giving birth via C-Section or with interventions and anesthesia is inferior. We are all mothers, regardless. What I do want to do though, is encourage women to ask why are things done the way they are done? Is it really the best idea to use all the interventions that hospitals have at their fingertips? This movie shows how often these interventions start to snowball leading to more and more interventions and eventually, a C-Section, when really the best course may have been to let the mother progress at her own rate. I think there is a fear- that giving birth in a hospital with an Obgyn is the only truly safe method and anything else is terribly dangerous. I understand that fear. I have had it myself! But when I actually look at the facts about midwifery, the infant and mother death rates in our country verses countries that rely abundantly on midwifery, and how midwifery really functions (verses my own made up version of how it must occur) then I see that it seems like a highly viable option. I think letting go of our biases about birth and taking time to analyse the facts for ourselves is so important.
That is why I applaud this movie for tackling a subject which all women should be highly interested in exploring. We want the best car seats and strollers for our precious children. Why not the best possible birth experience also? And again, I am not implying that the best birth experience will always be natural. But, it might not involve all the medical technology that we have been indoctrinated to believe is necessary.
So, check it out. The Business of Being Born is available on Netflix.
4 comments:
I am in total agreement. My last two births nearly became c-sections. The reason?? The intervention before hand.
There are completely good reasons to have c-sections, but there can be no denying the overuse of them in the U.S. and with our high death rate of newborns, it is obviously not helping.
I happen to agree with you on this as we've discussed in the past. I've also heard good things about that video although I haven't taken the time to see it myself.
I totally agree also. I think too many decisions are made to avoid a lawsuit - but that is not just in the medical profession either.
Being in the medical profession, I think I can make a fairly informed decision when I say that there are definitely too many decisions being made based on a financial or legal stand point as opposed to what is truly best for the patient. I hate that it happens and I try not to let that influence my decision making, but, unfortunately, I know that too often, it does.
That being said, I love the idea of a 'natural' birth (and had originally planned that for the birth of our daughter) and am so impressed by the people who have actually gone through the experience. Of course, as I am learning, my plan and what actually happens do not always coincide. Daniel and I have been praying that we make a decision about Kenna's birth based on what we feel God is saying to us as opposed to what is easy for the doctor. Even though I may have had something much different in mind originally, I also know that in the end, we will do whatever we need to do to have our daughter arrive safely.
Sorry I go sooo wordy! Thanks for a thought provoking post.
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