Giving birth is natural and womanly, yet so many of us dread it. We fear the pain, a possible c-section, a mishap, complications…. Giving birth in the US is all but natural, with a national c-section rate of 32.9%, the highest in the world. While such surgery can be life-saving and is warranted in many cases, many women hope for a more natural birth experience.
In my exploration of birth fear and natural options, I spoke with two wise women. Donna Zubrod is foundress of Seven Generations Wellness, a certified hypno doula and Mayan massage service. Kathy Higgins is the Director of the Midwifery Division at the UNC School of Medicine.
I met Donna and Kathy at a training session that taught us how to teach women a natural option for pregnancy prevention or natural conception.
What they shared with me should be common knowledge for all women, pregnant or not.
How the preparation for natural birth helps you—mentally and physically
As a certified doula and massage therapist, you could say Donna specializes in helping women get comfortable within their own bodies. In addition to the extensive body work she does to help women overcome pain, endometriosis and even infertility, she attends about one birth per month.
If giving birth was a sport, think of a doula as the coach directing you towards your most positive outcome. Numerous clinical studies have found that a doula’s presence at birth:
- tends to result in shorter labors with fewer complications
- reduces negative feelings about one’s childbirth experience
- reduces the need for the labor-inducing drug pitocin, forceps or vacuum extraction and Cesareans (read: lower cost of birth)
- reduces the mother’s requests for pain medication and/or epidurals[i]
“Every woman should have the kind of birth she wants,” said Donna. Even epidurals can be joyful, not dreadful, if it’s what the woman wants.
Her doula services provide a continuum of support throughout pregnancy – including some much-needed (and covered) prenatal massage – with the goal of helping the woman find comfort level, her voice, in the whole child-bearing process.
To do that, she brings to the table a plethora of pregnancy, labor, delivery and post-partum resources that prompt meaningful discussions between the mother and her Ob/Gyn. Discussions that might not have otherwise happened. We don’t know what we don’t know, right?
Meeting women at all stages of gestation, Donna’s focus is always on developing the kind of trusting relationship you would have with an older female relative so that when the time comes, most of her clients end up leaning on her for moral support when they feel overwhelmed by their birth.
The key question expectant mother should ask themselves– how trusting am I? As in, do I tend to be very fearful of any control being taken away from me, or do I accept it with nonchalance?
This sort of introspection applies to expectant fathers as well. Research also shows that men and women who enlist the help of doula do better with adapting to the new family dynamics that every pregnancy and birth brings.
In a world where everything including a child’s birth often feels rushed, parents who slow down enough to make time for a doula often end up feeling more secure, cared for, confident and happier in their new roles.
The emotional thought processes of becoming a parent are just as important as the physical care you take in being healthy while pregnant.
A midwife is a medical partner who supports natural birth
“Birth is a normal physiological event,” stressed Kathy Higgins, CNM, MSN, certified Nurse-Midwife.
Like Donna, Kathy believes in a woman’s natural ability to give birth.
About 85% of pregnancies are considered normal – totally low-risk and 100% safe for a midwife to oversee, and yet, according to 2012 CDC data, only 8% of births are attended by midwives.
How unfortunate considering midwives can definitely improve the experience. They have an episiotomy rate of 3.6% vs. the national average of 25%. C-section rates are also drastically lower – 9.9% vs 32%[ii].
Midwives are like doctors in that they can provide primary care[iii] beyond our reproductive needs. (Good to know if you have a minor health questions and don’t want to wait in line.) They are also partnered with MDs, while having the same privileges, and can readily refer to an MD should a patient require care beyond their scope of practice.
The difference, Kathy explained, is that “The MD is looking for, and is ready for a C-section, whereas the midwife’s job is to support the mom, let her move around, hydrate, using nitrous oxide as needed.” Basically an all-around less invasive, more natural event.
Check out this eye-opening infographic that might quash some of the misconceptions about midwifery.
My hope is for women to stop feeling helpless when it comes to their child-birthing, just like they sometimes feel helpless when it comes to their fertility.
“Women should have a choice about their health care. This is their event. They should be empowered,” says Kathy.
If you are prepping for birth, I wish you peace and satisfaction in all your health care decisions.
Additional resources for a more natural birth:
- Why use a midwife video by the American College of Nurse-Midwives
- Everything you ever wanted to know about doulas
- Super simple, fun exercises to encourage an easy birth by encouraging optimal fetal positioning
- The Bradley method: a popular method of natural childbirth that helps get the fathers involved
- A video about hypnobirthing
- Our documentary about the risks of contraceptives and the effectiveness and benefits of natural methods of family planning.
References
[i] http://www.dona.org/mothers/why_use_a_doula.php
[ii] http://www.midwife.org/acnm/files/cclibraryfiles/filename/000000002128/midwifery%20evidence-based%20practice%20issue%20brief%20finalmay%202012.pdf
[iii] http://www.midwife.org/acnm/files/cclibraryfiles/filename/000000002128/midwifery%20evidence-based%20practice%20issue%20brief%20finalmay%202012.pdf
[iv] http://transform.childbirthconnection.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Cost-of-Having-a-Baby1.pdf
