A rant on Birthing in America Today

The birth of a child is also the Birth of a mother, an event that is the single most important moment of both the child and mother's lives. It is such a powerful moment, one that should be celebrated and looked back on time and time again. Our culture today has overlooked this miraculous event as something wonderful, beautiful, peaceful, and empowering. Birth has become something to fear, avoid, and forget. I rack my brain daily, trying to understand where this originated and how to turn it back. There are so many factors involved in why women chose to give over their power and to succumb to the fear.

It saddens me because I know what they miss out on, and I want to explain that in some way but always find a loss for words, or if I find the words they seem to fall on deaf ears. The majority now see birth as a medical event, those of us who believe in the beauty and power of natural birth are being squashed out. Our options are becoming fewer because we are the minority and no one is fighting hard enough to change that. What is worse is that now a new generation is creating a different problem, a "natural" birth is taking on a whole different meaning and compromises are being made. Even within the midwifery community birth is becoming medicalized, standards are being set, and authority is taking place. Money is talking to people and it is louder than logic.

It saddens me to hear a women speak about her birth and speak of defeat, fear, pain, and loss. It saddens me to hear a women speak about her medicalized birth as being a "good" birth, knowing she just has no idea. To have a good birth, for most, is to have a pain free birth. The trade off for that lack of pain is so highly priced. Women are subjecting themselves to these horribly degrading situations and setting themselves up for defeat. By defeat I mean a loss of something so precious it cannot be explained. To give birth to your baby, to push that baby out, to feel the sensations of what your body is capable of, to unleash that inner strength that all women posses, to truly fulfill your God given purpose. All of this to avoid pain, manageable pain, forgettable pain, temporary pain.

Ignorance is bliss, I think not. This ignorance is sweeping through and causing those of us who are informed to look nuts. The ignorance is leading to imprisonment. Women have given up their rights, given everything over to "more educated" doctors to make decisions for them, to tell them what their own bodies are capable of. Is it a lack of responsibility, a sense of security, or a true belief in ignorance that women are searching for? And doctors are ready and willing to fill that role, to aide in making women feel incompetent, inadequate.

It saddens me so much to see this everyday and be able to do nothing. I can say that I will do better for myself and my family, I will be informed, educated, powerful, and demand that I have the birth I want. This is hard, however, I am the minority and my options are running out. It is important to me to see women reclaim their right to a powerful, beautiful birth. But alas how can you do this when you are but a small voice in a big big world and even those on your side want to make compromises and meet in the middle.

There is no middle ground. Birth IS NOT a medical event. Birth IS a natural, normal process. Birth IS not a business. Birth IS a spiritual event that relies heavily on faith not science. These things cannot be compromised.