The Business of Being Born Message Board

Baby’s Birth Date: 8/8/81, 3/2/83, 4/19/85, 4/13/86
Birth Story: All of my children were born at home! I started to look at midwifery and homebirths when my doctor almost aborted my daughter as a ‘growth’. My pg tests came back negative the first 3 months for all my pregnancies. The nurse who was helping me get ready for my DNC, said, “Let’s run some blood work, just to make sure.” Some how she knew that I was pregnant. She saved my daughters life. After that I realized, even the best OBGYN’s can make major mistakes and I needed a more competent person to help me with my pregnancy and birth. Researching birth and midwifery was easy and the logical next step was to find a midwife. Sounds easy, but I was in Phoenix, AZ, not Europe where birthing was still very natural and considered a part of a woman’s experience to enjoy, not something to avoid.
Meeting my midwife, Susan, was the best thing I ever did for my pregnancies and medical health. She correctly diagnosed my issues with fertility and carrying to term as my thyroid disease and my body’s inability to absorb minerals. With her prenatal care I was able to get the best care for myself also! I’ve had a very healthy life because of her knowledge of female hormonal balance and her care of women for so many years. Since then medical reports have been published to substantiate her care.
At the time of my first birth, she had delivered well over 1,000 babies at home or in the local hospital. She went on to become a Physician Assistant, but I know the OBGYN doctors in Phoenix respected her and allowed her to work under their medical licenses.
My pregnancies and births were wonderful experiences because I had a brilliant midwife to guide me through the process of how to birth each of my children. One was somewhat uncooperative and was breech, we were able to turn him even though he was ’sunny side up’ and I had to work harder physically then I’ve ever had to work in my life - it was an experience I would not have missed.
No we are not hippies, new age crazies or dare devils - I was just a woman who wanted the best care for me and my baby, and to have the best births possible for them.
Now I am a pregnancy counselor and see all types of births. It saddens me how most of my clients are not able to have the best birth they could experience due to the hospitals policies and the need for the nurses to convince the doctors. It seems to all be run by fear, mothers in fear of birthing, nurses in fear of the doctors and doctors in fear of lawsuits.
Some day it will be common for women to bind together to support a woman who is to birth and to give her the best care possible for her needs. Some day it will be considered barbaric to make a woman take PIT to make her birth ‘on time’ and unheard of to not feel the experience of birth.
Thankfully I did not trust the US medical system and my births were at home and they were wonderful!