Taking Back Your Birth: Albuquerque Birth Options
by Erika Harding, Doula, birth educator and owner of Body, Mind & Spirit
As we celebrate mothers and families this month, I want to remind expectant parents that
“information is power” only when it leads to informed and inspired choices. Here in Albuquerque birthing parents have many terrific opportunities and options not commonly available elsewhere, but few expectant women in Albuquerque are able to take advantage of this wealth because so few are nformed about what is available and what is truly at stake.
Back when my mother was first pregnant, women had no information available to them. She was so desperate for information that she poured over medical school textbooks for hours, trying to extract an understanding of what was happening to her body and what choices she had in the process of pregnancy and birth. This was in the era when twilight sleep (heavy anaesthesia), bottle feeding newfangled formula, and fathers limited to the waiting room were standard protocols. My mother was told that her doctor knew best and that she shouldn’t worry her pretty head about all that medical stuff like labor and the delivery of her baby.
We all know the phrase, “the more things change, the more they stay the same”. In our
modern information age, pregnancy, birth and parenting information is abundant and widely
available. So much so that expectant parents must now be selective and critical in sifting through the overload of books, television and cyber information or they risk drowning in a sea of fear-based, crisis mentality text and imagery. The bulk of this information is highly misleading, and feeds the old dogma that birth is dangerous, best left to the doctors, and women really should trust the “experts” and not get too involved.
I believe that we must fight against that paternalistic attitude in birth, as well as in parenting. When we are encouraged to connect with our innate birthing and mothering knowledge, tune in to our pregnant bodies and babies, and arm ourselves with empowering information and resources, we become the experts and can participate in the births of our babies and their healthy development to the fullest.
In the past forty years there has been progress. Natural childbirth and breastfeeding moved nto the mainstream (although natural birth is increasingly being portrayed as “alternative” in current media). Epidurals have replaced twilight sleep as the most common form of pain medication in labor. Yet, in spite of progress, the majority of women continue to feel traumatized or depersonalized by the experience of birth. Nationwide, the statistics and trends are rather grim. Currently, over one-fourth (28% as of 2003) of US babies are born by cesarean section. Hospitals and doctors are increasingly discouraging those who have experienced a previous c-section from delivering vaginally, and so the numbers of those delivering their babies surgically will only continue to rise unless mothers take action.
So how can Albuquerque expectant parents take back their births, participate in the process, and simultaneously reduce the emotional and physical trauma?
1)Avoid unnecessary cesarean sections: It is no longer uncommon to hear of women with no
medical risk factors requesting or being offered the “opportunity” of an elective cesearean birth. This is a disturbing trend which prioritizes women’s fear of labor pain over the increased risk of death or injury for mother and baby.
How? Speak to women who have experienced a cesarean delivery and an equal number who had normal vaginal births and ask about their experience, both physical and emotional (the Albuquerque Birth Network sponsors periodic birth story gatherings). Come to the Cesarean Awareness workshop at Body, Mind & Spirit (offered every other month). Take birthing classes that offer the opportunity to practice pain coping techniques, not just talk about them. If you have had a previous cesarean birth, check out the International Cesarean Awareness Network website (www.ican-online.org). Here in Albuquerque all three hospitals (but not all obstetricians) support vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC), and you also have the option of delivering with a midwife in attendance in the hospital or at home! Find a provider who you trust, who follows low-intervention protocols, and who will support the birth you seek. Avoiding an epidural and the associated interventions is critical to avoiding another cesarean. In addition, a doula can make a huge impact on a successful VBAC birth.
2) Avoid a doctor unless you NEED one. The choice of a care provider has a huge influence
on the way a birth proceeds. The truth is that midwives and doctors (obstetricians) practice the art and science of prenatal and birthing care very differently. Philosophically, doctors tend to view pregnancy and birth as an opportunity for something to go wrong, and thus are guided by the intent to monitor and manage the process as closely as possible so as to intervene quickly. Midwives are specialists in birth exclusively, and thus are able to avoid the tendency to apply medical pathology to a normal physiological process. In New Mexico, 32% of babies are born into the hands of midwives (in hospitals and in homes and birth centers). In Albuquerque, midwives are available at all three birthing hospitals, for home deliveries, and at The Birth Center.
3) Dare to prepare for natural birth! Be bold, dream big. Come up with a birth “fantasy” -
what would your perfect birth look like? Write it down. Dream about it, strive for it. So many people are afraid to say they want a natural birth for fear they will be disappointed. But if you don’t know what you want, there is no way to get close to it. Clear communication is key: write down the basics of your perfect birth and what you want or don’t want done to your new baby and avoid the multi-page birth plan “menus” which lead to the feeling you can “order up” your ideal birth. Discuss your birth fantasy with your provider early in your pregnancy to see if you are on the same page. If they express support, have them sign off on it so that others in their practice are more likely to respect your wishes as well. Remember, an unmedicated birth requires preparation, hard work and support. Enlist the help of a doula.
4) Consider a home or birth center birth. For many women, birthing outside of a hospital is
a natural choice. For others, it is a decision they come to as they read inspired birthing books (look for them!) or attend birth preparation classes not based in the fear-crisis model. There is no single right place to birth for all mothers and families. Ultimately, the safest place for a woman to birth is where SHE feels safe. Albuquerque has many qualified licensed midwives practicing home birth, and Medicaid continues to cover birth center births at present.
For more information about Body, Mind & Spirit classes, workshops and doula services, call 232-2772 or go to www.bodymindandspiritabq.com. We also have a fabulous
“online community” discussion page where parents can communicate and create an informed
birthing and parenting community.