I have this conversation a lot. It starts off innocently enough, chatting about pregnancy and birth with a friend, finding out someone is expecting… someone asks about my experience. But once I start? I can’t stop! It’s like I’m compelled to talk about everything I’ve learned since getting pregnant, all of the research I’ve done, all of the experience I’ve had… sometimes I want to clear up the misinformation out there, and sometimes I just want to talk about it all.
Although things are starting to swing back in the other direction, for the last few generations women have opted to have their babies in a hospital environment, with doctors and nurses attending. We’ve been taught that the hospital is the healthiest, safest place to bring new life into this world, and being of the mind that Doctors really know what they’re talking about, we listen. I mean, they’re the ones who fix us when we’re broken, right?
Then there’s the other argument, the one that is immediately declared “hippie dippie” and everyone assumes anyone who makes it has armpits flush with hair and Birkenstocks are tucked safely in their closet. The argument natural home births with a midwife are the best, safest way to have a baby.
I’m definitely not “crunchy” or “granola” as some people like to refer to natural parenting… I eat at McDonalds (for shame!) and I shop at Walmart on the reg. (Not in the pajamas at noon kind of way though!) I am, however, a fairly intelligent person. I like to think that when I form an argument, or make a decision, it’s based on some kind of research or educated opinion. I don’t let popular opinion sway my judgements, because that’s just not how I roll. So, when the topic of pregnancy care comes up, sometimes people are surprised to learn that I will advocate for midwifery practice until the cows come home.
I’ve had exactly two pregnancies. The first time, I was 23 years old, not around family and yes, I’ll admit, scared shitless. I knew enough about pregnancy and birth to know that the option of having a midwife was out there, and that thankfully living in Ontario, Canada, I was able to take that option if I wanted to.