Natural Child Birth: Fanning the Flames

I've never before participated in the book clubs offered by the SV Moms group, but when they announced August's book would be Birth Day by Mark Sloan I decided to throw my hat into the ring. This purpose isn't to review the book per se, but instead to write about your thoughts on the book, kind of like how you'd discuss the book in an actual book club.

I mentioned last week how the book Birth Day was the jumping off point for my decision to try for a natural child birth this third time around. When I first found out I was pregnant in January, I assumed that my labor would end up being about the same as my first two. That is, highly managed with lots of interventions. By the time I finished the first chapter, I was already thinking, 'Why not let my body do what it's been trained to do for thousands of years?'

As a biologist by education, I am constantly amazed by what the human body is capable of. On a cellular level, thinking about how microscopic ions inside of cell organelles are keeping us alive blows my mind. On a bigger scale, watching my kids grow over the past three and a half years has given me a new appreciation for the strength and power our bodies possess. It's also given me confidence that my own body can handle the process of birthing this baby largely on it's own.

Married to an anesthesiologist, many people have questioned whether he'll be able to separate his life and job when I'm in labor. He thumbed through the book as well, especially the chapter on the epidural monoculture. There were some ruffled feathers, I'll admit, but he's a rational person. We had several lengthy discussions about his opinions on other forms of pain relief and what non-epidural pain management methods he would support. Because he's been so agreeable, I've followed up with other books on natural child birth. With his help, I'm optimistic that an intervention-free child birth is something we can accomplish.

I just wish that the other doctors I've been dealing with during this pregnancy were as supportive. So far, I've only gotten positive responses from one of three obstetricians in the practice where I'm a patient. The other two have been negative and downright condescending. In fact, just this morning one of the obstetricians asked, 'What does your anesthesiologist husband think about that?' when I spoke with him about my intentions. I'm half tempted to take a few copies of this book along with me to the office the next time I go and hand them out to the less-than-supportive members of the staff.

Either that or have this baby at home!

To read what others had to say about Birth Day, visit the Philly Moms Blog tomorrow for a round-up!