Labor Pains

I have the privilege of attending many births here in central Iowa as a doula. When I tell people what a doula is and why someone would possibly want a doula (those considering an unmedicated childbirth), they are shocked. Most commonly I hear, "Why would anyone NOT want to have drugs during labor/birth?!?!" or "I could never give birth without pain drugs". 

I love that women have choices in the United States for managing their labor and birth experience, but I don't think women have the entire picture. Most often, women put all their trust in their OB and do whatever their labor nurses tell them to do. I've heard both OBs and nurses quickly cover the risks of pain drugs, but spend lots of time telling mom what a relief from the pain they will be getting. 95% of hospital births in the US have some kind of intervention used. A full-time nurse I talked to recently was asked by a father as to how many unmedicated births she's attending. In six years as a labor and delivery nurse, this had been her 4th unmedicated birth she attended.* 

We have created a major business around birth in our country, and it revolves around the idea of pain. Dr. Wes (my hubby) won't let me watch births on sitcoms because I get so upset with how unrealistic it is. (I don't let him watch pharmaceutical commercials either.) Women don't share birth stories that are calm and peaceful. Women share horror stories about what went wrong with their labor/birth and it creates an fear-driven atmosphere about birth. While there is pain with birth, there are so many other beautiful moments and hormones that let women trust their bodies to birth naturally. 

What's the price we pay for pain medications in labor? Does it make our babies and mothers healthier or happier? Worldwide, we rank 49th for infant and mother survival rates. That means 48 other countries have women and babies surviving birth more than we do. (Amnesty International) We obviously have something flawed in our system. 

The solution? Know your choices. Know that it IS possible to have an amazing birth without pain medications. Listen to women who have had unmedicated births. Their stories aren't the ones you will be seeing on TV. Learn all you can about medicated vs unmedicated births, and then make your choice. 

Ok, enough from my soap box. I could spend days talking birth.  Please ask me questions or leave me comments about your thoughts. I'd love to hear from you!

*Please note: I definitely feel that OBs, labor nurses, hospitals, and medications have their place and can be very beneficial. My general opinion is that a medicated management of labor & birth is not the healthiest option for the majority of women in our country. 

--Katie