I am Not the Exception

 I am *not* the exception

I am the norm. My birth is normal~~unhindered~~standard~~regular~~easy~~simple.

It amazes me how when people hear about my birth experiences, they are amazed that a birth can be like that. They say things about how I must not have had contractions NEARLY like they did. They say things about how their birth was so painful that even the doctors were astonished by it. They say that I am so brave (or maybe so stupid) to risk what I did.

Yes- it wasn't in a hospital. No doctor was there telling me to push when I didn't feel like it. No pelvic exams to check my dilation and progress. No emergency, no drugs, no nurses telling me to count to 10 and then blow. No c-section, no forceps, no episiotomy, no stitches. Just my husband and I along with a midwife who sat on the bed and watched. Its been 16 years since my first homebirth. It's been 16 years since I reached into the water, between my legs, and pulled the baby out and to my chest. I've loved telling my story and talking to women who are unlearned in this area. Educating a woman about her body and how it functions is a true passion of mine. Isn't it simply sad that women have truly no clue on how their body works? The brainwashing needs to stop. After learning about the history of obstetrics, it infuriates me to no end how these professionals feel the need to manage something unmanageable. Celebrity Asia Carrera (who is a former porn star, true) had a UC (unasisted childbirth...no doctor, no midwife, NO ONE but her and her daughter). Her story is simply beautiful and perhaps she can enlighten the rest of the world in discovering how their own bodies can function. Ricki Lake had an amazing homebirth and a beautifully done documentary called "The Business of Being Born" where she shows how the American health case system approached childbirth compared to other companies. In the US, it's big business! These are both woman who reached deep within themselves to deliver their baby into an environment that wasn't hostile and full of noise and lights. Asia Cerrara birthed her baby on the floor in front of her fireplace! How truly romantic and peaceful! Ricki had an perfect and amazing waterbirth. 

Those of us who birth this way know that we aren't alone. We know that the homebirth idea is becoming more and more popular as women are seeing themselves as the empowered creatures that God created us to be. Yet to many, we are some strange breed of creatures. I hope that in the future, women will realize that deep within them lies a strength to birth in a new found way. That they will understand that the 'emergencies' they face in the hospital setting are often times CREATED by the hospital staff through the various interventions. Pitocin to speed things up, often cause such INTENSE contractions that epidurals become almost mandatory. Pitocin contractions don't cause the cervix to relax enough during contractions, which makes c-sections almost inevitable. Epidurals can often slow down labor and progress as well. When the female body is left to do what it knows to do, it normally functions in a way that delivers a beautiful baby with little effort and must ease. 

 

I am *not* the exception. 

 ~Dr Kelly~

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