Birth Obsession

As I admire my shiny cassette and newly wheeled hybrid bicycle, I think about mechanics. Much like the human body, when the parts of a bike are placed correctly, they function properly. However, when the system is not in place, conflict will arise.

As a premed student, I was keen on following this western path into medical school and am now faced with an ultimatum. What do I really believe in... in regards to health, healing, and mechanics? And which path should I embark on?

I'm a new doula, trained to support women emotionally and physically during pregnancy and during their labor. It's the most beautiful process I have been able to take part in, even as a bystander (birth coach aside!). But now that I get to take part with many women and families as an active assistant, I have become outwardly obsessive over this outrageously breathtaking process. 

And as a stepping stone into my future as a health care provider, I have been playing around with the idea of my future (aren't we all?). Moreover, it brings me back to the bicycle reference. As we have evolved to more complex creatures, we have stood upright and our pelvises have shifted and changed in size as well - making it more difficult for the babies head to make it through the birthing canal without assistance. 

Scientific births?

How can I actively choose to go into this world, swallowed up in a technological & medical intervention craze, if you look at scientific literature and find over and over again that many interventions increase risk to mother and child instead of decreasing it? As I'm in limbo, anticipating a trip full of exploration to the Middle East/Mediterranean while postponing my next steps in Philadelphia, I have found time to read and learn more about this process. Furthermore, the stories from mamas who initially had horrifying birth experiences at hospitals are stunning and far too many while they are reprimanded by midwives and doulas who encourage them to speak up for their rights.

So I've discovered: 1) birth has become a "scary and painful" process - as my 7-year old cousin articulated while I was questioning my aunt about her birth experience. I'm no birth expert and have not pushed a baby out of my vagina, so I can't speak to this. But I can use the knowledge and resources I do have to then help empower women to understand their rights and power around birth (and thus decrease interventions). 

2) Women are not using their bodies effectively while in labor because of, to name a few, constant fetal monitoring, epidurals that lock them to the hospital bed, or general fear of moving around. Further, your pelvic floor is also just down right not in an optimal position to give birth when you are laying. Gravity, ay?

There is a wealth of information floating around, so I advocate for all those mama's to be knowledgable on both ends.

And back to me... gosh, I go on tangents...

I am supportive and happy for the many friends and co-workers I have watched step into the rigor of medical school, and I know there are some incredibly progressive soon-to-be doctors out there (and some already practicing). However, I am just not so sure that I want to be part of a medical community that make women feel helpless and fearful during birth (and this is one example of the western medical paradigm). A baffling study, with a possible (cross your fingers) indication for a reform, was released by The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecology in March 2014. It stated that not only 1/3 of women are delivering their babies via a cesarean (this is a 6 fold increase to the 1970's) but there is a REAL concern that cesareans are overused. Go figure. Cesareans can save lives, of course of course! There are many situations when they can save the baby and/or the mom; however, this number is outrageous. I am reluctant to want to go into a field where medical professionals know exactly what they are doing wrong and continue to do it wrong.

So I am not going to make any decisions until I feel confident that the philosophy is singing in tune with my rhythm of life...

...or that I can be a successful anomaly (but I guess you don't know until you try).