Childbirth is a natural process. Through thousands of years women have trusted in their bodies, and given birth with only other women, both young and old, as support. Since throughout their lives, even young girls participated at births, when it later was them having babies, they were not afraid and knew exactly what to expect. The older women, who had experienced many births, both of their own and of others, were sought after for their knowledge and became known as midwives. In the year 1900, midwives delivered 95% of all babies, most of which were homebirths.

Today, things have unfortunately changed. The world of pregnancy and childbirth split into two separate sides, one that has remained close to the natural process, the midwifery model of care, and one that has gone high-tech, low-human interest, the obstetrics model.

Where the majority of women once had the knowledge and supportive care of midwives, with regular conversation and appointments lasting 45 minutes to an hour, now they see a doctor once a month throughout most of pregnancy in an appointment that lasts an average of 4 minutes. A number of these patients will not even deliver with their doctor, but instead with a practitioner they have never met.

As women have moved to obstetricians, the number of medical interventions has increased dramatically. Nearly all women with an obstetrician experience the use of IV fluids in labor, external or internal fetal monitoring, augmented labor (by various means), episiotomy, use of vacuum or forceps to aid in delivery, and medication, either anesthesia or analgesia. Many women will end up having their baby surgically removed from their body, in a major abdominal surgery known as cesarean. The cesarean section rate in the United States has risen from 1% in 1940 to an all-time high of 29.1% in 2005. Of the nearly 800,000 c-sections performed last year, it is said that 500,000 of them were deemed medically unnecessary when later reviewed. Isn’t it ironic that with all this technology and intervention, the United States has slid to 27th place worldwide in infant mortality rates and 20th in maternal behind other countries, such as the Netherlands, where midwives are the norm and obstetricians are used only on an as-needed basis?

So, what can we do to change this?

I believe that we need to get back to the natural process as quickly as possible. When possible, more women should see midwives for care. We need to educate and prepare our moms and dads-to-be so they know what is happening and exactly what to expect. The Bradley Method® classes are a great way to achieve that goal. We need to make sure these moms are supported during labor so they don’t feel scared and alone. This support comes in the form of a prepared husband or coach and a certified doula, or labor support professional. We need to stay away from unnecessary pain medications and interventions during birth, since just one can snowball quickly into an emergency surgery. Finally, we need to back away from the idea that birth is an unreliable process that is destined to fail and be complicated. Instead we need to embrace the natural beauty, power, and wonder that is birth and trust in our bodies once again.