We midwives and physicians have a lot to teach each other.
Ina May Gaskin
I dreaded having a boring life when I grew up. And I certainly can't complain about being bored.
If birth matters, midwives matter. In Europe, there are hospitals where the cesarean rate is less than 10%, and you'll find midwives in these hospitals, you'll see a lot less re-admissions with infections and complications, and you'll see a lot less injury to mothers.
It's very rare to see an undisturbed birth in a modern U.S. teaching hospital, but when you see a woman who isn't frightened, who's giving birth without interference, you stand back in awe and realize how little needed you are except in the rare circumstance.
I had to learn not to let anyone push me around, to be brave and to say things I knew might make people mad.
It's good to laugh at times that feel inappropriate.
I know of no country in the world that has passed a law specifically denying a woman's right to choose where she intends to give birth.
The best a health care system can do is to equip itself to meet the needs of each individual woman and birth. Those needs run the gamut from undisturbed home birth to planned cesarean section.
