Hey let's talk about birth!
Any experiences to share?
For myself, I have a pretty strong aversion to hospitals and prescribed drugs. I take issue with a lot of modern treatments that women giving birth in hospitals receive in the US. I've watched videos of natural births and known several women who have delivered in their homes, and I believe it is such a miracle. It's an overlooked one-of-a-kind transformative experience. When the whole process is voluntarily handed over to medical professionals who take care of sick people, I think it robs women of a powerful and impactful experience. Going through hard things is worth it, and the body has all the equipment it needs. (I know that's strong language, and I'm not sure I would represent this point to a mother who chose hospital care. It's very possible the same is found inside the hospital as much as it is outside. I don't know what either experience is like, so perhaps someone could enlighten me.)
I wonder if giving birth naturally is still a cultural, unquestioned norm elsewhere in the world, and what it's cultural place may be. Do families come together to attend births? Do midwives practice widely, less or more than doctors?
I recently heard a story about a woman giving birth in her car at the parking lot of her birthing center, baby rushing out before she had time to get out of the car and inside the facility. She was a little in shock about how quickly it went, reporting only 20 minutes in labor! There's a principle in there, I think. Birth will never be what you expect!