...And then I'll try to stop for a while.
I got to attend a birth yesterday! It was my first time being at a birth since I was at my friend's 5 years ago. I shadowed my doula trainer and it was an amazing experience. It was actually a very difficult birth and it surely would have been a cesarean section had it been attended by an OB instead of a really good Certified Nurse Midwife.
I've learned in the past year the not all CNMs act as midwives; some act as "medwives". This midwife was very skilled medically and also acted under the midwifery model of care.
Here's just a few of the details that show the different birthing philosophy:
The midwife was there in the room when I got there at 3 pm. She hung out in the room with occasional breaks and was still there when I left at 3 AM. I don't know of any OB who is with a laboring patient and solely taking care of her for over 12 hours.
The midwife was a fit and petite middle aged woman wearing sweats and a tank top, so she was able to be in all sorts of positions that an OB (especially a male OB) would never be in. For instance: lying on a blanket on the floor so she could watch how effective pushing was while the laboring woman tried a birthing stool, and, lying on the bed with the birthing woman since the room had a regular queen size bed, not a hospital bed.
It makes me think of the original meaning of the word midwife, which is "with women".
The 9 lb 10 oz baby was the woman's first birth, and she delivered without pain medication. I've seen and read enough to know she would have mostly likely been sectioned by a typical OB by 6 pm for "failure to progress" or by 11 pm for CPD (baby's head being too big).
Now I'm off to bed to get a good night's rest. And I'll give the childbirth issues a rest for a while. I'm going to post about cupcakes next.
ky and kade turn 15!
4 years ago
7 comments:
big baby!!! way to get experience shadowing a tricky birth.
wow. inspiring. sarah, your comments about c-sections have not offended me at all, they've been fascinating. i've been told so many times that i'm not a candidate for vaginal birth, that the risks are too high, and i sort of can't help but believe it (it's hard not to believe what several doctors tell you, you know, I think I'm just naturally inclined to trust them) -- but reading what you've written is really helping me think differently. i don't know that i'll ever try for a VBAC (we'll see) but I love your perspective. thank you!
YAY for more childbirth stuff. I'm eating this up. WOW! You went to a birth. That is amazing. So, can you see yourself being a solo doula? I have this thought that I might really hate being a doula once I'm by myself. I loved my birth experience and want to do that over and over, but I'm concerned I won't love my client enough to really get in there. I'm sure that's crazy since I would definitely attend any of my friends births and I'm sure my client will be my friend by the time she's pushing. But I have this fear that I'll totally check out when it gets hard and I get tired. Thoughts? How were you feeling by the end?
And YAY that she didn't have a c-section!!!
that's cool. i think you'll be so good at being a doula. all the stuff youre learning is really interesting; thanks for sharing.
and mad props to the mom for giving difficult birth without any medication! wow! i hope to be totally drugged up when it's my turn. hahaha.
I love the image of that midwife in her tank top and sweats lying on the floor! Awesome!!
Hey Sarah. Interesting posts lately. You know I've had one Ob birth and two midwife births...and the midwives are definitely the better of the two choices. They work with you and stay with you, unlike ob's. It sounds like you are really learning alot. I sure hope that next time you will get to experience the birth you want!
Hi Sarah,
My email is abbietastic@gmail.com
I'm so excited to chat with you.
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