My 6 dreams for the future of birth

I recently finished reading an eye-opening book:  “Birth:  The Surprising History of How We Are Born” by Tina Cassidy.  It was amazing to learn about what women have had to endure over the generations and across different cultures as they gave birth.  For example, some women had cesareans unmedicated or had symphisiotomies performed on them where their pelvic cartilage was cut and opened to widen the birth canal.  I just can’t even fathom undergoing such a treacherous procedure.  The history of pain medication has been rocky as well.  From ether and chloroform to twilight sleep, women and their doctors sought out ways to help women avoid pain.  Unfortunately these often brought on negative side-effects such as maternal hemorrhage, in the case of ether and chloroform, or lack of bonding with their child because they were in a semi-conscious state due to the twilight sleep.

However, the one thing I really gained from reading this book was perspective.  I can find many flaws with our current birth atmosphere but many of them pale in comparison to the challenges our ancestral mothers faced.  It made me grateful to be alive in this day and age.  But, it did make me wonder what current trends we have now, will women 100 years from now think are ridiculous or barbaric?  And where do I hope to see the birth atmosphere heading?

Here are my six dreams for the future:

1. I dream of a less litigious society where care providers are free to make decisions for the mother and baby based on medical evidence, not hospital policies that fear lawsuits.
2. I dream of a world where moms have more informed choices.  Where they can choose which, if any, interventions they want and know what the possible consequences are, good or bad.  Where they can choose where they birth without limitations by insurance plans.
3. I dream of less interventions.  I wish mothers could birth their baby in their own way, and in their own time.  I wish mothers could be given their space without enforced timelines nor scare-tactics.
4. I dream of more family-centered cesareans, where the mother can have more than one family member in the operating room to support her and greet her baby.  Where she can have immediate skin-to-skin contact.  Where she can feel a part of her baby’s birth.
5. I dream of a world where birth is not feared.  Where TV shows don’t portray it as a constant chain of emergencies.  Where women and men alike recognize it as a natural biological process, not a medical condition.
6. I dream of a world where birth is put on a pedestal and respected for the miraculous event it is.  Where all women take childbirth classes and prepare for one of the most memorable days of their lives.  Where extra care and thought is put into who is on their birth team and where they will give birth.  
   
   

Pregnancy is such a miraculous time in a woman’s life.  I want women to embrace that time, nurture themselves and their growing baby, and appreciate this moment they have been blessed with.  100 years from now I want moms to look back at our time and say, “Yes!  They’re finally getting it!”

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