Ya, I know it’s kind of a strange time for me to be so interested in researching childbirth options; But, it has been weighing heavily on my mind for about a week now. I have a hard time occupying my mind with anything else at the moment. TMI to follow….
Last week I awoke from an all-night dream that I had started my period. I immediately remembered something I had heard ladies talk about before, that they often dream of their period before it starts or pregnancy before they find out they’re pregnant. I pushed it aside a bit and said, “we’ll just see, i guess.” As it turns out, I started my period two days later. I guess it’s not a surprise to me as I just finished night weaning my youngest. Since then, my mind has been focused on childbirth, knowing that another baby could be in the future for us at anytime now, and knowing that I had begun chaniging my mind about childbirth in our last pregnancy. I felt an overwhelming sense that we (as a patient/doctor relationship and as a society) are treating pregnancy as a medical illness rather than a natural occurance created and controlled by our sovereign God. I spent much of that pregnancy visiting the doctor for needless “routine visits” and submitting to our family doctor’s “expertise” over our personal wishes. Overall it left me frustrated, anxious, and impatient. All-in-all I felt as if God was leading me to trust in him more through the entire process, and rely on myself and the medical establishment less.
A frustrating reality is found in looking at the options a woman in the United States has for an intimate birth. In Nebraska, Certified Nurse Midwives (CNMs) are prohibited from attending home births. There is absolutely no regulation for Entry Level Midwives (ELMs), and at this point it is not clear what would happen if the state decided to try and prosecute them for attending a home birth. Although it seems reasonable that this would not hold up if they are not presenting themselves as a CNM, it is not fullproof, and many ELMs are unwilling to attend, or are working “underground”. A families choice for home birth in Nebraska is limited to the difficult task of trying to find an ELM that will attend or having an unassisted childbirth. There is a group currently working to change the laws in Nebraska for Midwifery, Nebraska Friends of Midwives. By the way, it is a misdemeanor in Nebraska for a father to catch his own baby, even though my husband caught our first son in the hospital. That one just cracks me up.
Online I have found quite a bit to ponder. My husband, the skeptic that he is, will not discuss it until he can make an informed decision about the safety of each choice, namely homebirth. His reasonable fear is the death of either I or the baby.
Here are a few links to information and support for Natural and Unassisted Childbirth that I found helpful: (note many of these are not Christian and in fact “spiritualistic”, but still very helpful if this is not a stumbling block for you)
The Skinny on January (Unassisted Pregnancy UP & UC personal blog)
Unassisted Pregnancy & Childbirth Australia
I am also interested in hypnobirthing, but will be doing more research. I would really like to find a Christian hypnobirthing resource or have even had the thought of making my own. Especially the hypnobirthing affirmations, I would include more affirmations about trusting in the Lord through birth.
