a Right to Birth

I have had three births - the first was on a table, epidural, people evertwhere!
The second and third were waterbirths in a Birth Centre with one midwife and my husband.....hhmmm, i know which two i preferred.

The Australian Government is trying very hard to force midwives back into the hospital system, where there is more intervention via induction, c-section and poking and prodding.
When are people going to realise that birthing is a natural process that women were created to do? !!!
I get so annoyed when i hear women tell me that they have an obstetrician overseeing their pregnancy, when they are LOW risk, healthy women. Do you go to the doctor every time you get a cold just because it could turn into pneumonia? NO! So why do you need to see a specialist when you are experiencing a normal pregnancy?
They go because they believe the hype...that they could die, that their baby could die, that there could be complications, that they may need induction, that their baby may be too large to birth normally...the list goes on and on.
But for all they know, they could birth just fine, or they could get hit by a bus, or they could birth in a taxi on the way to hospital and their doctor!
I believe women need to be monitored during pregnancy, but that they should be treated to the expertise of a midwife that is passionate for natural birthing.
Labour does not have to be excruiciating! It can be joyful, intense, and wonderful!
It doesnt have to be heaviyl monitored with drips and heart rate monitors and epidurals stopping you from actively moving around. The wonderful thing about active childbirth is that you move around so your baby can make its way in to the birth canal. You rock and sway and hum and chant and breathe that little being into this world. It is primal. It is instinctual. It is how God intended us to birth.
It does not need to be agonsising and scary and an ordeal.

I challenge women around the world to spread to good news about birthing, in order to encourage new mothers to release the fear they have and to embrace this moment in their lives.
Being a woman and being able to birth is a privilege, and so to have the government legislate how they can birth is a travesty!
If a woman wants total care, then let her. If a woman wants to birth in her lounge room, then let her! If a woman wants something in between then let her!
This is about removing the fears and the barriers facing pregnant women. Allowing them to make safe decisions for their own lives, and not being controlled by law.

We all know that we can die on our roads...but does the government legislate that we cannot drive on them? No. They say we can stick to a speed limit, and not drink and drive.
So too, they should apply the same rules to childbirth.....we can have midwives care for us at home provided it is a normal low risk pregnancy and that the home environment is sound for birthing!

Something to think about....