Monday, March 10, 2008
A Kinder Gentler Laborpayne
All the best parts of this blog this weekend were in the comments so I hope you are reading those. After a night of tossing and turning over this, I had to ask myself, who is my audience? I came to the conclusion that my targeted audience are people who feel about birth the way I do. This blog probably is NOT geared toward making converts. That's why its called HOMEBIRTH diaries, why I'm writing a book about HOMEBIRTH, and why I want to be a doula only for HOMEBIRTHS. (I don't want to be on a hospital maternity unit, I don't want to see, hear, smell, or feel that kind of birth again) It's why I didn't strike up a conversation with that young mom at church. I'm too far gone to deal with first-timers. I can't help but scare the shit out of them. That's also why I focus a lot of my efforts at professionals, even though I believe true change will come with consumer uprising. Even so, Anonymous two is right, I need to dial back the hostilities, and put more compassion into my passion. I hope birthing women find this blog helpful, I really do. But in the end, I'm writing for the AMEN corner, not the unconverted masses.
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3 comments:
Amen to homebirth! I am a first timer that has chosen to birth at home. As I was preparing to become pregnant, I looked into all the different "options" available for birthing and realized I couldn't follow convention. I needed to do it in a way that would help me to feel safe and comfortable and home was the only option left.
At first I felt I had to explain my decision to family and friends and then I realized they would probably never understand anyway as most of them just assume there is only one way to give birth: in a hospital with all the accoutrement. But I hope that in watching me progress through my pregnancy, labor and delivery as simply as possible that they might learn how different and wonderful it can be to birth at home.
Dear Miss Payne-
Maybe first timers need the shit scared out of them. Write it and pray that the first timers find it and read it. Women need to hear the truth- or at least differnt perspectives on the truth. I was a first timer who planned a natural birth with a mid-wife and doula in a hospital setting. When all was said and done I ended up with a c-section and am now fighting for the right to try VBAC next time around. In Arkansas(where I live) the state is almost completely VBAC banned and we need help. It is also against the law for birth professionals to attend an HBAC mom so your choice is either go to the hospital and get cut up or stay home and wing it by yourself- there are some midwives willing to risk it all by helping HBAC moms. Discussing these issues is very important so keep up the work, tell the truth and dont worry about your audience. That is th egood thing about the internet- you never know who you are going to reach or help.
I feel very badly for the choices you have to make. The women of my community have difficulty getting VBACs as well. This ban on VBACs is absolute madness. I never would have guessed we'd be here.
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