Why earthmother.org advocates natural childbirth
There are so many reasons why natural childbirth is the best for women who have a healthy, non-risk pregnancy. Below are five reasons to consider:
- It’s the healthiest choice for baby.
Babies born during unmedicated births are more alert, breastfeed more successfully and have lower incidence of asthma and other illnesses than those born by cesarean. Likewise, many researchers are now questioning the connection between the use of medications and unnecessary cesarean sections with the steep rise in autism diagnosis among young children. - It’s the healthiest choice for mom.
Moms who give birth vaginally without medication or episiotomy heal quicker and resume normal activities sooner and as a result also experience much less difficulty breastfeeding. Women who have undergone cesarean sections may be predisposed to future pregnancy risks. - It’s the ultimate act of feminist empowerment.
It keeps the control where it belongs: in the woman giving birth. Natural childbirth encourages women to embrace their strengths and to approach birth as a beautiful positive feminine act. The current trends of coercing women into medications complicate the process of birth, put women in a state of vulnerability and fear, and ultimately place the health of women and their babies at risk. Natural birth encourages women to take back their reproductive rights in the labor and delivery room. - It challenges the miserable downward spiral of birthing meds.
Survey a handful of women who were given Cervidil, Pitocin, Demerol, Epidurals or other common birth medication, and ask them if these methods actually worked to progress labor or assuage pain. Despite popular myth, birth medications oftentimes do not work and actually cause more harm to mom and baby. Many lead to further measures ending in an unplanned cesarean section. The phenomenon is so common that it is sometimes referred to as “the downward spiral of birth meds.” - It calls for more midwives (and less doctors) to attend more births.
The statistics consistently ring loud and clear. With drastically fewer complications, midwife-attended births garner much healthier outcomes for mothers and babies than doctor-attended births. Interestingly, midwives are able to achieve more consistently positive results with little use of medications or interventions and less stress to mothers and babies. Midwives tend to stay with the laboring woman throughout the birthing process whereas doctors typically participate only in the delivery and do not actually give support to the laboring mother. Not surprisingly, the growing trend of doctor-attended births to routinely use medications, induction and various interventions —rather than emotionally supporting the laboring woman—shows increasing incidence of complications; 30% of which now end in unplanned c-sections.