An Aspiring Midwife's View on Hospital Births

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The last four years, my growing interests and experiences in nursing lead me to endeavor becoming a midwife and a women’s health nurse practitioner. My past volunteer work in Doula services, has given me an inside view to many different birthing techniques and styles. In addition, to my work experiences in a home care setting, that has shown me a more personal side to healthcare. This is why; I believe many hospital births limit the control women have with decisions, such as, birthing positions, delivery time requirements, recovery times and artificial inductions. Furthermore, hospitals are unable to make the birthing and new baby experience personal like an ‘in-home’ birth. These decisions can make the birthing experience more enjoyable and successful with reducing the amount of complications during birth. Over the years, OBGYN’s have chose the safety procedures and techniques for laboring women during the birthing process. Women are frightened into having a caesarian birth or an induced labor verses a natural vaginal birth. While there are, certain incidences that a caesarian birth is needed, such as, when the baby is in a breeched position, fetal distress, cephalopelvic disproportion (a baby’s head is too large or a mother’s pelvis is too small for delivery) and/or uterine ruptures. All of these reasons are horrific medical emergencies where a caesarian birth would be the appropriate choice for the wellbeing of the baby and the mother, but the chances of these happening are in the low 10% of births. However, other times to expedite the birthing process when the cervix has not completely dilated doctors urge for a caesarian birth. Doctor’s first try inducing labor artificially, if inducing does not initiate the cervix to dilate properly before a certain time, doctors will begin an emergency caesarian. In my experiences, women who used doula’s who provide holistic birthing services and educating in techniques such as, in-home postpartum assistance, in-home visitations/pre and postnatal care, proper breathing, perineal massages, and exercises, such as, kegels, pelvic tilts, squats and the cobbler pose. These techniques reduced birthing complications and most women found the experience more enjoyable. In addition, using enhanced birthing positions that are more comfortable allows the laboring mother to move and use gravity instead of force to push. These positions can include water births, hands and knees, squats, and standing, that help with the prevention of perineal tears and a timely labor. Nonetheless, the birthing experience has improved over the last decade and hospitals are beginning to collaborate with birthing centers attempting to make hospital births more personal.

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