"Enjoy your Labor" by Gilbert Grant is GREAT!

[Julie Doula]

FM, any woman giving birth in Australia can access an epidural if she wants one, and for the most part, within a reasonable period of time (and any undue delay is considered a failure of care). That's as it should be. A woman giving birth at home, or in a birth centre, who eventually decides, 'stuff this, I want an epidural', can transfer to hospital, and access one.

As a doula, I have supported at least one women (she actually planned a homebirth) in which a timely epidural was the appropriate use of technology, and it helped her avoid a c/s. Every midwife knows that the appropriate use of epidural, in difficult labours, can occasionally help avoid an unwanted or unnecessary c/s.

Any obstetric intervention carries risk - as the seasoned obstetrician who assisted my homebirthing client pointed out to her, as he carefully discussed with her her options (after 50 hours of labour which did not progress beyong 8 cm at home -hence we tf to hospital.)

Women don't need to fight for an epidural. It's on offer. Check out the peri-natal stats and see how many women who give birth in hospital end up having one.

Yet research and experience combine to demonstrate that for many low risk women, continuous emotional support, continuity of care from a known, self-chosen midwife, and access to a deep birth pool to labour in, greatly reduce requests for epidurals.

Australian birthers can easily access epidurals. Women in Australia cannot easily access:
- continuity of care from a known, self-chosen midwife
- midwife-led care by midwives who are autonomous professionals, who not reduced to 'obstetric nurses' and are actually enabled to practice the midwifery model of care, as defined by Marsden Wagner.
- birth pools
- continuous emotional support
- freedom of movement and mobility (this varies from institution to institution)
- privacy (ditto)
- funded homebirth.

How I wish all of the above was as esaily accesible, and actually ON the menu of birth choices for Australian women, as epidurals!

Needing an epidural is a perfectly valid reason to have one. So is wanting one. And you can have one. Usually the anaesthetist is in your room within half an hour of the request.

Try asking to labour in a birth pool. Or for your own midwife. Or for there to be no changes of shift while you give birth. Or for funded homebirth. Or for practicing rights for your two homebirth midwives in the event of a transfer. Or the right to have a VBAC labour in a birth centre.

% of women in Australia who have an epidural: 28%

% of who have a homebirth: 1.7%

% who have use of a birth pool in labour: 3%

FM, you're hardly the persecuted minority being hounded or pressured in any way by the 'tenacious midwife lobby' (otherwise known as consumers who have found through personal experience that there is ample support for the obstetric model of care - but if you want to know about natural birth options, be prepared to take responsibility to find out for yourself, and to fight for your rights.)

Not sure what your agenda is. Have you ever experienced difficulty on obtaining an epidural in the Australian hospital system?

It's not epidurals that aren't getting a far rap, it's natural birth. And natural birth hormones. As explained so well here.

By the way, I really enjoyed the three labours I experienced without epidurals. I mean, I really enjoyed them.