Article: Extreme Birth

[Cherie]

I would love to have an unassisted birth. This has been a dream of mine since before I even started TTC. Call me crazy

I've been on a yahoo mailing list for unassisted birth for some time now, and the general consensus is, if something goes wrong, you transfer to a hospital (although their definition of 'wrong' is probably a little different to mainstream health professional's definition). Some also put back-up plans into place, e.g. having a midwife to call on if something goes wrong, or taking a bite of their placenta for post-partum haemorrhage. Laura Shanley has a website which has some pretty amazing reading, including her birth stores. Very empowering stuff!

I think it's very healthy to have these women, who are at the opposite end of the spectrum to people who are pro-intervention ... it sort of balances the scale somewhat. It's obviously not a choice for everyone, but I think it's great that there are women out there trusting their bodies to do their thing, without help.