I second what Tobily said.

I agree that it is important to keep an open mind. Caesareans save the lives of mothers and babies, there is no doubt about that. But you may find that those who do put pressure on you to have the "perfect birth", or even just a natural birth, are coming from a background of their own traumas and difficulties, and may simply want to save you from similar heartache.

We also live during a time where many ideas that have for several generations been held as "truths" by the obstetric profession, are starting to be questioned. Caesarean rates of 30% just do not add up in a species robust enough to take over the planet like we have! Research is coming out now that shows that babies that are born via caesarean are much more likely to die during the early days of life than babies who are not. As a result, as far as giving birth is concerned, we live in "interesting times".

Please, let me clarify, that as I said above, caesareans save the lives of women and babies. But this is only when they are used for appropriate medical reasons. The risks inherent in a caesarean birth are becoming more well known and it is important that before you make the decision to have a C/S, even in an emergency, that those risks are weighed up against the risk of continuing to have a natural birth.

The other reason that many midwives, doulas, and obstetricians are now encouraging women to do all within their power to aim for a natural birth is that there is a well-recognised phenomenon known as the cascade of intervention. It means that even small interventions at the start of the pregnancy or birth process can snowball into more and more serious interventions, as the complications of one set off the need for the next, eventually ending in a caesarean which could have been prevented if the initial, minor interventions had not taken place.

Do I believe that the obstetricians of the world are somehow complicit in promoting this state of affairs? No, I don't. what I do believe, is that they really shouldn't have much input into a normal pregnancy and birth in the first place. It's not what they are trained to do. OBs are trained to intervene surgically in an abnormal pregnancy or birth. Even the best OB has that background - in abnormal pregnancies and births - to fall back on. And so they favour intervention, because that is what they are trained to do.

When the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem begins to look like a nail!

In reality, midwives, who are recognised worldwide as being the experts in managing a normal pregnancy and birth, are the most appropriate people to manage a normal pregnancy or birth.

So you may find the reason so many people harp on about this whole natural birth thing is that the benefits of it are only now becoming well known. We have been brought up for generations to believe that birth is dangerous, that it is painful, and that the best thing you can do for yourself and your baby is to get an OB and go to hospital, when research is showing that the opposite of each of those statements is true. And because women (and *ahem* men) in the developed world don't necessarily know that, those of us that do are really keen to try and spread the world - for your sake, and for your baby's.

So, try to cut us some slack. We're not criticising the choices you make - honestly, we're not. We just believe that you have the right to make those choices after being informed, and we believe that many obstetricians may not adequately inform you, because they have a basic lack of understanding of normal pregancy and birth, because it's not their job.

Hope this clarifies.

the best feeling about having my own OB this time around was that I could let him do the worrying for me, I got a lecture on how birth is an empowering experience for women and that I was letting the OB take this away from me!!
I don't think the idea of being empowered is that you have to worry about birth. I think that it is that you have the opportunity to trust in yourself and not worry. But in support of you, the best thing about having an independent midwife was that we could let her do the worrying for us, so I understand exactly where you are coming from. I just hope he doesn't turn all of your problems into nails...