Welcome to post #11 in the series of 25 Things You May Not Know About Me. Just in case you were wondering, no, I am not pregnant.
That's not what this post is about. Instead, we'll be delving into why it is that, "Having had one baby in the hospital and one at home, it would take a huge medical issue to make me do it in the hospital again."
Anyone who will listen to me talk about it has already heard my hard and fast reasons for not wanting labor to be heavy with intervention. That is a big part of why I choose to labor at home. I suppose, in theory, you can have a drug and intervention free labor in the hospital, but it is extremely rare and difficult to obtain. It often happens that the doctor in charge decides what he or she thinks should happen with a labor, and that's that. Clearly, the patient has the right to refuse any procedure, and you should absolutely be willing and ready to stand up for what you do or don't want. Who cares if they talk down to you or berate you for deciding not to have a procedure? Right? I agree with that in theory, but I feel very strongly that no woman should have the stress of having to argue and stand up for herself during labor. That's a surefire way to stress her out, which can slow labor down and
cause a problem. Not my idea of a positive experience.
My other line of thought is a little more controversial. I did a lot of research into labor and birth; I became a real believer in the fact that birth is a process that God put into place, and there is no reason to
assume that something will go wrong. Once I came to the conclusion that I did not need pain relief to get through labor, and I did not need medical intervention to make labor happen or to make it successful, it came down to a question of, "Well, why would I go to the hospital anyway?"
At that point, I realized that if I were to choose to birth in the hospital it would only be to have a safety net "just in case." For me (and only for me; in no way am I implying that this is how all homebirthers feel), I felt called to really just trust God with Lillian's birth. Did I really trust Him to bring us through the labor safely, or did I need to go to the hospital just in case He let us down? Now, obviously I realize that bad things can happen in labor. I believe firmly that God is bigger than that. I have heard firsthand some amazing stories of God faithfully caring for women in labor, though, in situations that would be considered emergent.
Had something gone wrong in my labor with Lily, I know that I know that I know that my midwife/support person and my mom would have gone to God. This doesn't mean that, if we had needed it, we wouldn't have gone to the hospital; we would have. My point is that I expected God to take care of us.
Now, in no way am I stating or implying that Christian women who choose to birth in the hospital lack faith; I'm saying that faith is what it came down to for me and me only. I firmly believe that I made the right decision, and I fully intend to birth the next baby at home, whenever he or she comes.
I hope you enjoyed this one! Tune in next time when we delve into an item that may make me look more than a little conceited: "Microsoft Word often find errors in what I write, and I leave the sentence alone because I know that I am right and Microsoft is wrong. I am that good." You'll enjoy it.
Comments (1)
Isn't it funny how many things we have to switch around in our lives when we move from auto-pilot to active faith? And you're right, it's not the same for every person.
I keep telling people who ask me about homebirth that it's not that I'm anti-hospital or anti-doctor. I just have better reasons for trying at home than I do for going back to the hospital.
And my midwife totally rocks. That always helps...
~Victoria