Ep 36 Trusting Your Practitioner Blindly

Empowered Birth, Love, and Life

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Lately my 1 on 1 trauma birth story processing sessions have not been with hospital birth... but home birth or birth center births where the MIDWIFE was acting like and Obstetrician. This is almost worse. With a hospital you are at least aware of what you are getting yourself into. Protocols, machines, medicine, schedules, timelines, pressure to perform on time, giving birth with a surgeon. When a mom hires a midwife they are looking for someone to support their true physiological birth and no intervention. Almost every mother I talk to feels like they were lied to. "I'm a very hands off midwife, I fully support your natural birth." Then 39/40/41 weeks approaches and they are telling moms natural ways to induce labor. This goes back to episode 27 Why are we messing with God's design. Then followed by Yovana's incredible HBAC at 43.1.
I had a friend go to a midwife's class for couples to learn how to "support during childbirth" and she came to me after and said "I almost laughed because she said "does everyone remember the midwife's trick?" and they all responded with "take benedryl!".
When she told me this my blood boiled. Why are midwives teaching THIS versus how normal prodromal labor can be and how to truly navigate it. A woman will usually be able to sleep when the waves slow down (usually during the day). If she trusts that what is happening to her body is normal and flows with it, it may even allow her to progress. Position of the baby can be addressed with some spinning babies or rebozo work, some massage and music by the partner or doula, and telling her to trust her body and rest between the waves is the BEST thing to do. Instead now it's benedryl, castor oil, evening primrose oil, blue and black cohosh.... why? This is only ADDING RISK to your birth! Midwives should know this! Do they not SEE the transfer rate when they add benedryl and just tell them to sleep? That doesn't help. Then when they cervical check after cervical check and the mom is swollen or doubting herself now she transfers.... the cascade begins with ANY intervention. Even the natural ones. Stop worrying about going past 42 weeks either! Maybe your body gestates longer! Please please reach out if you need to work through some birth trauma or re write your birth with empowerment.

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