11/24/2025
Midwifery Care was never meant to be medical.
My little mamaw had all her kids at home. She pushed all of 8 #-10 # babies into the hands of a local midwife. I honestly canāt even imagine her doing that because she was anxious about everything and never even learned to drive. But it was normative and how you had babies back then.
Did babies and mamas die, yes they did. But have you read the statistics in our country? And other countries like Brazil who are promoting and choosing c-sections (major abdominal surgery) over vaginal delivery. Their c-section rate is 56%.
When men took over maternity care and decided women should deliver in cold sterile hospital rooms without any support. Gas and air until they were ready to push, put to sleep, episiotomy, and forceps (how I was born) things completely shifted to a culture of fear and medicalized birth. Weāve been so brainwashed into believing this model savesā¦but does it? After working in labor and delivery I can say that most of the emergencies I witnessed over the 11 years was caused by medical intervention; all the while midwives are being labeled as reckless, and home-birth is viewed as dangerous.
In a perfect world we would change our hospital system. Having birth centers where women who desire to feel comfortable and safe are met with nurses, midwives, and OBās who genuinely love what they do. Where women arenāt herded in and out like cattle. Where they can have both access to natural labor support and still have the option to utilize an epidural if they desire. Where they can wear a gown with snaps without fear of the nurses forcing them to change. (This has happened multiple times to my doula clients). They can eat and experience psychological labor. And where they can have access to emergency medical care if needed.
Women wouldnāt be free birthing, terrified of the hospital, and filling up the natural minded ones if other hospitals would follow suit. If OBās and labor and delivery nurses would stop fear-mongering home-birth, actually sit with a seasoned professional midwife or attend a birth with them, and see for themselves. Everyone woman deserves a midwifery model of care.
