IN THE recent entry on one couple’s home birthing photos, a nurse says she was appalled by the degree to which the health of the baby was endangered to take pretty pictures of the half-naked mother in a kiddie pool. By the way, this is somewhat impolite to ask, but how does one empty a swimming pool filled with water, blood, and other bodily substances in one’s living room? There were no photos to explain.

— Comments —

Mary K. Jones writes:

I am also a nurse. I’m grateful that my two daughters-in-law had their sweet babies in hospitals.

Nursing is not a glamorous calling for the most part. I am imagining the midwife or dhoula or whatever had a certain price designated for the post-photo-shoot clean-up, or it was figured into the total ‘experience’ cost. (Picture buckets and repeated trips to the bathroom to empty said pool. Frankly, it reminds me of my brief foray into farming.)

I had wanted, as a new nurse, to work exclusively in labor and delivery. The inclination died quickly in the face of the vanity and egotism surrounding the average experience, and I ended up working in cardiology instead—dramatic in a different way.

Lauren writes:

The homebirth movement came about as women have wanted to return to more natural practices of birthing their babies.  Statistically high C-section rates, administration of Pitocin and epidurals, and routine mother baby separation have led to less than optimal experiences and outcomes for mothers and their newborns.  Birth is a natural physiological process designed by our Creator.  When modern medicine attempts to unnecessarily intervene in all cases of child birth, the process becomes thwarted and disordered.

In communities with normal birthing practices, the emergency C-section rate is less than 10 percent.  The state of NJ, where I reside, had the highest C-section rate in the nation at 39.5% in  2012.  C-sections can be scheduled and controlled.  This makes them appealing for many doctors and some mothers.   However, C-sections leave a mother at risk for rupturing her uterus in subsequent pregnancies. Breastfeeding is also more difficult after C-sections, not impossible, but much more difficult.  The effects of repeated ultrasounds, Pitocin, and epidurals, also protocol in many hospitals, have not been adequately studied.  I recently saw a Yahoo headline a few months ago referring to a possible correlation between Pitocin and autism.  Mothers and babies are routinely separated in hospital settings.  This diminishes the early foundation for mother baby bonding and building up a good milk supply.  Studies by Dr. Nils Bergman in South Africa show time and again that mothers are the best regulator of baby’s body temperature as opposed to incubators in the hospital nursery.

I would like to theorize that the rates of post partum are skyrocketing because of the unnecessary birthing interventions of hospitals.  Women who do not endure the full labor and delivery as intended by God, are stunted hormonally.  Their bodies do not experience the triumph and surge of oxytocin after vaginally delivering their child.  Rather, the whole process comes to a screeching halt. Breastfeeding immediately following delivery results in very strong uterine contractions which is the body’s way of shrinking the uterus back down to size.  This is based purely on observation of my friends, but it appears that women who undergo C-sections or artificial labor aides are more likely to not breastfeed and therefore not lose the pregnancy weight.  I would also venture to suggest that the medical interference with the birthing process has severely damaged maternal instincts, thus leading to depression and a return to work for many mothers.

Your initial post suggested the vanity of women who have homebirth.  I have had my 3 children at home in a tub of water with a midwife.  Historically speaking, it was customary for other women to help one another through labor and delivery.  We are expecting our fourth baby this summer and intend the same means of birthing him.  When I found myself pregnant as a young newlywed, I was terrified of going to the hospital.  I was afraid of being at the mercy of doctors and instruments.  So, I found another option for myself.  I have some pictures from my homebirths, but none that I remember posing for.  I keep them in a hidden drawer and rarely look at them.  Maybe I was vain like the girl in the picture – young and naïve, thinking birth was about me.  Now that I am older, wiser, and more seasoned in my motherhood journey, I am grateful for the gift of life alone and that I have experienced birth as God intended.

As for the nurse commenter, she may care to know that the tub of water is emptied by a reverse pump.

When the pendulum swings, it seems that it swings to the most extreme circumstance.  I am simply trying to make the point that not all homebirths are like the one portrayed in the picture.   Many of us are people who are seeking the safest and most natural option for mother and baby.

I was sorry to read the excerpts from the midwife you quoted.  Many people spend their days tending to the natural physiological functions of other human beings.  I experienced her excerpts as being full of anger and contempt.  She may have been a Christian, but it does not seem that she did her daily duty for love of God.

Laura writes:

Just to clarify, I never complained of the vanity of home birthing. I complained of the vanity of those particular pictures. The post then evolved into a discussion of home birthing, which I do not oppose in general. I do not think it self-centered to give birth at home nor do I think it is wrong to have your photo taken. These photos were not simply about birth, as has been said.

The high rate of C-sections, which is partly affected by a litigious environment which makes doctors opt for C-sections if there is the slightest risk, is a serious problem in some areas. There is no question about that. A C-section can set a woman back and make recovery so much longer. I had two C-sections, one of which was of questionable necessity, and was very disappointed I could not deliver normally. You make good points about the advantages of home birthing and less intrusive methods though I question that medical interference has seriously damaged maternal instincts or caused women to return to work.

I’m confused by your point regarding Catharina Schrader, the Dutch midwife. Do you mean to say she shouldn’t have been angry by women who did their work poorly and thus endangered other women and their children? But doesn’t that contradict your concern for the woman giving birth at home? Schrader gave herself entirely to her patients, many of whom were quite poor. You write, “Many people spend their days tending to the natural physiological functions of other human beings.” That’s exactly what Schrader did. She was concerned about the women she cared for and her comments about those who did their jobs poorly were entirely in the interest of the weak and defenseless. You might enjoy her diaries, published as Mother and Child Were Saved.

While I am not opposed to home birthing, I don’t think it should be surrounded with such mystique that anyone involved in it is above criticism.

Congratulations on your own births at home and best wishes to you as you prepare for another child.

Mary writes:

I look at the Dutch midwife in the context of the times. Calvinists were similar to Puritans and not known to be warm and fuzzy. And she was over-worked judging by the vast number of births she assisted. I noticed in reading the book I mentioned in the original thread (All For the Love of Mothers) that midwives of days gone by had very little patience for promiscuity, seeing all the heartache and suffering that they did. Not an easy job to say the least.

Laura writes:

The quotes from Schrader were meant to counter the view that every midwife is a feminist. It was just a glimpse of her. Her diaries show her to have been a highly compassionate woman and the amount of work she faced did not alter that. Calling a promiscuous woman a “whore” was common in those times and the mentality that inspired such comments was far more charitable to the poor than today’s moral anarchy.

Lauren writes:

I was referring to Schrader’s comment, “the wretched I have to see.”  However I will try to read her entire work at your suggestion.  Mary’s comment was helpful in describing the demeanor of people of that era.  Initially the word “wretched” seemed harsh and resentful to me.  To clarify I am not at odds with her comments about other midwives not doing their job.

Maybe one day I will try to construct a better explanation of how I perceive the artificial interventions of  child birth has led to an increase in post partum depression and subsequently a return to work by many mothers.  Of course there are many factors that have contributed to these issues.  For now, though, other responsibilities are calling me away from the quiet time I need to form a well thought out explanation.

I agree with your comment that anyone involved in homebirth is not above criticism.  I like to remind friends who have had less than optimal birth experiences that the most blessed among women had her baby in a stable full of animals.

Also, I had read the post about the home birth couple when it was originally posted.  When I went back to it today, I realized the great amount of comments that had been submitted since then.   The comments reminded me of a part of the book,  A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.  The mother comments to her daughter (I am paraphrasing here from recollection) that men should not be present at birth because it would take away the pleasure of the sexual act for them.  She continues that men are distraught also while their wife is in labor at some nearby place.  Although my husband has been present at the labor and delivery of our three children, I regret this fact.  I would contend that women lose much of their dignity (seemingly anyhow) in birthing their babies.  Also, even though my husband tries to be helpful and encouraging, I really just want him to get the heck away from me while I am trying to push a baby into the world!  It is hard work and the experience of a trusted female midwife is all the comfort I need.

Ellie writes:

Mrs. Wood is entirely right that C-section rates are largely driven by the fear of lawsuits, which can be filed, in some states, up to twenty-one years after the fact.  Breech presentation, active herpes infection, fetal distress, and the mother simply laboring too long and showing signs of exhaustion are other commonly given reasons for delivering surgically.  Lauren is right that sometimes interventions are done that may not be necessary.  A statistic I remember from my neonatal resusitation class is that nine out of ten babies need no advanced assistance at birth.

While I understand the draw of a home birth, a well-trained nurse midwife, with a collaborating physician, is crucial to ensure a good outcome for a mother and child.  An experienced midwife would not have allowed the baby in those pictures to remain cold, wet, and gray.  She would have stimulated, dried, wrapped, and possibly suctioned or administered oxygen to the child.  Any trained midwife will be able to resusitate a baby–or mother, if need be.

Just as there are now horror stories of over-intervention in hospital births, there were once (and still are in some parts of the world) stories of needed interventions that did not happen.  Women labored until they died, babies died from nuchal (wrapped around their neck) cords, women hemorrhaged, the list goes on.  I would ask Lauren and all your readers comtemplating birth at home, to have a low standard for going to the hospital if advised by the midwife or if they feel something “isn’t right.”  Sometimes, you need a surgeon, or someone who knows her way around a pair of forceps.  Pitocin too, is not an evil thing, if it is needed. It is simply the hormone oxytocin, and can keep a woman from bleeding to death.

Mrs. Wood, I too had an emergency section.  My son, the one they told me I could never have, had a nuchal cord.  Thank goodness our physicians erred on the side of caution, and we have our children alive and healthy.  I think that you and Lauren would both be good mothers even if you found your children under a cabbage leaf!  While I don’t condone midwives or physicians doing unnecessary procedures, I think that most endeavor to give us the best gift of all, the chance to be called “Mommy.”

 Thank you again for your intelligent, interesting website.

Mary writes:

Lauren wrote: “Although my husband has been present at the labor and delivery of our three children, I regret this fact.  I would contend that women lose much of their dignity (seemingly anyhow) in birthing their babies.  Also, even though my husband tries to be helpful and encouraging, I really just want him to get the heck away from me while I am trying to push a baby into the world!  It is hard work and the experience of a trusted female midwife is all the comfort I need.”

I appreciate Lauren’s candor here. I wanted to write something similar in the original thread but was put off speaking frankly by the strong tone of some of the comments in favor of the birth photos. I have the same regret – cringe a bit when I remember what my husband witnessed – and I also remember well how well-meaning but unhelpful he was during labor, lovely man though he is. I was so deep into a sort of zone of concentration and my midwife understood that and knew exactly what I needed. I don’t think a woman is ever more alone than in late stage labor and I don’t mean that in a negative way; it is just a fact.

I had my babies in the hospital; very few were doing home births back then. But I love the idea, although I understand Ellie’s concerns. I was warned about unnecessary C-sections and episiotomies before going to the hospital and I made a feeble attempt, during my first labor, to avoid episiotomy by asking the doctor –  was ir really necessary? His answer was,”Unless you want to tear through to your rear end.” He basically put the fear of God in a brand new mother to make his job easier. So I gave in; a little while later my under-6-pound peanut popped out and I had pain from that particular bit of surgery for almost a year. It was midwives after that for me, albeit those that worked for my OB (a different one, needless to say).

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