“The first intervention in birth that a healthy woman takes, is when she walks out the front door of her home in labor. From that first intervention all others will follow.” ~Dr. Michael Rosenthal OB/GYN
Now I’m a huge fan of Dr. Rosenthal’s. Actually, I am a huge fan of absolutely anyone who is working to further the birth cause. (Yep, that means you!) And I am amiss to make any statement even slightly contrary to such wise words. Even so, I’d like to put this out there. Because this is something midwives MUST remember.
WE are an intervention. We are a foreign introduction to the birthing woman’s environment.
Time and time again we hear proponents of gentle birth say it, birthing women need privacy, security, and an undisturbed environment. I don’t know if you’ve seen it, but I’ve read many a time that birthing is like having sex (gasp!). And I don’t know about you, but I don’t invite spectators into my bedroom when my partner and I are doing the deed. It’s an intimate time. We know it by heart. No one needs to critique our love making, offer position ideas, remind us to breathe, or let us know when it is time to climax. I’m not sure how we’ve managed all these years without this guidance, but we make do.
Am I saying I don’t think midwives belong at birth?
Certainly not.
But I do think we have to remember to stay invisible unless our presence is needed. We have to keep in mind that all of our work for a birth should have been done over the prior 8-9 months while caring for and educating the birthing woman. When midwives do their jobs well prenatally, our presence at a birth is rarely actually required. And until it is…hands off, mouth shut, lights down low. Any person who was not in the house at the time of conception is a foreigner. That’s usually mom, dad, and any children they may have already been blessed enough to be parenting.
What about support? What about checking on the well-being of mom and baby? Even then, you’re still a foreigner but don’t act like a tourist. Upset mom’s environment as little as possible. Speak softly in low, sure tones. Keep your energy in check and slow your speech down. In emergencies, use the same tones and look mom in the eye as much as you can. And talk to the baby. Babies are the partners in the lovemaking ritual of birth.
Staying quiet and keeping our intrusions to ourselves helps us tune into our intuition in birth as well. Makes balancing intuition versus clinical knowledge seem like a much less daunting task.
Being an intervention isn’t meant to be an insult. We are invited, we are welcome. If we are not, then we don’t belong there. But this doesn’t mean we aren’t doing women a disservice when we insist they birth our way, or interrupt the birth process continually because of our fears.
While walking out the door of the home in labor is sometimes the first intervention, also is walking in. Remembering this can make all the difference in the world.
