Here are some key questions to ask your midwife or obstetrician if you want a natural birth. Listen to them and within you. You will get your answers about best provider for the birth you want. And do pay attention to red flags.
Do you have training and experience supporting natural physiologic undisturbed birth when all is well?
What’s your rate of primary cesarean?
If I need a cesarean, are you or your collaborative obstetricians experienced and do with gentle/family centered version?
Do you encourage VBAC? What’s your rate?
Are you skilled and supportive of physiologic breech and twin birth? What’s your rates?
Do you support my birth preferences and my right to decline interventions?
Do you advocate for doulas and other support persons I want?
Do you support and have training/skills for vaginal breech and twin birth?
What’s your rate and policy for induction of labor - like going past due date, suspected big baby, water breaking before labor etc.
Is your setting when you practice in alignment with you? What restrictions might be placed on me becasue their protocol?
Most importantly, do support my legal and ethical right to autonomy over my body, birth and baby?
Will my rights to make informed decisions about my and my baby’s care be respected?
If they don't support natural undisturbed health birth or evidence based care, their rate of primary cesarean section is above 10-15%, they don't support your birth preferences & right to decline interventions, they don't advocate for doulas & any other support person you want, they don't encourage VBAC and have rates lower than 70-80%, they have high induction rates for things like going past due date, suspected big baby, water breaking before labor, they don't support and have lots of experience with vaginal breech and twin birth, and/or the setting where they practice is not in alignment with them & they place a lot of restrictions on you because of protocols and policies you have your answer. You can switch providers anytime and hire one that is most in alignment with what you want, who will work collaboratively with you.
Here are some red flags, but here are so many others, especially when all is well with mama and baby such as:
They don’t support natural physiological birth.
They don’t care to read your birth plan or respect your birth preferences.
They don’t do VBAC.
They don’t do vaginal breech or twin birth.
They advise frequent ultrasound, routine multiple tests and procedures without discussion.
They perform weekly internal exams at 36 weeks.
They induce everyone at 41 weeks or sooner.
They do not believe in or practice natural physiological birth.
They don’t like or support doulas.
They do routine episiotomies on all first time vaginal birthers.
They do immediate cord clamping, or rush clamping without waiting until it is limp, white and pulseless.
Their cesarean rate greater than 10-15%.
scheduling a cesarean because they tell you your baby is too big
Unless you are planning to birth in an out of hospital freestanding birth center or at home with authentic midwives, most maternity care practitioners and the settings they work have not seen natural undisturbed birth - and they are trained and quite used to disturbing it. They think it’s necessary to fix what isn’t broken when all is well. It’s like everyone trying to interfere with your heart beating or your lungs breathing when it’s doing just fine on it’s own. It is a sad state of affairs with what’s going on in most modern hospitals especially in the US. I’ve had obstetricians, nurses and even medwives (midwives who practice more medically like many OBs) tell me they have never seen a natural undisturbed birth. Some actually want to shadow me to see one! I love when I do hospital shifts and the med students follow me - it may be their only chance to see natural undisturbed normal physiological birth. That’s the vast majority of what I see and I don’t get how it can be otherwise. Why is this happening as if it were some cool freak show, when the research supports it, when it’s evidence based care, when this is how birth occurred for thousands of years since the beginning of time, and still is the way it happens for the majority worldwide.
Here is a wonderful testimony sent to me from a mama who took my online Guide to Pregnancy, Birth and Postpartum, prepared, informed and empowered herself to tell her obstetrician (the only provider in her rural area) who never saw natural birth, to do nothing but be a fly on the wall, just in case of emergency. He said he never did that, does mostly inductions, medicates births and cesareans. But she respectfully spoke up and he finally agreed. And who was touched to tears, crying the most at her beautiful natural birth? Think of the ripple effect that has on his care for other mamas? If you want a natural birth without disturbance-ask your provider if they’ve seen one. You’ll get your answer whether you should run or not, to a provider and setting where it’s the norm.
“I want to thank you for your online course. Because of it I was able to do a home waterbirth in Nicaragua where it is not common at all. I live abroad so it was my dream to have a natural birth in my home. Little did I know there are no doulas or certified midwives in the country. Your course helped me through it! My father-in-law who is an OBGYN in Brazil caught the baby and also has never done a home or natural birth. He only does cesarean. What a special moment for the family! Thank you again for the knowledge I was able to achieve online!!! Here’s a video of our special day :)
”
If you choose to stay with such a provider with so many red flags, you have to prepare even more, fight even more for what you want, make sure to have an advocate, and know your legal rights to autonomy and informed refusal so you don't allow anyone to dictate you to do anything against your will or manipulate you with playing the fear of dead baby card when there is nothing wrong. Dig deep - is this what you want to be doing during your pregnancy and such a sensitive time as labor?
For more information on how to best prepare for having your baby, feel well educated and informed , confident and empowered, bust through fears and trust the process, and have the most beautiful birth of your dreams take my online signature comprehensive prep course - Anne’s Guide to Pregnancy, Birth and Postpartum and read my Natural Birth Secrets 2nd book edition. I created them for you to do just that, based on over two decades of holistic nurse midwifery experience and attending over 1000 births.
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Whether you’re an experienced or new parent, there are hours of videos, workbooks, and PDFs to answer all of your questions. Everything is searchable, so you can just type or talk and it’ll bring you right to the exact moment in the video where I answer your question. It’ll blow your mind! If English is not your strongest language, you can even change the captions or even the audio to the language you prefer. The Prenatal, Birth & Postpartum Guides can be sold separately or in a bundle to buy only the section you need or get ALL of the guides for a limited-time offer of 50% off -> RIGHT HERE!
The key to a positive birth is feeling confident, strong, relaxed, and empowered during the entire process, regardless of the twists and turns it may take. I give my full heart and all I know in everything I do to support Mommas.