biases in the birth space
It’s been on my mind (and my to-do list) to start a blog this year…so here we go! Being vulnerable and sharing my innermost thoughts with the world can be intimidating. But today’s the day! There is no better time than now to just do the thing. That being said, authenticity is my goal with this blog. You should know exactly who you’e inviting into your birth space and how they think if you choose to do so.
I’m looking forward to sharing on here my adventures in birth work, birth stories, information, research that I've personally dissected and everything in between. For this first post, I’ll just say a little about me:
I’m a Christian birth doula, birth photographer, and placenta encapsulation specialist serving Orange County and parts of Los Angeles County and the Inland Empire. I feel called to do this work for many reasons, one of them being my personal experiences with birth.
I’ve had a medicalized birth with just about every intervention you could name leading up to my cesarean section. And I’ve had a completely hands-off, undisturbed birth at home. Ask me which one was better. :) Having two experiences on opposite sides of the spectrum, I can relate to everything in between.
My personal experiences with birth as well as all the births I have attended thus far have played a huge role in my bias that I am transparent about: birth works best when it is left alone to unfold naturally. It’s a natural, physiological function that occasionally needs medical assistance. When clients ask me “What would you do in this situation?” I am more than happy to answer honestly while adding, “but I’m not you.”
On the other hand, a very common bias for OBGYNs to hold is that natural birth is dangerous. They are taught throughout medical school and their residency that birth is something that needs to be actively managed by medical interventions in order to be safe. They are consciously or subconsciously led by their experiences in the field. They see things. They are exposed to trauma regularly. They see all the things that go wrong. They see the home birth and birth center transfers that required extra assistance. All without seeing all the beautiful, undisturbed births at home. And they act accordingly.
Everyone has their own thoughts, feelings, and biases about birth that have been formed by their experiences and environment. Being honest about those with everyone who may be in your birth space is in your best interest. More important is being honest with yourself.
I know that trusting your intuition is easier said than done in a fast-paced world where we have been trained to silence it to just “do what needs to be done.” But the sooner we can slow down, become aware of, connect with, and listen to the instincts our Creator has given us, the better mothers we are able to be for our children. And this starts in preconception or pregnancy.
I could blab about this all day which is why I love doing what I do.