Birth and the Media Stories and discussion about giving birth and home birth are hitting the media. I look forward to having Orgasmic Birth add to the discussion soon as we await our release this spring. Orgasmic Birth asks viewers to reexamine all you thought you knew about giving birth and the potential it holds in our lives. As a childbirth educator for 25 years, I created Orgasmic Birth to address our culture of fear and the mis-information women have been told about giving birth. My goal is to replace fear so that women and their partners have the knowledge and confidence they needs to as Lonnie Morris, CNM says in our documentary “women of earth take back your birth.” Research is strong and growing that an undisturbed birth for low-risk mothers and babies is the safest option. As I watch the media continue to talk about birth from a place of fear, as an emergency waiting to happen instead of what the research supports as the safest, I have to ask why are we not using the evidence? Why are we not talking about the women that are suffering posttraumatic stress syndrome from giving birth? A day that has the potential to be ecstatic we are making traumatic for some women. Birth is a sensitive time in a women’s life. How she is cared for, respected, the support she receives, being a part of the decision making process all add to her feelings about herself and the memory she will hold about the experience for the rest of her life. We encourage our athletes to go for it! To push their limits. We support them, cheer for them and encourage them. We encourage a pregnant women not to take drugs or alcohol during her pregnancy, yet when in labor we offer and push medication and drugs to numb the sensations of labor, to speed up labor, and now even offer major abdominal surgery as an option. Don’t we worry about how these effect our babies just as we did during pregnancy? What about the risk to the woman? When a women is giving birth the same sense of accomplishment an athletes achieves is possible and more! Why don’t we encourage women to labor and birth their babies with confidence by providing continuous support, doulas, techniques such as massage and warm water that will ease her labor and make birth a positive and pleasurable experience? Orgasmic Birth shares this and more. Many countries are creating policy guidelines that support women’s choices to give birth at home, in a birth center or in hospital. Policy statements include a women’s right to have control over, and to decide freely and responsibly on, all matters related to their sexual and reproductive health (United Nations 1995) See the recently policy on home birth from South Australia http://www.health.sa.gov.au/PPG/Default.aspx?tabid=189 Women and their partners can only make informed decision when they have ALL the information and options available to them to plan for a safe, satisfying birth. Lets hold the media accountable to share accurate evidence based information and respect a women’s right to choose where, how and with whom she will give birth. Birth can be a powerful, pleasurable experience, let’s talk about that too!
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