Poor Reasons for Natural Birth

I'll start this with a disclaimer: I'm all for natural birth. I've had natural births. I think that all things being equal, it is the healthy ideal. There are many good reasons to avoid medical intervention when mother and baby are healthy and everything is working right.

That said, there is some mythology that has sprung up around the idea of natural birth. Some of these beliefs have led to tragedy and loss. Others lead to more minor ills, such as irrational guilt, snide comments, superiority complexes, and unreasonable fears. Now, rarely have I met someone who stated any of the following outright. But I have seen these attitudes in discussions on natural birth. Heck, I watched Pregnant in America and found myself getting a little annoyed at the emotionalism attached to the "perfect" birth experience. Wonderful concept. But do we have to cry about it?

"My body, left to itself, will always work just right."
In a perfect world, sure. I don't know about you, but the world I live in, all kinds of people who are happily minding their own business, experience sudden and devastating instances of their body not working the way it's supposed to. Crap happens. Heart attacks, seizures, migraines, and also cord accidents, hemorrhages, abruptions, and infections. No matter where you give birth, or how, if you are a human being with a human body, there is a risk that your body won't work perfectly.

"Giving birth 'the right way' is essential to being a good mother to my child."
How sad it would be if that were true. Even according to the most conservative estimates, a percentage of women and babies will need medical assistance in labor.¹ There is no reason they cannot bond with and be good mothers to babies that were delivered minus the "natural experience". Furthermore, when "the right way" is not possible, mothers who depended on that experience and "fail" can fall into disappointment or even depression, which will affect the mother-child relationship negatively.

"If I educate myself well-enough, the birth will go just as I want it to."
Self-education is an important aspect of the natural birth idea, but it isn't a solution to every problem, nor can it prevent every problem. Nor will it ever be comprehensive enough to match the knowledge and skill of obstetric surgeons should a real and dangerous problem occur.

"The Birth Experience is a priority."
It isn't. A healthy baby and healthy mother are the priority when it comes to birth. A fabulous experience (however you define that) is icing on the cake. There isn't anything wrong with seeking good experiences (with anything, really, not just birth). But life isn't always going to co-operate. Sometimes we have to be willing to let go of "experience" for our health or for our baby's health.

"Intervention equals failure and defeat."
It is tremendously sad to hear women talk about themselves as failures because birth didn't go the way they planned. No matter whether there was a real problem that demanded medical intervention, or the woman feels she was steamrolled into intervention that was not necessary, these things do not mean that she failed. Child-birth is not a test of motherhood or strength of character.

While we advocate for choice in childbirth, and healthy birth practices, and mother/baby-friendly hospitals, we need to remember that our reasons for these things must be reasonable and rational. There are many fabulous reasons to make natural birth a goal. But there are also some important reasons to accept the reality that medical intervention will sometimes happen. Unless we take a realistic view of it, we will continue to berate ourselves and alienate women for whom natural birth is not a possibility. Whether she recieved her infant through a blissful natural childbirth at home, or through a traumatic emergency c-section, or through adoption, a mother is a mother. Period.

¹Cesarean Section Without Medical Indication Rising, committee, WHO