Birth Network Growing in Springfield
Fifteen years ago, I gave birth in my home in Springfield. Two midwives assisted me, my husband made a pot of chili, my mother massaged my feet, and my three year old daughter played tea time with her kitchen set. In a way, it was very undramatic. No big process of packing bags, dropping my daughter at a neighbor’s house, signing papers, hooking up to an IV port, dealing with bright lights, beeping sounds, and interrupted sleep. Instead, at the end of it, I cuddled up in my own bed to nurse my newborn. It was also very dramatic - a day when I did something truly great, just like women have done for centuries before me.
Of course, most birth happens in hospitals these days. Generally, as a culture, we have put our trust in modern medicine and its tools - pharmaceuticals, interventions, and surgery. Because this model is based on targeting and curing a particular issue or problem, it often fails to take into account the whole of the human being in its diagnosis and treatment. In some cases, like with a broken bone, for example, this approach seems to work. But, for the most part, birth does not fit well into this medical framework. Here are some statistics to consider: The C-Section rate in the US is far above the 10% which the World Health Organization would consider medically necessary. The rate of maternal mortality in the US alone, which was already higher than other wealthy countries, has risen by more than half since 1990. This maternal mortality rate is about 4 times higher among Black women than white women. Explanations for such phenomena necessitate careful examination of the priorities and culture of obstetric care, quality of particular hospitals, general health of the population, institutionalized racism, and more. It is a complex multifaceted problem and I will not attempt to provide a quick analysis of it.
One part of a solution, however, might be to consider birth not as a sickness, but rather an intense emotional and physical journey. In this case, proper medical response would include an individualized, culturally appropriate and collaborative framework of care. The success of such an approach would not just be seen in better immediate outcomes, but also in the mother’s experience of the event, which directly impacts her postpartum health and will inform her in her mothering for years to come.
There is a movement growing in Springfield to provide this type of holistic and personalized care. We are mostly alternative health practitioners – midwives, doulas, lactation coaches, herbalists, acupuncturists – and we call upon traditional methods. But, just as importantly, we are informal and personal, like a group of friends, who provide a support network - meal trains, lactation visits, exercise sessions, nutrition counseling, natural childbirth education classes, trainings for birth workers – to hold women up when they need it most. We believe that options, control, empowerment, knowledge, and love are just as important as prenatal vitamins and ultrasounds.
Every birth is amazing and dramatic and a miracle. For those of you who want to explore how to reclaim this rite of passage for yourself or for your daughters or sisters or aunts or nieces or cousins, we encourage you to join us in the upcoming months as we explore practical ways to infuse health and ritual and knowledge into pregnancy, birth and the early stages of parenting.