Arvizu: Birth Centers: An Important Extension of Health Care
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
While I was being admitted to the hospital for the birth of my second child I said “I don’t want an epidural. I want to have another natural, un-medicated birth.” The response from the resident doctor, which was then reiterated by the on-call doctor was “Ok, but we’d like to start an IV, just in case. And we may need to start Pitocin to ensure delivery within 24 hours.”The hospital’s efficient, life-saving model of care depends upon rigid protocols and strict care management, but it was not conducive with the natural, physiological process my body was trying to achieve. In the end, however, my birth experience did prove something in retrospect - that an unnecessary C-section was about to take place. When I birthed my baby on the operating room table after the spinal drugs had been administered and my body was about to be prepped for surgery, I proved that the attempted abdominal surgery was not necessary. In retrospect, my body actually was capable of giving birth vaginally even though the hospital staff didn’t believe me.
Some members of the medical community and even many women don’t value natural childbirth or the power of the movement that’s ensued throughout our country, but they should. Kathleen LaHair, my grandmother, gave birth to seven “dream babies” in the 1950’s. When I asked what her birth experiences were like she replied, “Once the pains started, I headed to the hospital. Your grandfather wasn’t allowed to be anywhere near the delivery room. Then a big sponge would come towards my face and when I awoke, I’d have a baby. Some women didn’t want the drugs, but me – I wanted them.” In those days, natural childbirth meant being tied up and left alone without the heavy sedation of Twilight Sleep.
During that time, psychological support for birthing women was irrelevant, as well as the mother’s actual participation in the birth. But the natural childbirth movement redefined the whole experience of giving birth by demanding that women stay conscious and that a protective support person, their husband, be present. Eventually, women were allowed to be awake and see their children enter the world. Had it not been for the natural childbirth movement, perhaps birth would still be a blurry, traumatic fraction of a memory. But If the natural childbirth movement doesn’t move forward in providing access to out of hospital birth options, will the future of birth result in 100% C-sections?
The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) released a recent study that analyzed hospitalization costs for vaginal and cesarean deliveries. It “found that vaginal deliveries are approximately 200% more expensive than cesarean deliveries until the birth takes place and the cost equivalent to cesarean deliveries when summed over length of stay.” A trial of labor is costly due to the resource-intensive needs of the laboring women. It’s scary to think that a planned cesarean delivery could potentially be viewed as a cost saving opportunity.So we must advocate for a different cost-saving opportunity that promotes wellness, supports mothers and preserves natural childbirth: a free-standing birth center for every major city.
A freestanding birth center is not simply the place you birth your baby, it’s a communal gathering site that:
- 1.) Provides compassionate, comprehensive, individualized prenatal care that focuses on nutrition, exercise and maintaining a healthy life-style
- 2.) Empowers women to be active decision makers throughout their pregnancy and birth, preparing them for a lifetime of decision-making when it comes to parenting their children
- 3.) Reduces the risk of cesarean section from 32% to 6%
- 4.) Cultivates a safe environment that works with a woman’s inherent ability to give birth instead of against it
- 5.) Provides higher quality care at a fraction of the cost, which could lead to lower health insurance premiums and reduced Medicare spending
- 6.) Gives laboring women the freedom to eat, drink, bathe, moo like a cow, labor without time constraints – whatever it may be that makes her comfortable
- 7.) Promotes collaborative care with local physicians that work together to promote healthy women and babies
- 8.) Allows local physicians and medical students a unique opportunity to observe birthing women in the “wild” and drive positive practice changes in the hospital environment
- 9.) Recognizes the importance of psychological and physical support that laboring women need
- 10.) Provides continuous post-partum care and introduces women to their “tribe”
Out of hospital birth is not a one size fits all solution, but an important extension of maternal care. Worcester needs a freestanding birth center. Let’s open one.
Erin Arvizu is the owner of Wild Orchid Baby. If you need help exploring your birth options, stop by Wild Orchid Baby located at 490 Shrewsbury Street in Worcester and chat with local birth professionals and childbirth educators.Contact Erin here: [email protected].
Related Articles
- Arvizu: The Risks and Benefits of The Oral Glucose Tolerance Test
- Arvizu: 3 Ways to Get Breastfeeding Off to a Good Start
- Arvizu: All Parents and Babies Can Benefit From A Little Music Therapy
- Arvizu: Integrating Doulas Adds Value to Healthcare
- Arvizu: High Risk Pregnancy: A Beautiful Birth and Heartbreaking Loss
- Arvizu: Yoga: Because it Takes a Village
- Arvizu: Should All Breech Babies Be C-Sections?
- Arvizu: 5 Common Car Seat Mistakes 80% of Parents Make
- Arvizu: Why Do Women Still Choose Home Birth?
- Arvizu: Wear All The Babies
- Arvizu: 5 Ways to Make Your C-Section More Family Centered
- Arvizu: Massage Makes Pregnancy Better
- Arvizu: Do You Want Your Epidural Now?
Follow us on Pinterest Google + Facebook Twitter See It Read It