Business of Birthing

Wow. Tonight was a blast. And I just wish everyone could experience these feelings...

Ricki Lake made a documentary about women and birthing, hospitals and homebirths. The are showing screenings all over the place, and one happened to be held about an hour and a half from here, so my midwife e-mailed me and told me about it and I went with her and my doula and met up with my other midwife who was speaking on the forum afterwards.

I was so afraid the twins would be restless and fussy, as they are at that age (almost 5 months!) where they can't do what they want to do, yet, but aren't always happy with you doing it for them, and get bored too easily. Especially after last night's cell group at church where I had to leave the room to calm them down, I thought I must be nuts for wanting to go to a movie screening just because I wanted to meet other women who thought like me...

But I am SO glad I did!

There was about 70 or so people there, mostly college age girls (it was put on by a girl at the college who's training to be a nurse midwife.) The movie was great and well done. Got a lot of responses verbally during the showing (like gasps, laughter, etc.)

During the single C-section scene, the whole room filled with "Ooh..." "Uhhh" "Augh!" They were completely turned off by it. Even after watching several shots of naked women moaning and laboring and birthing their babies, this scene was the first to get a negative response, which I thought was great.

I think it was neat that these girls can see a different side of the American myth that has become the norm in child bearing. That the one great power we as women possess, and that was given to us by God, has been taken away from us in the name of empowerment, ironically. That there are different, better ways of introducing your children to the world.

One point that made me feel better about our births was that many people research cars, houses, etc. and spend lots of money on them. Wouldn't you think it's also wise to research birth and spend money on the one time-event of your child entering this world? To get the outcome that you want, you may have to pay out of pocket, even when insurance would cover a hospital birth. But to me, it WAS worth it. Every penny.

And yet people think we're selfish, like we are putting our desire for this most natural high ahead of our desire for a healthy baby. Yet the two go hand in hand, and often without this natural high the healthy baby only comes after great cost, whether to the baby or else the mother, even if the doctors brush it off.

Anyway, afterwards they were asking questions, and my doula pointed me out, and so the one girl asked that when we discovered we were having twins, how did that play into my decisions to birth at home...and of course my one midwife up front said, "Do not answer that question!" But I did, and explained we didn't know we were having twins...and that not all midwives would do twin home births.

Then as everyone filed out, three different midwives stopped to chat with me, as well as another mom who homebirthed, whose husband was there and also spoke up. (a girl asked how to get her fiance on board with homebirth since he was scared of the idea. The husband talk about how neat the birth was and such, and I mentioned that men can also be proud to have a wife who births naturally, as well as be a "man" and catch the baby or just plain be there...it's an ego boost for them, as well.)

It was neat to mention the movie, "Birth As We Know It" and get nods. It was neat talking about birthing naturally and not getting comments about how archaic it is. It was neat being in the presence of women who understand saving your placentas.

And best of all, the babies were WONDERFUL!!!

They slept to Union City, we ate McDonald's and they were good, they slept (with some in-car nursing in the car-seats one at a time) the rest of the way to Meadville, and they were quiet and content during the film and afterwards, and fell asleep after nursing them on the pillow, and then woke up happy. Went back to sleep (again with nursing and then a pacifier) on the way to McDonald's, then the girl woke up about 10 minutes before home, then the boy and her were crying as I dropped the doula off just seconds from our house.

So overall, a great evening. And now I must go to bed.

But first, on this day of birthing thought, my sister had her baby girls by C-section (elective, 37 1/2 weeks, due to many factors.) They are both healthy and mom is doing fine, first girl was 6 lbs 12 oz. 19.25 inches long, and the second one was 5 lbs. 6 oz. and 18.75 inches long. I guess as of tonight the first baby still has not nursed, and there is fluid in her lungs (chest x-ray confirmed) so I'm not sure if she's in the NICU or not, but were praying not since they'd keep here there 48 hours minimum if she's admitted.

And hopefully I'll update soon, but for now, I must go to bed.