Labor and Delivery with a Midwife
Pregnancy and the act of labor and delivery, although joyful, also a source of pain. Obviously joy because of the new baby, but ask any woman, and they will tell you a source of unspeakable pain.
Well it is because of that pain that there are two schools of thought on how pregnancy and delivery should be carried about. I am going to offer some perspective on one particular school of thought that I have gained first hand experience with by being a homebirth midwife San Diego.
There is the medical model for delivering babies which is tied in with using drugs to kill the pain, and sometimes c -sections to finish the delivery.
There is one other model, though not as common or accepted, but for those that practice it and believe in it, consider it a safer alternative for the woman.
That model is called the midwifery model. That model is in stark contrast with the medical model. Where the medical model relies heavily on medicine, hence “medical”, midwifery relies on the natural.Midwifery philosphy believes that pregnancy, labor, and delivery should happen as naturally as possible because it is a natural process.
This model is a profession practiced by midwives. Midwives San Diego are generally woman, who attend the birth, often times at the mother’s home. This midwife would then assist the woman in trying to get through labor as naturally as possible without medicine.
Contrary to most people’s opinion, when medicine is not used during labor, it allows the labor to proceed much faster without the use of drugs to slow the labor down.
The midwife is a professional with a regulatory board that certifies and licenses the individual.
Although a lot of the times they are not a nurse or a doctor, a midwife sometimes is a nurse also.
Even though they are not a doctor or nurse, they do carry with them some medical equipment, such as resuscitation devices and suturing equipment.
So this is what a midwife is and what midwifery is in regards to pregnancy and delivery.
Their goals are to let the labor and delivery happen as naturally possible. This reduces the likelihood of a c-section.Does not subject you to hospital procedures that are invasive such as episiotomys.There will be less use of managing it with medical techniques such as breaking the water or using any types of drugs for the pregnancy.And for the woman the best part of all is that labor and delivery usually happen quicker naturally.
Hopefully this was informative and helped you understand some of the benefits of midwifery and having a midwife there for your pregnancy.At the very minimum, maybe it gives you some other options to think about and look into. Remember this is first hand knowledge from a San Diego midwife.
Tags: homebirth, midwife, midwifery, midwives, waterbirth
