Wisdom and Births

It may startle a few of you to hear that some women CHOOSE to give birth alone. But truly, this is only startling to our 21st century medicalized birth culture. Giving birth at home was the 'norm' less than a century ago. And giving birth ALONE was the 'norm' for most of our human history. But, enough on that for now... here I'd like to introduce you to a few of the reasons women decide to give birth unassisted by any 'professional' provider - and how some of these reasons reflect a system that isn't supportive of birthing women. Choosing freebirth, or unassisted childbirth (UC), for reasons such as cost and inability to find or afford midwife reflect a situation in which the 'care system' is failing many women, babies, and families. Every woman deserves access to a provider of her choice at a cost she can afford. Period. Other reasons such as anger, resentment, and fear of the medical birth model again reflect our system's failings to provi...

Unassisted Childbirth (UC) refers to birth in which the mother delivers without professional assistance (such as from a midwife or OB) and has also been referred to as 'freebirth'; this does not mean the mother and her partner have not prepared for labor and birth, just that they do not have a licensed professional present when the baby is born. Some women labor and deliver completely alone while others may be emotionally and physically supported by their partner, a friend/family member or a doula. There are a multitude of reasons why women choose to birth unassisted and some women choose to do so because this is the best choice for them, but for too many women, they have to have a UC in order to have their baby at home. In the U.S., 99% of births occur in the hospital, however the numbers of women choosing home birth are growing. Most home-births in the U.S are attended by midwives, however, many states still have laws that prohibit midwives from attending home-births and the ...