Somehow being pregnant and giving birth have become medicalized – a woman needs help from doctors and nurses, ultrasounds to say that the baby is fine, machines to tell her when to push, an injection in her spine to de-sensitize her from the healthy pain felt during labour.
Pre-natal care is extremely important, and there is a clear place for medical interventions when a pregnancy becomes high risk. But, the ‘unnatural’ point of pregnancy and childbirth, I have concluded, comes when women give themselves over to the medical institution. Many have lost faith in their bodies to conceive, grow, and give birth to a healthy baby – all processes that have evolved over millions of years. When a nurse tells a woman when to push and how hard, it undermines a woman’s own innate sense to give birth. When a doctor jumps in at the last 10 minutes to deliver the baby, it nullifies the woman’s hard work throughout the labour.
And when a woman puts her faith in the medical community first, and in her body second, it comes at a price. Let’s look at a couple of examples:
Ultrasound – the sneak peek at the baby inside. This intrusive test is relatively routine in all pregnancies – so much so that a friend of mine thought she was required to have one! But, is it really safe? Current research says ‘yes’, it is perfectly safe. Yet, longterm exposure to ultrasound has been shown to damage hearing in adults. Ultrasound also has the capacity to heat up body tissues. Although ultrasound is considered safe, perhaps it is time to ask some more questions about this common practice and questions whether a sneak peek at the baby is really necessary.
Drugs during labour – they are part of a normal hospital routine. Anyone who has been through labour and delivery knows that the pain is close to unbearable. But the keyword here is ‘close’. Any drug used during the labour and delivery gets to the baby. Plus, epidurals can slow labour leading to an increased possibility of a cesarean. An epidural also takes away a woman’s profound urge to push, and she may need to rely on a nurse’s command or a machine to help her give birth. Here, forceps and vacuum suction on the baby’s head may be required for delivery.
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