In January of 2008, while I was pregnant, we began reconsidering where to give birth. We weren’t happy with the practice I was with…we wanted to find a practice that truly understood our birthing needs and wants. In the end, we found such a place with Loudoun Community Midwives. Yes, it required an hour long trip to get to them which frightened my grandmother. But, in the end it worked out and we are convinced had Haven been born at any other hospital, with any other practice, we would have been labeled “failure to progress” and whisked off for a Cesarean.
Ricki Lake’s “Business of Being Born” was a driving force in the switch in providers when I was 30 weeks pregnant. Her new book, “Your Best Birth” lets women know they have options when it comes to birthing their children. It’s reassuring that we are not alone in this intense force of women (and men) determined to let women know their birthing options and (hopefully) making doctors, hospitals and insurance companies rethink how they are operating.
Knowledge is power, ladies. Know your options.