Things you should know . . . .

I have learned over the last few weeks that some people feel as strongly about birth and child care choices as they do about politics and religion. Everyone has an opinion and there are a pretty wide range of views. I feel that each women is different and she needs to make the choices that are right for her. So, I thought that I would share with you the choices Jason and I have made so far in regards to pregnancy, birth and childcare. I was going to stick them all in one blog but I decided to spread it out over several posts in the next few weeks. If you have questions (concerns) about our choices, feel free to comment or drop an email (jaime [at] barksblog [dot] com). I love a good debate but I should also note, I am stubborn. Ask Jason, he will agree. So, I will listen, but I may not change my mind. Here you go . . .


Things you should know about the birth of our child:

Jason and I decided to have our child delivered by a Certified Nurse Midwife in a hospital. For those of you who are local, my midwife is Leigh Ann Stabler. She has her own stand alone practice called, Birthcare. Midwifes attend 98% of all home births in the US and only 8% of hospital births. This explains why everyone keeps asking me if I am having my baby at home. What does a midwife do? Basically, everything an obstetrician does expect for surgery. In the event that I need a cesarean, it would be preformed by Dr. Chambers, who is Leigh Ann's overseeing obstetrician. All midwives have an overseeing doctor and have access to all the same technologies that doctors have.

Why did we choose to use a midwife? Because we are planning on having a natural child birth without any interventions. Midwifes are generally more supportive of this choice (remember all those home births?) and they are able to spend more time with their patients than doctors. Why on earth would we choose this? This is an excellent question. For years I thought that women who refused medication were idiots. I have ridiculed women who had natural births or wanted to have natural births (I am sorry Tracy and Beth). However, when I started researching child birth options, it became clear that natural birth was a better fit for us. It is hard to explain all of our rationale for this choice so I will just share my comedic go to -- I hate needles so much that I am willing to endure the pain of child birth to avoid them. I would like to say that we are realistic and in the event of complications we will use interventions. I trust my midwife and her judgment. If you would like more information on why I made this choice just ask. Also, below is is a trailer documentary that caused us to begin exploring the options of a natural childbirth. The movie is one sided and is more emotional than intellectual but it did start the conversation. Even if you think natural birth is the dumbest idea ever, you should still watch the movie because it shows 3 uncensored natural births. It was quite educational and it shows Ricki Lakes lady parts.



Oh, one more tid-bit about the birth of our baby (for the local folks). We are having our baby at SkyRidge, the Cleveland hospital. The reason I am sharing this is that none of the women I know in town chose to have their baby at SkyRidge. They all have them at Erlanger in Chattnooga. I know it is a much better hospital. I picked to have my baby local primarily out of convenience. With my work schedule it would be really hard to make it Chattanooga for monthly appointments. Also, we live one mile from SkyRidge (my midwife's office is next door). I know we are totally lazy.