Birth, A Team Effort

 My role in nursing has changed in the last couple of years and one of the things I find myself doing relatively frequently is teaching prepared childbirth classes. I really love this aspect of nursing and I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to meet patients before delivery and to discuss ways in which we can work together to get them the experiences they want. 

One of the things I mention in every class I teach is the role of social media in birth experiences. I actually love social media in many ways because it gives people access to information that wasn't available in previous years. However, like most things, you have to know what to do with that information when it's received. Is the content creator credible? Is the person trying to sell you something and using fear mongering to do so? Do they acknowledge and recognize all parts of the healthcare teams/support entities as being important? These are things I stress to new parents. For some reason, it has become acceptable and even expected for people to tell you all about the trauma they experienced during their own births. We do that at an alarming rate in the U.S. And don't misunderstand, I very much believe that there is a time and a place for those who have experienced traumatic birth to share those experiences, if for no other reason than to find community and comraderie among their fellow survirvors. That's incredibly important. 

The other piece that I think maybe needs to be a little louder is the one in which we champion these delivering people and the capabilites of their bodies. Stories of empowerment and strength even in the face of deviation from a birth plan is equally important. It takes incredible strength to experience a c-section and then stand up hours later to sustain the life of another human. The resilience and selflessness it takes to do that is amazing. 

And maybe the thing that is missing most is the desire to work TOGETHER to effect real change in birthing stories. It takes a village, from the very start, to truly support and encourage new life. The patient/delivering person/mother is first of course. The desires, fears, and plans of that person must be paramount to the decision making. Next is the family/friend support for that person. And then equally as important to a birth experience are the doulas/birth advocates and healthcare team. The thing I see most often in the "fear mongering" mindset is the idea that those of us in healthcare desire forcing things on our patients. And in my experience that simply isn't true. We want what you want! We want a healthy and happy family. We want skin to skin, delayed cord clamping, cultural practices acknowledged to the best of our ability. I believe in order to effect true, lasting change in maternal healthcare in America, it is going to take significant bending and learning from one another. It isn't enough to simply rely upon healthcare to professionals knowledge and practice. It also isn't enough to completely disregard the science, education, and experiences obtained by those same people. It must be a multi-faceted conversation, and all parties need to be willing to listen and learn. 

Birth stories are some of the most important in our history. They're the beginnings of every person you'll ever meet. No one on earth escapes a birth story. My hope is that the future of birth in America is one of collaboration, setting aside of ego, and effecting change in a way that honors those who bring us into the world.