The birth of a child is an incredibly personal experience. Some women spend significant portions of their pregnancies on their labor plan to create something meaningful and comfortable for the parents, and having safe alternatives available allows for better customization. I know from personal experience how alienating a standard hospital birth can be to a mother. I recall being hooked up to an IV and not being able to even go to the bathroom without notifying the nurse. I remember being pushed around and not listened to by either the nurses or the physicians and spending the day hungry because I wasn’t able to eat due to the hospital regulations. I would have much appreciated having a safe alternative to the standard hospital birth.
In an effort to better suit the needs of parents, and provide a more enjoyable experience than the one I had, a birthing center has opened in Springfield, Missouri.
Now, Springfield isn’t the most progressive place in the world. Just recently, they enacted a more strict indecent exposure law to combat the free the nipple campaign (granted, this was repealed after pressure from the ACLU). So, it’s rather interesting that a progressive birthing program would become available in Springfield.
The new facility would offer women the opportunity to have more control during the overall birthing experience. Women won’t have the same restrictions they would normally have during a hospital stay. For instance, they wouldn’t be restricted from eating or drinking, and they would be able to freely move throughout the building. They would also be able to bathe when they want (speaking from experience, not getting to shower for five days as per orders from medical staff is not fun).
Currently the staff is licensed and is seeking accreditation, states Sarah Barkley, Administrative Director.
The facility is also against routine episiotomies, which carry risks like infection, long term pain, loss of bowel control due to the damage of the anus, and other various levels of complications.
They also work to provide immediate skin-to-skin contact after birth. This can be crucial if a mother is trying to breastfeed.
I am incredibly proud that my city has chosen to bring in an alternative to the standard birthing procedure. I’m glad that, should I choose to have another child, I can have a safe home-style birth but with the added medical safety of trained nurses. It’s a small win for women, but I’ll take the wins, however few and far between they can be, where I can get them.
Featured image via Flikr by D.W.E. Carlier available under a Creative Commons 2.0 Generic license
