Tagged: midwives

Benefits of Delivering with a Midwife

Pregnancy and the act of labor and delivery, although joyful, also a source of pain.  Obviously joy because of the new baby, but ask any woman, and they will tell you a source of unspeakable pain.

Well it is because of that pain that there are two schools of thought on how pregnancy and delivery should be carried about.  I am going to offer some perspective on one particular school of thought that I have gained first hand experience with by being a homebirth midwife San Diego.

There is the medical model for delivering babies which is tied in with using drugs to kill the pain, and sometimes c -sections to finish the delivery.

While there is a lesser known model, not as widely accepted, for those that have experienced it and believe in it, they consider it a safer alternative for the woman.

That model is the midwifery model as it is called.That model is the exact opposite of the medical model which is usually used.The medical model is where you rely heavily on medicine, while the midwifery model relies on the natural.  Midwifery believes that pregnancy and delivery is a natural process and thus should be allowed to happen naturally.

This model is performed by a group called midwives. Midwives San Diego are generally woman, who attend the birth, often times at the mother’s home.This midwife would help the woman try to deliver the baby as naturally as possible without the use of drugs.

Contrary to most people’s opinion, when medicine is not used during labor, it allows the labor to proceed much faster without the use of drugs to slow the labor down.

The midwife is a profession that has a regulatory board that oversees, certifies, and licenses the individual. 

Although usually not a nurse or doctor, a midwife can be a nurse as well.

Even though they are not formal doctors or nurses, they will have some medical equipment for emergencies like resuscitation devices and equipment for suturing.

So this describes what a midwife is and what midwifery is about in relation to pregnancy and delivery.

Their objective is to let the labor and delivery to occur as naturally as possible.  This reduces the likelihood of a c-section.Does not subject you to hospital procedures that are invasive such as episiotomys.Less medical intrusion will be used such as drugs to speed up or slow the pregnancy or the breaking of the water.  And the best part of all that a woman will love, generally labor happens much quicker naturally.

Hopefully this article sheds some light on the benefits of midwifery and having a midwife for your pregnancy.At the very minimum, maybe it gives you some other options to think about and look into.  Remember this is first hand knowledge from a San Diego midwife.


Should you have a Homebirth?

Having the baby in your home? Who does such things? Didn’t that just happen when there weren’t many hospitals and doctor’s had to go to the home to deliver babies?

Not quite.  There is a large group of women who are discovering the benefts of having a baby at home, or homebirth as it is sometimes called.

The practice of homebirths is usually called midwifery.  Although not doctors or nurses, people in this line of work called midwifery are professionally regulated.  I myself have seen the steady rise of homebirths through my practice as a San Diego certified midwife.

The people, generally women, who perform this line of work are called homebirth midwives.  Midwives is the term most people are familiar with and means a person who helps during childbirth by providing support of the labor and delivery.

Now why a midwife is usually not a doctor or nurse is because the practice of having your baby at home, or midwifery is generally the belief that pregnancy and birth are natural normal events.  This is contrasted with the medical model which believes that pregnancy and delivery should be accompanied by medicine to assist and improve the situation.

That out of the way, lets take a look at why women are having their babies at home.  What benefits are making women choose homebirths?

First, when you have a midwife present, this can cause the time of labor to be reduced.  Most women don’t realize that the use of pain medications although seemingly helpful in regards to pain, actually slows the labor down.  This actually creates more pain and makes the labor last longer.

Second, midwifery practices actually causes a reduction in the need for forceps and other devices in a delivery.  The process of allowing the birth and delivery to happen naturally is what reduces the need for those devices.

Third, is it reduces the possibility of a cesarean delivery.  Most cesareans are performed because during labor, somehow a consensus was made that a natural vaginal birth was not possible.  Either because of the safety of the baby was in mind or the safety of the mother.  Well in reality, complications were caused when the natural process was stopped and not allowed to continue.

These are 3 benefits when you have a natural homebirth.  There are many more, but I am sure most women in pregnancy would agree these are 3 huge benefits. 

So although, most might consider it strange to want to have a child at home, studies have shown that allowing the natural birth process to happen is safer for the mother and the baby.  With over 300 births attended as a homebirth midwife in San Diego, this has proven to be the case time and time again.