If you watch any mainstream American TV show, whether it be a sitcom, drama, or reality show, most likely any birth scene will be a terrifying, painful event to watch with women being rushed down halls on wheelchairs or stretchers, screaming in pain while laying on their backs and being told to push.
I lived in Japan for a while, and natural birth is still favored by most, but "painless" American-style birth and unnecessary induction to fit around your doctor's golf schedule (or to prevent the baby from becoming "too big") is becoming more and more common there as well.
I used to think that the medicalized and "modern" American way was the best way, and that natural birth was outdated and old-fashioned. However as I grew older I found more and more reasons to doubt the American medical industry, and the Japanese one as well.
And when I got pregnant, of course I did get all the available tests to make sure I had a healthy baby. But after the tests results came back, something dawned on me. The baby and I were perfectly healthy. I had no known risk factors for disease or complications, genetic or otherwise. I practiced yoga for stress relief and exercise, and ate a healthy diet with plenty of vegetables and whole-grains, low in processed high-fat or high-sugar foods. Why in the world would I need to go to a hospital?
I started to do some research about hospital births and all of the medical interventions in births today. I watched videos of homebirths, and watched the documentary
"The Business of Being Born." The women in those videos weren't screaming in fear and agony, or being told to push. Rather, they were relaxed, prepared, and supported, and trusted their bodies to tell them when to push. When the baby was born, there were no bright lights, no screaming, the baby was relaxed and brought into the world surrounded by love.
When I moved to Hawaii, I searched for a midwife and a doula. I found a wonderful doula who is bilingual in Japanese and English, perfect for supporting my husband and I through all stages of pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. My midwife is a naturopathic doctor, and between the two of them they have experienced hundreds of births.
In the beginning I admit that I was a little apprehensive. I mean, I felt fine, but was everything really OK? I had grown up hearing so many people moan and groan and tell "horror stories" about pregnancy and birth. So many people have had this problem or that problem or this complication. I had a little nausea and fatigue during my first trimester which cleared up when I hit the second trimester, and absolutely none of the common "issues" that people talk about. My midwife and doula said that I was perfectly healthy and this is normal, like over 90% of women.
That's right,
over 90% of pregnant women are capable of having a natural birth with no interventions, for one simple reason: Childbirth is something that is controlled by your body. Your body knows its limits, so unless it's a very rare case, you cannot make a baby too big to be birthed by your body, and your body will not cause more pain than you are capable of handling (also, the body produces natural endorphins and painkillers during labor.) A hospital is not a place for normal, healthy women and children to go.
A hospital is very rarely a calm, quiet, peaceful environment. The lights are bright, the rooms are sterile, and you have loads of people rushing up and down the halls, in and out of rooms, and lots of shouting and stressful situations around you.
Stress, fear, and uncertainty can make any experience unpleasant and scary.
Fear and anxiety has also been proven to make labor longer. Also, those interventions that make labor less painful and faster, actually have the opposite effect when compared to a natural birth. Pitocin intensifies contractions, which intensifies the pain as well to the point where the body cannot naturally cope with it anymore, leading to an epidural. The epidural then numbs the whole area, which is why women have to be told when to push; they cannot feel the natural urge. Also, having shots to the spine and IVs hooked up to her force a woman to be on her back and immobile, instead of assuming more natural positions that make it easier for the baby to come out. And C-sections are very rarely necessary when things are allowed to progress naturally. C-sections are often used as a copout when labor is too long and doctor wants to finish for the day, or if the doctor finds a tiny complication that he doesn't have the experience to deal with And if they do a C-section, then they did "all they could" and it's a good way to avoid a lawsuit.
After the baby is born, there is a slew of hospital procedures that are simply not good for mother and baby. Many hospitals clamp the cord almost immediately, stopping the flow of the precious blood to the baby. Recently mothers are encouraged to save the cord blood and bank it because of the minute possibility that it might help them or others fight a disease at some point later in life, but the baby needs the cord blood in their body. The lack of the cord blood leads to a chance of vitamin K deficiency, which means baby needs an injection. They also put drops in the baby's eyes, and bathe the baby to wash off the vernix and make him or her more "presentable" to mommy. However, simply leaving the vernix on the skin as long as possible nourishes and protects baby's skin against bacteria. Also, the baby finds mother's breasts by sense of smell--the amniotic fluid left on their body has the same scent as the breasts. In a homebirth, baby is simply placed on the mother's chest for as long as possible after being born. That is the most natural and best way for the baby to adjust to the outside world, by smelling and hearing the environment they were raised for 9 months in. But in a hospital, bonding time is short as the baby is soon moved to a separate room to cry for a few hours.
I am not choosing a homebirth to go against the grain, to show everyone how "brave" I am, or because it is how people birthed for thousands of years and the old way is the best way. I also do not believe hospital births are all bad, depending on the woman's situation a hospital birth might be a better choice for her. There are situations where medical intervention is necessary. But a home birth is a very safe option for many women, who unfortunately are never told that.
Maybe if people were able to choose between a homebirth or a hospital birth, and people took into consideration what other countries with lower infant mortality rates are doing, I wouldn't feel like I have to explain or justify my choice. But until homebirth becomes a normal, healthy option for normal, healthy pregnancies, there will have to be groups advocating it.
For more information, beautiful stories and pictures visit BirthWithoutFear.com and BringBirthHome.com. An interesting note, a lot of people seem to choose homebirth after a hospital birth for 2nd and 3rd children, but not many people choose a hospital birth after a homebirth. Something to think about.
大体どんなアメリカのテレビ番組を見ても、出産が恐ろしい、痛そうと思わされるシーンになるでしょう。女性が車いすかストレッチャーで慌てて叫びながら病院の部屋まで連れて行かれたり、仰向けになって赤ちゃんを出して、出してって周りから指導されてる。
そして、病院で先生と、出産が早くなって無痛にできる科学物を使ってするのが普通と思われます。必要や、選んだ帝王切開が増えてます。そして死産も増えてます。
私が何年日本に住んでました。日本では自然出産はまだ多いですが、アメリカ風の無痛出産や必要ない誘発（先生のゴルフのスケジュールに合わせるためや、赤ちゃんが大きくなりすぎないようにと言って）が増えてます。
私は昔、医学的で現代的なアメリカのやりかたが一番で、自然出産が古くさいと思い込んでました。しかし年を取ると、アメリカの医学や日本の医学を疑う理由がいくつも現れました。
そして私も妊娠した時、最初はもちろん赤ちゃんの健康を確認するために色んな検査をしました。でも検査の結果を聞いたら、ある考えが頭に浮かんだんです。私と赤ちゃんが完璧に健康だ。病気や難産になるリスクがほとんどないんです。ストレス発散にヨーガをやったり、歩いて運動したりして、脂肪分や糖分が多い食事殆どせず、野菜や穀物たくさんの健康的な食生活もしてました。どうして私って病院なんかに行かなきゃいけないの？
そして私はいろいろ病院や出産について調べました。家庭出産のビデオもみたり、The Business of Being Bornというドキューメンタリーも見ました。そのビデオで見た女性達は出産の時怖そう痛そうに狂って叫んだり、出してと言われたりしなかった。赤ちゃんが出てきたら眩しい電気、叫ぶ声などなく、赤ちゃんがリラックスしてて愛に包まれて世に出てきました。
ハワイに引っ越して、早速助産婦とドゥーラーを探しました。私と旦那二人をサポートしてくれる日本語と英語ができるドゥーラー
見つけました。そして助産婦は自然医学の先生です。二人合わせて出産の経験が何百件に及びます。
最初は少し不安でした。私は大丈夫だと思うけど、本当に大丈夫かな？って。小さい時から女性から妊娠や出産について文句や怖い話しか聞いた事がなかったです。この問題やあの問題やあの難産。自分の場合最初の３ヶ月位だけ少しつわりがあって、お腹が少し気持ち悪くなったり、疲れやすかったりしただけです。４ヶ月目からつわりなどつらいこと全くなくて、いつも聞いた問題なども一つも出なかったんです。助産婦とドゥーラーの話に寄ると、私が女性の９０％位と同じく、健康で普通の妊娠してますって。
そうです。女性の９０％以上は病院などに頼る事なく、自然に出産ができるそうです。理由は簡単です。出産は体がするものです。体は自分の限界がわかるので、本当に珍しいケース以外は大きすぎて出産できない赤ちゃんを作らないし、自分で耐えられないほどの痛みも作らないんです。（しかも自然のホルモンや成分で無痛効果もあります）普通に健康な女性と赤ちゃんは病院に行くべきじゃないと思います。
病院といえば、平和的で、静かな、落ち着いた環境ではないでしょう。電気が眩しくて、部屋は殺菌されて、いつでも廊下や部屋に色んな人が慌てて入ったり出たりしてて、叫び声も聞こえてストレスが高いところです。ストレス、恐怖と不安があればどんな経験でも不愉快で怖くなるはずです。そして医学で出産が無痛になったり早くなったりすることもないです。自然出産と比べたら反対の効果が見えます。ピトシンは陣痛を強めるんですけど、その痛みも体が耐えられないほど強めます。そして無痛注射が必要です。無痛注射すると、下半身が痺れまて、赤ちゃんをいつ出せるかもわからなくなります。そしてIVや注射してると女性もベッドの上で動かないで仰向けにならなければいけないんです。それは赤ちゃんを出すのに一番不自然な姿勢です。そして出産を自然に時間を掛けてすれば、帝王切開の必要は殆どないです。病院では、帝王切開をする時は出産が長くなって先生が家に帰りたいとか、少し問題があって先生が対応する能力が低いという場合が多いです。そして帝王切開が病院側でできる最終の手段で、訴えても強い言い訳になります。
赤ちゃんが出てきてからもお母さんと赤ちゃんにあまりよくない手順もあります。まずはへその緒をすぐに締めて、血の流れを止めます。へその緒の中の血はプラセンタから色んな栄養や酸素を赤ちゃんに運んでくれますので凄く大事な血です。最近はへその緒の血を大人になってから難病の治療に使えるという研究もあって、そのために高いお金払って保存するということもよく進められてますが、その血は赤ちゃんの体に一番必要です。そしてへその緒の血がないのでビタミンK不足になる可能性が高いので、注射します。目薬などもします。そして赤ちゃんをもっと可愛くするために、すぐ体を洗います。しかし肌には必要な保護物質がついてますのでしばらく洗わないほうがいいです。そして、胎内とおっぱいは同じ匂いがしてて、赤ちゃんがその匂いでおっぱいを探して飲み始めます。その必要な成分を洗い流すとおっぱいも探しにくいでしょう。家庭出産の場合、赤ちゃんがでたらすぐにお母さんの胸の所におかれて、しばらくそのまま赤ちゃんとお母さんの絆を作ります。それが赤ちゃんが外の世界になれるのに一番いい方法です。でも病院では赤ちゃんをお母さんの元から離して別の部屋で赤ちゃんがしばらく泣くのが普通です。
私が何かを反抗したいとか、格好付けたいとか、昔のやり方だから一番いいと思ってるから家庭出産を選んだ訳じゃありません。そして病院の出産は必ず悪い物だと思ってません。色んな状況によって病院出産の方が安全な時もあります。医学が必要な場合はあります。でも家庭出産も多くの女性には安全です。しかし多くの女性はそれがわからないんです。
もし、もっと自由に病院出産か家庭出産を選ぶ事ができて、死産の確率が低い他の国の人はどうしてるかを考える人がもっといれば、私はここまで説明する必要はないでしょう。でも普通で健康な妊娠に普通で健康な家庭出産が選べるようになるまでは、応援するグループもいなきゃいけないんです。
体験談や写真見たければBirthWithoutFear.comとBringBirthHome.comをご覧ください。そして参考に、多くの人は病院出産を経験してから二人目や三人目の時家庭出産を選んでますが、反対に家庭出産を経験して病院出産を選ぶ人が少ないんです。
edit: 9/12/12
The Business of Being Born link is dead. However you can watch this other documentary "Pregnant in America"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=yEcYSMmJrw8
