Are we trendsetters?

Nechie122 · June 2012

Anyone want to discuss this article: https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/17/fashion/the-midwife-becomes-a-status-symbol-for-the-hip.html

I'm always surprised when people on this board ask for advice about how to respond to the stupid things people say about natural birth. My experience has been the exact opposite. It seems like every pregnant woman I've met says she really wants to try going natural because it's the "right" thing to say. Natural birth is how the cool kids do it.

Anyone else feel like natural birth has gotten trendy? And if so, do you see the shift as a good thing?

sschwege · June 2012

That's an interesting article, thanks for posting it. I could see it becoming a trend or being a trend in some areas. We really have started to see a shift to a sort of 'less is more' 'back to the basics' approach to living, so it makes sense that childbirth would follow.

When I had DD, I still felt like most people viewed my decision to see a MW and have a med-free birth to be a little 'out there' or down right crazy as some people said. I doubt I will have such a reaction this time since, I've already done it, so the shock value has kind of worn off. Plus I think some people, through my experiences have come around. The most glaring example of this would be my MIL. She was very uncomfortable with the fact that I was seeing a CNM, said she didn't care about bed side manner all she cared about was the best care (meaning a doctor) blah, blah, blah. Now having been at the birth of my DD she says if she could have her babies all over she would have done exactly as I had done.

Is it a good thing? I feel like with anything there will be good and bad to come out of it. I think it's good for women to start realizing that there are other options out there. Also for more women to start taking charge of their bodies and the decisions that go along with it. I could see how if it became too trendy, that a line might be blurred as far as what the MW model of care is. I mean what might some providers stop at to get high end clients to build their practice? Plus I would worry that if one celebrity had a bad experience all of a sudden it spoils the whole bunch.

MidwestSeashell · June 2012

Yes, it is trendy, but I do not see that as a bad thing at all, as long as the folks who are giving the care remain true to their principles.

I'm choosing natural birth because it falls in line with my personal views and lifestyle and I wouldn't trade this impending birth experience for anything. I don't care if it sounds cool to others when I say that I'm seeing a midwife or going unmedicated but it does feel empowering to me, personally, every time I acknowledge this path I've chosen.

I agree with the article that there seems to be a big shift happening towards a more holistic, simple, natural style of living on this planet. I hope that it's our species evolving a bit and realizing that we need to shape up or we're going to end up shipping ourselves out. Of course, when I say that I'm talking more about our diets and carbon footprints but I do believe that all health care, including how we deliver our babies, belongs somewhere on that list.

Some people make choices after thinking about them and others wait to hear what they're supposed to think. If we're at a place in our society where the thinkers are inspiring the followers to adopt a more holistic, natural way of living (maybe even including birth) then I think we're on the right track.

I realize that last paragraph may sound judgmental towards women who choose to have a medicated birth. It is hard for me to understand why someone would want to have an medicated birth unless complications made it absolutely necessary. All my research has indicated that medicated births and cesareans are way more risky and can have lasting psychological and physical implications for mother and child.

All that being said, I think the original trendsetters were the women, who for thousands and thousands of years, gave birth unmedicated and in the toughest conditions, making life as we know it possible today.

NechamaChayim · June 2012

It's not trendy in my circle. My sister actually said to me "I don't believe in natural" childbirth. I told her it exists. I mean, what the heck does that mean anyway? It seems almost everyone we know has a C-section. My husband was against homebirth when I first brought it up but after noticing what actually goes on in the hospital he told me he didn't want me going anywhere near one while pregnant.

cwm11985 · June 2012

It is very trendy where we live (our city is very green, organic, etc); our hospital is incredibly pro-natural. I think its great that people are catching on, but it makes absolutely no difference in the world to me if a woman chooses to go natural or to get medication; to each their own.

Nechie122 · June 2012

I read trashy magazines while waiting in line at the grocery store and it seems like celebrities go one of two extremes: scheduled c-section or natural childbirth. But I think anything that furthers the national conversation on childbirth choices is a good thing. In NYC, the most natural-friendly doctors and midwives are turning patients away because they're so over-booked. I have to suspect that other doctors and hospitals are taking note, and at least paying lip service to offering a more holistic birth experience.

dani2480 · June 2012

I don't know that I'd call it "trendy", when it's what women have been doing for pretty much our entire existence, minus the last 100 years or so when western medicine has railroaded over the process of childbirth in places like the US. I guess I see the over-medicalization of birth as being more "trendy".

Not that medicine hasn't made some fantastic contributions to childbirth, that should be absolutely lauded when used appropriately. But this "trend" of using medical interventions, drugs, surgery, etc. for every pregnancy, regardless of whether it's truly needed or safest, is one that I think may be beginning to wane a bit. With the increased availability of information and communication today, it's easier for modern women to educate and inform themselves on childbirth. I think it's this that is causing more women to realize that they have options, and that what their mothers experienced, and what some of their friends experienced, does not have to be their experience (especially when you consider how many women with highly medicalized births like to share "horror stories" and tell other women how "terrible" and "painful" childbirth is, like it's some sort of medieval torture session -- which makes you wonder how much medicine is really doing for them if that's their view of childbirth).

RockyMtnMama · June 2012

I too get a lot of props or asked for advice when people hear I went without pain meds for my two deliveries. It's a bit trendy like cloth diapers and eating kale, but it's also just an indication of a lot of women being very educated on childbirth from easy sources like the internet.

I think it's a good thing for women to be informed and educated on all aspects and if they want to try for a natural birth I'm proud of them for just trying.

RissKay · June 2012

I started to feel like it was the "in" thing to do, until someone on my monthly board asked how we were planning on giving birth. Only a handful of people replied with "natural" and several with "in the hospital with drugs "

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