Consumer Reports on Childbirth

HT: Keri at Family Journey

Consumer Reports has a quiz and report about maternity care in America. You will be glad to know that I got 100% on the quiz. But as a former doula and a current childbirth educator, I know that most of America would fail. This is not because most Americans are stupid. It is just that most choose not to educate themselves about childbirth. I encourage you to start your education by reading the report.

The report can be summed up by the opening sentence. "When it's time to bring a new baby into the world, there's a lot to be said for letting nature take the lead."

Here are a few more gems from it.

The report found that, in the U.S., too many healthy women with low-risk pregnancies are being routinely subjected to high-tech or invasive interventions that should be reserved for higher-risk pregnancies.

In fact, the current style of maternity care is so procedure-intensive that 6 of the 15 most common hospital procedures used in the entire U.S. are related to childbirth.

The reasons for this overuse might have more to do with profit and liability issues than with optimal care, the report points out.

Convenience for health care workers and patients might be another factor.

It then goes on to lament the lack of high-touch, lower cost, noninvasive measures. Some of these would be the use of midwives for low-risk pregnancies, the use of a companion for the mother such as a doula or her mother (if her mother is comfortable with birth), and upright birthing positions.

Ladies, God created an awesome childbirth system. It works really well almost all the time. . . when we get out of the way. It is disturbing to me how many women are suckered into the lies of the medical establishment in this country.