I was thinking. There are some huge misconceptions about labor/birth/breastfeeding. I figured I'd start with just a post about labor misconceptions.
* It's only normal to have an OB deliver your baby. Honestly, I don't understand why OBs are so popular. I've attended many OB births and births with a CNM (Certified Nurse Midwife). The difference is incredible. The CNM believes in your body and in birth. They understand how it works and have enough faith in the natural process to allow for each and every birth to be as different as they are supposed to be.
* If you are past your due date you can just be induced and everything will be great, you aren't supposed to go past it you know. False. Some women are just long gestators. Some babies are small and need the extra time. Some women's bodies simply aren't ready to birth until 41 weeks, sometimes even longer. Your estimated due date is just that. An estimated arrival date for baby. There's nothing binding about that date. It's not an eviction date. There are many benefits to letting baby pick their birthday!
* An epidural is just like getting Novocaine at the dentist. Birth is not like getting a route canal. This is SUCH an enormous misconception. There is a beauty in the natural birth process that gets lost when medicated. Every birth is beautiful and some mamas really need the medication to relax and cope. I support moms in their birthing rites and decisions. I just think it's only fair for women to know the other side. That raw, vulnerable pain of bringing a child into the world is a completely different pain than any other we've experienced. It's life-altering.
* Getting a doula is only for super earthy hippies who hate drugs and want nothing to do with them. The definition of a doula is a labor servant. We are here to support, love, inform, and encouraging laboring mothers. Many of us (myself included) are very normal people. We came to be doulas through our own difficult births, or our friends, family members, etc. Some are opposed to drugs and really aim to help mothers avoid them. But most of us love births and just want to help laboring mommas welcome their new little ones into the world.
* C-sections are always necessary. Society likes to believe that C-sections are only and always life-saving procedures. About 15% of the time (I believe even less in actuality) Cesareans are life-saving and completely needed. We are thankful to have skilled surgeons to perform these procedures when necessary. It is SO important to be informed so you don't end up one of the 15-20% of women having unnecessary C-sections in the US each year.
I hope some of these get people thinking and talking differently about birth and the truly wonderful thing that it is!
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