| Now
back to the original question – Why did I choose natural childbirth?
Well,
at first I figured, this was the way women had done it since the
beginning of time, so that's the way I would do it too. This is
the way nature intended the birth process to be and who was I to
mess with Mother Nature?
Plus,
I have to admit, it also had more than a little something to do
with the fact that EVERYONE, including my husband, told me I "couldn't
do it!" And given my competitive nature, I was determined to
prove them all wrong. But as I started reading, I realized not only
was it normal and natural, but it was also the right thing to do
– for me and my baby!
Luckily,
I knew a very wise and wonderful woman who didn't scoff at me or
think I was crazy for wanting to "torture" myself. She
was a co-worker and fellow 'person of juice' (as she likes to call
women like us). She had birthed her two children at home with a
midwife and gave me several books about midwifery and natural childbirth
– along with lots of encouragement. Genuine encouragement.
Which was something I was having a hard time finding.
So,
after my first prenatal appointment with the OB, I left and never
looked back. I figured if this doctor thought I needed drugs to
conceive, I'm sure she'll think I need drugs to give birth and I
wanted no part of that.
Now,
it just so happened that shortly after my appointment, I was at
a concept meeting at Clark Memorial Hospital (I worked as a web
designer then). For some reason, maybe it was intuition or maybe
I had heard a rumor somewhere, but I asked them if they had a nurse
midwife on staff, and they did! I rushed back from the meeting,
called the midwife and talked to her on the phone for an hour! She
answered every question I had. I couldn't believe she spent an hour
on the phone with me.
Then
she said to bring my husband into the office to meet her. A few
days later we did. And she spent another 45 minutes with us in person.
We were sold! And we've never regretted the decision.
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