HW 39- Insights from pregnancy and birth book part 2

After reading Born in the USA by Marsden Wagner (published 2006 by The Regents of the University of California) up to about page 200, it seems that the book is organized in the way I had originally expected. As discussed in the previous post, the first 100 pages focused mainly on the dominant social practice of going to the hospital to give birth under the supervision of an obstetrician. Now it seems that the author has shifted focus and for the second hundred pages, she is discussing the less commonly practiced procedure of using a midwife to assist the pregnancy and birth process. (However, in this section there are exceptions, and Dr. Wagner will sometimes refer back to the obstetric practices) There are many interesting aspects of the second hundred pages of Born in the USA that have to do with pregnancy and birth. I learned about ABC's (alternate birth centers) for the first time in this section, as well as the author's general insight that, "In a hospital an obstetrician is in control, whereas in an ABC the birthing woman is in control." (Wagner, 133) Also, the author mentioned the fact that Midwives could save families a lot of money as opposed to hospital births, and reminded us that the right to refuse treatment is granted by both the constitution and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Finally, another interesting phrase that Dr. Wagner used was, "Doctors control women with fear. They have succeeded in convincing the great majority of American women that they cannot safely give birth outside the hospital." (Wagner, 190)

After finishing about two thirds of the book, the main argument that stood out to me was that any environment that employs midwives rather than obstetricians is more suitable for healthy, normal births. So I decided to do some research on what the author calls ABC's, or alternative birth centers. This is what the Providence Alternative Birth Center had to say about themselves, "The philosophy of the unit is to foster a natural birth experience – one that does not routinely require medical intervention – and one that respects your privacy while encouraging family involvement. The Birthing Center rooms are equipped with queensize beds, a hydrotherapy tub for relaxation during labor, birthing chairs, comfortable recliner chairs, a refrigerator and many more amenities." (http://www.stjohnprovidence.org/Women/Pregnancy/) Another quote I found stated that, "A certified birthing center offers the opportunity for pregnant women to take greater control of their pregnancy care and creating the kind of environment they prefer for labor and delivery." (http://www.parentprofiles.com/pregnancy-articles/birthing-centers-an-alternative-to-hospital-deliveries) So according to these two sources, Dr. Wagner was correct in saying that women would possess greater control over their experience outside of a hospital. So really the next question that rises from this would be if it is more important for the woman to be able to make her own choices, or is the hospital (with its more advanced technology and procedures) the better choice? I'm sure the answer to this question is different for every woman, but so far, this book has got me thinking midwives are the way to go.