Birth choices, Birth Plans and Informed Consent in Childbirth have been the buzz words in childbirth since the 1980s.
Prior to the 1980s, women had no choices so advocating for birth choices was good. To be honest, birth ‘choices’ were not actually advocated. In reality, ‘choice’ was to say ‘no’ to medical care … not ‘yes’ to more medical care. But you can’t have it both ways. Either women have birth choices or not.
However, birth ‘choices’ came at the expense of birth ‘skills’ that had been the very first childbirth preparation classes taught from the 1960s-mid1970.
On the one hand, women are now told by birth advocates, that each of us knows what we want for our birth and birth providers should give us that birth. We’re also told that if our Birth Plans change that we should be involved in any decision making. What does that mean exactly?
On the other hand, giving birth is an activity each of us does with our baby regardless of whether our birth unfolds as we would like or not. Does it make sense that birthing women now are making choices yet have no clue how to do the activity of birthing our baby?
Then we want to ask a question. Why do you seek professional help? We go because they have skills we don’t have and we rely on them to use their skills.
How can we participate in ‘informed consent’ during birth? Do you use ‘informed consent’ when your doctor gives you medications for other elements of your life or your children’s life? How is birth different?
Whether you have ‘informed consent’ during your birth, YOU and only YOU have to do the activity of birthing your baby. What you really need are a good set of skills so you can get on with ‘doing’ the activity whether you love or hate it; get what you imagined or not; liked how your birth providers treated you or not.
And here’s the secret. Highly skilled birthing women who look and sound like they are coping and managing well as they do the ‘activity’ of giving birth are more likely to impress their birth providers and more like to negotiate what assessments, monitoring and procedures they are going to have, AND skilled women will work alongside any of those.