Birthing options? Hmm...

While I must admit I thought I had all the information regarding my birthing options I needed with baby #1...it starts with Ep and ends with dural :) I was quite ignorant of why others would possibly choose any other way. Seriously tho... Why would you choose to FEEL a baby come out of your woman sanctuary?! I always looked at it like if my leg was broken I would obviously prefer some pain med instead of experiencing the full effect.
But now as I contemplate my "birth plan" (that phrase has always irritated me because no one really knows what going to happen) for baby #2 I thought I should research more about the crazies who choose natural birth. And just in general statistics on child birth and such. Oddly enough it was good ole' Ricky Lake and Netflix that did me some justice. There is a documentary out she produced called The Business of Being Born. If you don't mind all the massive milk laden boobs and birthing moms it's actually pretty insightful.
My experience with Z was a basic American birth, get admitted, get an IV then they give you pitocin even if you are dilated to a 6 and progressing, then they offer an epidural b/c the pitocin just made your contractions out of this world...so you say yes. Mean while no one would check me b/c if they did they would have to call in the doctor early for work(Heaven forbid) so they wait till I'm shaking so hard and make someone come in after asking for 30 minutes. Oh what do you know the head has crowned. At this point I'm just happy to be having a healthy baby and can't feel anything. Mean while what has really happened was others were controlling by birth, giving me drugs that increase my chance of c-section by 50% and aren't even necessary. But as a first time mom and someone who has never even broken a bone. I trusted the well trained medical staff and went along with it. How naive and childish. We come from a culture who doesn't want to give there kids unnatural food, dyes, preservatives...yet we have no idea about how to safely bring them into the world. OB/GYN's are trained surgeons we need them, we love them when the time comes but facts are they are not birthing experts. And the 30% of women getting c-sections in the US right now verse 7% in 1975 is showing the link between what is really convenient for the doctor and not for the patient. As women we can barely find hospitals with birthing tubs, slings, balls...anything to help facilitate a drug free birth. Hospitals are set up for epidurals and c-sections and that Is mainly all that happens there. Why would a doctor want to wait 16 hrs for a natural birth when he could have a 20 minute c-section or a calm mother with an epidural?!
I was repeatedly told there were "basically" no risks with an epidural, pitocin or being induced...I was lied to over and over. That pisses me off! There are serious risks with all 3. Who was my advocate? No one.

Well not this time around, I will be arriving knowing exactly what should and shouldn't enter my body and will allow for myself to have an empowering moment being a woman and mother. I hope all woman can do this for themselves. No matter what your birth plan is, know your options and the risks. Why are we going into such a big event in our lives totally not prepared? Have we spent countless hours getting unnecessary crap ready for our precious baby? yet we have failed to open books helping us explore what the birthing experience can be. We let movies and other unprepared females tell us how hard it is and how painful it is. I refuse to let that be my experience, I choose to control my environment, protect my child and myself.