In response to the cascade of interventions (see Birth Flow Chart page, here) that commonly occurs in hospitals, many women have opted to try to have a "natural birth" with no medical interventions.
Having a natural birth does not mean you have to have a home birth, or a birth in a birth center, but these are options. It is possible to have a natural birth in a hospital, with the added comfort of knowing if anything goes wrong you have a doctor nearby: it is rare, but some births have medical complications that make it safer to be in a hospital, such as this woman, who tragically passed away after giving birth at home recently (click here for video). So hospitals can be safer, but you must be well informed and inform the hospital of your intentions not to use pain medication or induction drugs early on. You must also have a doctor or a midwife that you trust and can communicate with, because even if you plan a natural birth, there are some circumstances where interventions ARE NECESSARY!
There is a particularly famous documentary that talks about one woman's experience in researching and trying to have a natural home birth. The documentary is called "The Business of Being Born", and I think that all pregnant woman should watch it....you guessed it...with your critical thinking engaged! The woman uses a midwife, who is someone (usually a woman) very educated on birth, and on natural birth. I like this documentary because even though the director planned to have a natural home birth, she ended up going to the hospital, because her midwife advised her to. To me, this shows the importance of having a trained, experienced person around...there are some people who, for fear of medical interventions, might try to have the child at home, alone. I think this documentary shows that if you are going to have a home birth, you need a midwife around. Even though the documentary strongly favors natural birth, it is balanced to show that sometimes medicine is needed.
The official Business of Being Born website is found here: http://www.thebusinessofbeingborn.com/ At the top of the page it says "Watch now", and you can watch the original, or five follow-up documentaries for about $4.00 each or $10.00 for all.
Another place you can watch "The Business of being Born", online for free, (at least on December 8th, 2012!) is http://documentarylovers.net/the-business-of-being-born/ .
Another options is to sign up for NetFlix (you get a one month free trial), as they also have "The Business of Being Born".
For people's personal opinions on natural birth vs.pain medications like epidurals, see a poll and forum thread on baby center here: http://community.babycenter.com/post/a26015773/natural_birth_or_epi
REMEMBER: This website is not complete information...researching the various viewpoints and options for birth is a big project. This is site is only meant to encourage you to educate yourself, so that you will be empowered no matter how your birth story goes.
Having a natural birth does not mean you have to have a home birth, or a birth in a birth center, but these are options. It is possible to have a natural birth in a hospital, with the added comfort of knowing if anything goes wrong you have a doctor nearby: it is rare, but some births have medical complications that make it safer to be in a hospital, such as this woman, who tragically passed away after giving birth at home recently (click here for video). So hospitals can be safer, but you must be well informed and inform the hospital of your intentions not to use pain medication or induction drugs early on. You must also have a doctor or a midwife that you trust and can communicate with, because even if you plan a natural birth, there are some circumstances where interventions ARE NECESSARY!
There is a particularly famous documentary that talks about one woman's experience in researching and trying to have a natural home birth. The documentary is called "The Business of Being Born", and I think that all pregnant woman should watch it....you guessed it...with your critical thinking engaged! The woman uses a midwife, who is someone (usually a woman) very educated on birth, and on natural birth. I like this documentary because even though the director planned to have a natural home birth, she ended up going to the hospital, because her midwife advised her to. To me, this shows the importance of having a trained, experienced person around...there are some people who, for fear of medical interventions, might try to have the child at home, alone. I think this documentary shows that if you are going to have a home birth, you need a midwife around. Even though the documentary strongly favors natural birth, it is balanced to show that sometimes medicine is needed.
The official Business of Being Born website is found here: http://www.thebusinessofbeingborn.com/ At the top of the page it says "Watch now", and you can watch the original, or five follow-up documentaries for about $4.00 each or $10.00 for all.
Another place you can watch "The Business of being Born", online for free, (at least on December 8th, 2012!) is http://documentarylovers.net/the-business-of-being-born/ .
Another options is to sign up for NetFlix (you get a one month free trial), as they also have "The Business of Being Born".
For people's personal opinions on natural birth vs.pain medications like epidurals, see a poll and forum thread on baby center here: http://community.babycenter.com/post/a26015773/natural_birth_or_epi
REMEMBER: This website is not complete information...researching the various viewpoints and options for birth is a big project. This is site is only meant to encourage you to educate yourself, so that you will be empowered no matter how your birth story goes.