Waiting, waiting...

I have been reading 'A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary 1785-1812' which is as interesting a historical piece as I have ever read. What has struck me the most - to date as I haven't quite finished it - was her attitude to birth.

Martha documented that 'a natural process might still be uncomfortable and frightening, and when mismanaged even a normal birth could be dangerous'. She didn't like leaving the birthing mother unattended recording that unattended women were 'in a deplorable condition' or 'suffering for want of help'. I love this woman! This was generally regarded as the case by women throughout history but interestingly it is at about her time that medical men began attending births. Two hundred years later and the doula has come about for that exact reason. In between, history has seen the medical model become more and more prevalent and the women more and more powerless over birth so now we doula's are here to change it all back. Well not exactly, but you know what I mean.

There were a couple of medical men who had begun attending births during her years of midwifery. One doctor documented 20% of his births as something other than 'natural', using terminology such as 'tedious', 'instrumental' and 'complicated'. Martha had just 5.6% listed as 'difficult'. Of the time one medical historian estimated that 96% of all birth occur spontaneously and naturally. If only we still felt that way! It won the Pulitzer Prize in 1991 for it's historical content so if you're interested in midwifery and are a history nerd like me I would recommend it.

Enough of that. Ricki Lake has produced a movie. 'The Business of Being Born' out soon which has been called by one newspaper the 'Inconvenient Truth' of the maternity world. I have yet to see it but I think it may be worthwhile. Here's a snippet: http://www.thebusinessofbeingborn.com/trailer.htm

And so I have nearly moved house (and city for that matter) which means I can almost get myself immersed in my 'work' as a Doula. I completed all theory ages ago and now I just want to attend births. I have one lined up and a second tentatively arranged which is so exciting. Bring on the new year!