Practices... - Midwifery - Unwanted Interventions in the Hospital

Often women will arrive in labour with a well constructed birth plan stating which interventions they would like to avoid in labour. This may not be necessary if you are being cared for by a midwife, since she should be well aware of your particular needs before labour begins. However, the hospital you give birth in, with or without a midwife, may have "rules" regarding machines to monitor your baby's heart rate, breaking your waters, regular internal examinations, restriction of food and drink in labour, and induction of labour for being overdue. If you feel strongly about natural birth and avoiding intervention, it is a good idea to understand when these may be necessary and when they can be avoided.

The medicalization of childbirth has left women feeling they no longer have control over birthing procedures and do not know how to give birth without these tools. We need to once again follow our intuition and trust our bodies. Further reading on natural childbirth is provided in the For More Information section.