From the moment a pregnant woman does not have the necessary information to decide how and where to give birth, a situation is being generated in which the performance of the medical personnel who will attend the delivery 'predominates'; here we had already talked about what the Obstetric Violence, and in her derives many times this lack of implication of the future mother in a process whose main protagonists should be her and her baby. Although in recent years we are witnessing the adaptation of hospital facilities to facilitate freedom of movement, dilate in a relaxed environment, and give birth with minimal interventions, there is still a lot of: 'We are going to put you on monitors, after shaving, we will administer oxytocin, and if after several hours nothing at all, we will perform a cesarean section'; Ok, it seems exaggerated and it is also hyper summarized, but surely you have understood me.
The group of activists for the freedom of birth Freedom for birth, Rome Action Group, is made up of professional women from different fields, who were organized after the viewing of “Freedom for birth”, a documentary that you can buy here, and has the contribution of different experts the likes of Michel Odent o Sarah Buckey, its directors are Alex Wakeford and Toni Harman. At the beginning of last month, Freedom for birth, Rome Action Group, published this 7-minute video in which - by analogy - the impact of interventionism is well understood in a process that should be natural. The campaign is carried out jointly with Life of Donna.
Starting from the action of the oxytocin as a 'love' hormone (also involved in birth, sexual relations and breastfeeding), the idea develops to show a couple trying to maintain a sexual relationship; relationship that is repeatedly interrupted by a doctor and which could be a nurse (Or perhaps it represents the midwife who attends deliveries?). Both wear their corresponding gowns, and apply the corresponding 'protocol', without taking into account the needs or desires of a woman and a man who are not sick but see how they are tested, control various functions, and are also given instructions on 'how to move'.
You cannot give birth calmly when you are constantly intervening
A labor progresses naturally when the mother is in a cozy and stress-free place; here the convenience or not of the presence of health professionals is not being discussed, it is only shown that oxytocin production it will be inhibited if there are many people present, or if the mother is prevented from adopting certain postures. During childbirth, the mother can be in a position that is comfortable for her, she can also drink (because there is no evidence to indicate that it is not recommended); and of course, it is not necessary for her to be monitored, or to have her pubis shaved ... Much less that the lights in the delivery room look in all their splendor as if we were in a shopping center!
Nor could you have a relaxed sexual relationship if someone was aware of the postures, analyzes the quality of the sperm or watches that the man pushes properly ... it would be ridiculous, of course, and I doubt that any couple would accept it; But in many deliveries, the mother ends up accepting a supposed superiority of the doctors (and I say knowing that little by little things are changing, and even more that they have to do so).
The justification
In Italy 4 out of 10 mothers have their baby by cesarean section, it is a very high rate, there is no doubt about that; in fact, the WHO warns that for more than 10 percent of births using this technique, there is no justification, no benefit! In the end, when everything has passed, it seems that there is no other option but to rejoice because the baby is healthy; but many caesarean sections are unnecessary, and that must be made visible. At the end of the video that you are about to see, the couple are happy for the doctor's intervention, because 'if it weren't for him' they would not have been able to conceive; I love how they turn it around to warn about the excessive instrumentalization of childbirth.
The first error of course is make it difficult for us to have information: What are the effects of synthetic oxytoxin? Is it true that episiotomy is necessary? Will I be able to eat during childbirth? How long can a delivery last? Is it necessary to lie down? I say this because many women are previously informed, and the fruit of that conscious act are the birth plans; However, when it is not the expectant mother who takes the step to obtain more information, it should be the professionals who provide it.
This video, which has the virtue of helping those who know little about these topics, to put themselves in the shoes of a pregnant woman who has gone into labor and has gone to the hospital, is available with subtitles in several languages, and as I have read soon We can also read it in Spanish, although it is perfectly understood.
Finally, I would like to provide an idea based on some of the comments that the review of this initiative has generated after its publication in different media. I have found people (both men and women) understanding and respectful with the idea of supporting the woman's decision during childbirth, to opinions based on an alleged discriminatory request by mothers (things like 'let's see if they believe that inside a hospital they can be treated differently '), and also commentators scandalized by the fact that we are the ones to decide instead of the health personnel. Of course, any negative perception stems from ignorance of the physiology of childbirth, and the benefits to be found in allowing it to develop in the right conditions.