Megan Lee

In today’s generation, women aren’t given much information about the options that they have concerning childbirth. Before recently, I considered my only option to be a hospital birth, and I believed that at-home births were dangerous and crude. I didn’t know that anyone even considered giving birth outside of a hospital setting, and I certainly had no idea that midwives existed in modern times. Although I’m still not very educated on the topic, I have the ability to consider more than one way of giving birth in the future. I see childbirth as a privilege and a beautiful experience; therefore I want my own childbirth to be as natural as possible. I always thought that I would give birth in a hospital because it was the safest option. However, I realize that the use of a midwife can be just as safe is proper precautions are taken. I still don’t know much, but I can infer that a midwife helps deliver the baby, and takes the role of the doctor who would be present in a hospital setting. The difference that I know is that midwives keep childbirth as natural as possible, and try to interfere as little as possible with the relationship between mother and child. I also know that childbirth can be aided with the use of an epidural – although I’m not sure exactly what this means, I believe it’s some kind of pain medication used to make childbirth easier. As with all medications, it’s clear that this might not be safe in all cases, however it’s still an option presented to women at the time of their childbirth. With the knowledge that I have now, I would consider either a hospital birth or the use of a midwife. I would be sure to do my own research into both methods before deciding which one is right for me. I am fairly positive, however, that I want to give birth without medication, in order to have the most natural experience possible.