Comments on: Women feeling “safe” in a hospital birth

By: Clara

Clara — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 02:03:58 +0000

Seems to me like you’re implying that being in a hospital is what causes a woman to doubt their body’s ability to work, rather than simply being aware that our bodies can and do stop working according to plan…

By: erinmidwife

erinmidwife — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 00:46:21 +0000

Hi Suzanne, CIMS stands for the Coalition for Improving Maternity Services. You can learn more about the Mother-Friendly Childbirth Initiative and Mother-Friendly Nurse Program at http://www.motherfriendly.org/

By: Suzanne

Suzanne — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 23:29:40 +0000

whoops, I meant CIMS, darn dyslexia!

Suzanne

By: Suzanne

Suzanne — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 23:28:27 +0000

Lisa,

I am a nursing student and will hopefully be an L & D nurse in a few more months before going to school to become a CNM. This is the first I have heard of the Mother-Friendly Nurse Recognition Program. Where can I go to find out more about it? Also, what does CISM stand for? The only acronym I know for it is Critical Incident Stress Management, and I know that can’t be right

Thanks!

Suzanne

By: erinmidwife

erinmidwife — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 01:50:08 +0000

Thanks for your comment Erika. I cannot answer this question for all women — it can’t be answered uniformly. Our internal worlds are one of a kind. It would be like declaring which thoughts and feelings makes people orgasm, or fear being alone. I raise the question for discussion knowing that, as humans, we can utilize both internal and external barometers or measures of safety. From my experience working with and knowing women in pregnancy and birth, some are more aligned with an internal framework of safety, and others it is more external. For example, there are women who will enter into their labor and birth with an inner sense of safety and security that comes from a deep familiarity, comfort and trust in their bodies. And some women derive a sense of comfort and safety largely from external sources, like their care provider, or an ultrasound, or listening to their baby on a doppler, etc. Probably the majority of women utilize some combination of internal and external forces.

Fear of birth is an obstacle for women wherever they plan to give birth, home or hospital. We have an entire culture of women believing their bodies probably won’t work adequately in labor, or that they won’t be able to cope with the pain. I think some amount of fear is normal and necessary in birth and it is something I have been wanting to write more about. As pregnant women we stand on the brink of the unknown. We know that a completely mysterious, magical, and probably painful undertaking lies ahead, and ultimately we must go the journey alone. Some fear is only sensible, but ideally we are able to temper that fear with a knowing and trust in our bodies’ ability to move through the process of birth, just as thousands of generations of women have before us.

By: Erika

Erika — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 13:17:01 +0000

You never answered the question; what ingredients do = feeling safe? Now that would really be something to have a recipe for feeling safe. Of all the challenges that homebirth midwifery offers, overcoming birth fear is by far the most daunting.

By: amyelizabethsmith

amyelizabethsmith — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 01:36:13 +0000

What a wonderful and passionate post. My sister-in-law “delivered” in the hospital last year and I saw so many things that I regret for her, but for her it was “normal;” her and most of my family still don’t understand my decisions. My husband does, and that’s all that matters.

Thanks for linking your blog and for checking mine out. I’m so excited to let my body do the work — due in 2 weeks now (my CPMs tell me to count on it being longer….)

Best wishes, Amy