Pregnancy and delivery; a source of joy and pain for the woman. Obviously joy because of the new baby, but ask any woman, and they will tell you a source of unspeakable pain.
Well because of the pain that woman go through, there are two different schools of thought on how labor and delivery should happen. I am going to offer some perspective on one particular school of thought that I have gained first hand experience with by being a homebirth midwife San Diego.
There is the medical model for delivering babies which is tied in with using drugs to kill the pain, and sometimes c -sections to finish the delivery.
While there is another model, which though not widely accepted, for those who believe in it and have experience it consider it much safer and natural for the woman.
That model is the midwifery model as it is called. That model is in stark contrast with the medical model.The medical model is where you rely heavily on medicine, while the midwifery model relies on the natural. Midwifery believes that pregnancy and delivery is a natural process and thus should be allowed to happen naturally.
This model is performed by a group called midwives. Midwives San Diego are generally woman, who attend the birth, often times at the mother’s home.This midwife would help with some techniques that help the woman go through labor as naturally as possible without drugs.
Contrary to most people’s opinion, when medicine is not used during labor, it allows the labor to proceed much faster without the use of drugs to slow the labor down.
The midwife is a professional with a regulatory board that certifies and licenses the individual.
Although often not a doctor or nurse, some midwives can be nurses.
Even though they are not formal doctors or nurses, they will have some medical equipment for emergencies like resuscitation devices and equipment for suturing.
So in regards to pregnancy and delivery this is what a midwife is and generally what midwifery is about.
Their goals are to let the labor and delivery happen as naturally possible. This reduces the likelihood of a c-section. Doesn’t allow you to be subject to invasive hospital procedures such as episiotomys.Less medical intrusion will be used such as drugs to speed up or slow the pregnancy or the breaking of the water.And the part woman love the most, usually labor and delivery happen much faster naturally.
Hopefully this was informative and helped you understand some of the benefits of midwifery and having a midwife there for your pregnancy.At the very least, it gives you some different options to look into and explore. Remember this is first hand knowledge from a San Diego midwife.