Ina May Gaskin: A Must Read for Mothers-to-Be

Not many people have heard her name, much less know what an incredible woman she is. I didn't learn about Ina May until my last semester of nursing school, when an instructor (and midwife) quoted her in a presentation. I don't even remember what the quote was. But the name stuck with me, and I ordered several of her books. I was blown away by the depth, sincerity, integrity, and strength of this woman, Ina May. So who is she?

Ina May Gaskin is a certified professional midwife. She began delivering babies by accident, back in the early 1970s, when the group of people she lived with needed someone to help out during deliveries. Over the years she taught herself, and others, about childbirth. At first she learned from books. Then, a physician that lived nearby agreed to assist and teach. She has stayed at what she calls "The Farm" (where their midwifery practice continues today) for nearly 40 years now, educating women and assisting in births.  But what makes Ina May so different and special?

Over the past 30 years, nearly 96% of births at The Farm occurred at home. Only 1.5% required emergency transport to a hospital. Nearly 99% of the births occurring at The Farm occur vaginally, leaving a c-section rate of just 1.4%. That's right: 1.4% c-section rate! How does that compare to the rest of the United States? Right now the c-section rate stands at 24.4% - and is rising. That's right: one out of every four babies in our country is delivered by major surgery. This is outrageous and unacceptable. It not only puts a mother at higher risk for post-surgery complications, it also puts the baby at risk for a long list of complications (including breathing problems, premature birth, and instrument injury). Additionally, Ina May assists women at The Farm in delivering naturally, with no need for epidurals and other medications (which can not only leave a baby lethargic and "sleepy" upon delivery, but also get in the way of the body's natural production of oxytocin - the "love" hormone that helps mother-child bond during the first few hours after birth).

Ina May teaches internationally about how to improve maternal and fetal outcomes during labor and delivery. She speaks to midwives and physicians all over the world about low-intervention methods during childbirth. Her philosophy toward childbirth includes appropriate medical intervention. She is not opposed to c-sections and other invasive medical techniques when necessary - but she strongly believes (and has shown) that most of the time, these interventions are completely unnecessary! She is a living testament that through proper prenatal care and education, in addition to providing a relaxing and gentle setting for birth to occur in, women in our society can continue to enjoy the experience of natural childbirth.

Ina May encourages women who are pregnant (or thinking of becoming pregnant) to stop listening to and stop watching all the horror stories of labors gone wrong. Because, quite simply, almost 99% of women will delivery naturally. Even with twins. Even with a breech birth. Without serious complications. The media, movies, and television love to dramatize birth and make it into something it simply is not. While pregnant myself, I heeded Ina May's advice. Instead, I picked up Ina May's Guide to Childbirth and Spiritual Midwifery. Whenever I began to doubt my decision to have a natural labor, Ina May's words would encourage and inspire me. Story after story of women telling their experience of labor and delivery. I could hear the pride and joy in their words as they described what it was like for them to labor unmedicated, surrounded by loving and caring midwives, husbands, and friends. There were also one or two stories of women who did need a c-section - and their stories also inspired and encouraged me. The more I would read, the more calm and reassured I became.

I encourage every woman who is pregnant or plans on becoming pregnant to buy a copy of Ina May's books. She has a new one (Ina May's Guide to Breastfeeding) which is also a lovely and informative read. It is time to reassess the direction in which childbirth is moving in our country. With infant and mother mortality rates on the rise, we need to decide, as a culture, if modern medicine and hospitals as a first line of defense is really the right choice for most women. It is also time to say STOP to how birth is portrayed in movies and on television, turning it into something that is scary and unbearable - rather than something that is beautiful and empowering. So find a copy of Ina May's books for yourself, read it, re-read it, and buy a copy for your friends and family.

Why I Chose a Midwife.

My mother delivered me at home in 1981 with only my father and a midwife present. It's a beautiful story, one she told me many times growing up. I loved listening to the intimacy in her voice as she would remember that night. In my mind, I could imagine the Douglas fir trees rustling all around our cozy little house in the middle of winter as a new life was born. My very first memory as a child is of my mother in labor. Not with me, of course, but with my younger brother. I remember being in the room with her while she lay on the bed, moaning in pain. It scared me, so I ran out of the room into the arms of my grandmother. Before I ran out, though, I recall my mother reassuring me, telling me "It's okay, honey, it's a good pain ... mommy's okay." And she was. My brother was delivered not long after into the loving hands of another midwife.

Perhaps it was these stories and memories that made me know from a young age that I would deliver my children under the guidance of a midwife. Perhaps, though, it was also what I learned in nursing school, at Johns Hopkins University, one of the best nursing and medical schools in the nation. I learned that in a normal pregnancy, home births are just as safe as hospital births. I learned that having a midwife made you less likely to have a cesarean section or epidural. I learned that pain medications DO affect the baby and mother. I learned that using continuous fetal heart monitoring on mothers does NOTHING to better birth outcomes ... it only increases risk of having a cesarean. I learned that the only reason mothers are placed in the lithotomy position during labor is because it is most comfortable for the doctor who is delivering the baby ... and that the lithotomy position is actually one of the most uncomfortable and least productive ways for a woman to labor. I learned that a campaign against midwives started in the early 1900s because doctors wanted their business ... and that the damage done to their reputations still rings loud and clear today, nearly 100 years later.

The more I learned, the more emotion I felt. Sometimes I felt angry. Angry that men (traditionally the doctors) would dare to intervene in a woman's most intimate and powerful work (delivering a baby). Angry at the fear tactics still used in the medical system to keep women in the hospital and out of their homes and birth clinics. Sometimes I felt sad. Sad that women are told they are not strong enough to handle the pain of birth and must be medicated. Sad that so many women miss out on the opportunity to really know their true strength as a woman. Sometimes I felt confused. Why are we allowing this to happen in our culture? Is it all about money? Is birth really that dangerous? Most of the time, however, I felt resolved. Resolved to have a midwife attend my birth and assist me in the natural delivery of my daughter. Resolved to share with others my story, which is not unique or special, but simply the story of a birth as it was for me, and my mother, and my mother's mother, and my mother's mother's mother, and my mother's mother's mother's mother.

What I did not want: 1) To be strapped to a fetal heart monitor in a hospital bed, 2) To have doctors and nurses rushing in and out of my room as I labored, 3) To be told that I needed an epidural or pain medications because it would "help me" labor better, 4) To have a plastic wrist band with my name and a number being used for identifying me, 5) To have everyone staring at a monitor that told them when a contraction is beginning or ending (as if I didn't know already), 6) To have some person I did not know telling me to "push" and counting to 10 for me, 7) To be surrounded by blue surgical scrubs and masks with a bright light shining on my yoni during the most miraculous, amazing, and powerful moment of my life. No thank you.

And so I chose differently. I chose a midwife. And I wrote out my birth plan. And we talked and connected over my pregnancy. And she came to my house when my water broke. And she slept on the futon while I labored. And she drove to the hospital with me (because of insurance reasons, she is no longer allowed to do home deliveries) when I was 8 centimeters. And she stroked my back and legs. She walked with me to the shower. She whispered in my ear. And she gently lifted my newborn daughter onto my bare chest when it was time. And I felt powerful and beautiful and strong and ALIVE. Not a drop of anything but my own oxytocin rushing through my blood, and the blood of my daughter.

If we are someday blessed with another pregnancy and another birth, I will again choose a midwife. Only this time I will not choose one because of my mother's stories or the things I learned in nursing school. This time I will choose a midwife because of my own story. A story I will someday share with my own daughter. As it should be.