Labor and Delivery with a Midwife

Labor and delivery; it brings joy but also pain for the woman.Obviously there is joy because of the newborn baby, but any woman will tell you, it was a source of unspeakable pain.

Well it is because of that pain that there are two schools of thought on how pregnancy and delivery should be carried about.  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 a lesser known model, not as widely accepted, for those that have experienced it and believe in it, they consider it a safer alternative for the woman.

That model is the midwifery model as it is called.That is in obvious contrast with the usual medical model way of doing things.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.

Against most popular beliefs, not using medicine during labor actually allows the labor to happen quite a bit faster because drugs usually slow down the labor.

The midwife as a profession does have a regulatory board that licenses, certifies, and oversees 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 allow the birth and delivery to happen as naturally as 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.

My hope is that this information has given you more information on the benefits of midwifery and using a midwife in your pregnancy.  At the very least, hopefully it gives you more options to explore.  Remember this is first hand knowledge from a San Diego midwife.