Preserving Normal Birth

I attended the Preserving Normal Birth Conference in Lafayette a few weeks ago. I've intended to blog, or send a newsletter about it because it was so wonderful. I want to share what I learned. However, there was so much, I don't know quite where to start and how long it might take me to finish! So, I guess I'll just start and see what happens.

Celeste Phillips was the main speaker. She is amazing. For 25 years she has been a consultant to hospitals, helping them to transform their L & D wards into places with family-centered maternity care (FCMC). FCMC basically is treating people with dignity. Families are respected as units, birth is not considered an illness, mother and baby are not routinely separated, and women are given choices about their birth experience. It's not a "one size fits all" type of care.

About two hours into the program, I just felt overwhelmed. You begin to feel hopeless when you see what changes need to be made and you don't even know where to start. Outrage at how women are treated can take over. As a childbirth educator, I've heard lots and lots of stories of trauma in birth.

Then, something just clicked. I don't know if it was what Celeste said, or some mental process of my own. I just thought, "Start with what you know." Do something. You can't change everything, but you can change something. Where is your passion? What are your talents? Get about using them, and quit feeling hopeless. I could take a deep breath and not feel weighed down after that.

This is where Shreveport-Bossier BirthNetwork was born. It is my mission to advocate for high-quality family-centered maternity care in this area. It is also my goal to promote CNMs in our hospitals, delivering babies. Many, many women want midwifery care, but they want it in the hospital. Economics should not govern women's choices in birth. I feel very strongly that consumers can change the birth options here, which is why I believe in the BirthNetwork.

Celeste spoke about areas that had totally turned around. Her company goes into a city and does massive marketing surveys, finding out what women in that town actually want. In one town, many of the women said that they wanted their OB to sit and talk with them before being asked to disrobe for an exam. Basic human respect. Very simple. One older doctor refused. That did not align with his plans for seeing as many patients as quickly as possible. The other OB practice in town (there were only two), followed the wisdom from the marketing survey. In a matter of a couple of years, the first doctor was out of business. Consumer power. They simply took their business elsewhere. Of course this was not the only issue addressed, but it is one example to show you how consumers really do have the ultimate power -- the power of the pocketbook.

I'm convinced that we can truly make changes to affect the health and emotional well-being of mothers, babies, and families. If you want to be a part of this exciting consumer movement, please join the BirthNetwork.
Tracey