"I do enjoy making women feel guilty"
A recent article in the Oregonian focused on the fact that "natural" childbirth advocates often make other women feel bad about their choices. I was interviewed for the article and I agree with the author's perspective on the subject. Barbara Harper, author of Gentle Birth Choices, and a proponent of waterbirth is quoted in the article as follows:Medical childbirth inhibits bonding, ... creating emotional scars for mother and child -- and should be avoided if possible. "Babies know how to be born, and mothers know how to give birth," she says. "Centuries of feminine wisdom are lost when it is turned over to doctors."She starts with the typical vicious and gratiutious slur on the relationships of other mothers and their babies. At least she's honest about the motivations for her contempt of women who make different choices. She enjoys making women feel guilty. No big surprise there. That's half the fun of natural childbirth advocacy: feeling good about yourself by making other women feel bad.
"I do enjoy making women feel guilty," she says. "They are so natural the whole pregnancy, eating only organic food and not touching a drop of alcohol, and they'll throw it all down the minute they step into a hospital."
It appears that she may have had second thoughts about how she came across in the article. On her own blog she offered further clarification. Yet even while denying that "natural" childbirth advocates look down upon and demean other women, she cannot refrain from looking down upon and demeaning other women. Here's the opening paragraph:
Most women desire to have an empowering birth experience which is gentle and loving, as well as safe for their baby. Many women today are aware that the experience of birth affects not only their own lives, but more importantly, the lives of their babies. Women who seek ways to avoid unnecessary trauma or violence at the time of birth are not doing so to "bear the pain of natural birth" nor are they out to make anyone "feel pressured" into choosing what they feel is the best for their babies. Women in Oregon, who choose to birth naturally, are strong, vibrant and full of determination to avoid medical interventions, if at all possible. These women want to avoid the routine use of powerful drugs, chemicals, artificial hormones and surgical instruments whenever possible because they feel it is best for their babies and their own health and well being. We have the knowledge and understanding of what it takes to help a woman experience an undisturbed and powerful birth.Here's the deconstruction that I posted in the comments:
In many ways, this post demonstrates the reasons for the negative feelings that "natural" childbirth advocacy engenders in a large number of women.
The language is pejorative and condenscending. Take the first paragraph as an example:
"Most women desire to have an empowering birth experience"
No, most women do NOT desire an empowering experience. Most women desire a healthy baby and a healthy mother. The whole notion of "empowerment" through vaginal birth is a social construct of a small cultural subgroup, and dates back only a few decades. To my knowledge, no one wrote or spoke about "empowering" birth for the thousands of years of recorded history prior to the 1930's.
"Many women today are aware that the experience of birth affects not only their own lives, but more importantly, the lives of their babies."
There is no scientific evidence that the experience of birth affects the lives of babies. That is just something fabricated by "natural" childbirth advocates.
"Women who seek ways to avoid unnecessary trauma or violence at the time of birth"
Trauma and violence are needlessly (and deliberately) pejorative terms. There is no evidence that C-sections are violent or traumatic, and there is no evidence that vaginal deliveries are not violent or traumatic. Again, this is entirely fabricated by "natural" childbirth advocates to make themselves feel good about their own choices by denigrating others who make different choices.
"Women in Oregon, who choose to birth naturally, are strong, vibrant and full of determination"
And women who choose C-sections or end up with C-sections are no less "strong, vibrant and full of determination", although their determination is to have a healthy baby, not to have an "empowering" personal "experience". They are equally worthy of our respect and admiration. To imply otherwise is gratuitously insulting.
"These women want to avoid the routine use of powerful drugs, chemicals, artificial hormones and surgical instruments whenever possible because they feel it is best for their babies and their own health and well being."
They may "feel" it is best, but there is no scientific evidence that it is best. This is yet another fabrication by the "natural" childbirth subculture.
"We have the knowledge and understanding of what it takes to help a woman experience an undisturbed and powerful birth."
Anyone can have an "undisturbed" birth and most mothers who have ever lived have had unmedicated birth without interventions. Indeed the majority of women throughout the world give birth each and every day without medication or interventions of any kind. Of course, they die by the multitudes and even more of their babies die. There is no "achievement" in having an unmedicated birth without interventions. Anyone can do it, if they choose. The achievement is having very low maternal and neonatal mortality rates. ONLY modern obstetrics can achieve that.
So much of what passes for "natural" childbirth advocacy is just the attempt of some women to claim superiority by denigrating other women. If you want to have unmedicated childbirth, go ahead. Just don't claim that it is better, healthier or superior in any way, because there is no scientific evidence to support that claim.
Labels: "natural" childbirth
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