Midwifery Schools of Thought

Pregnancy and delivery; a source of joy and pain for the woman.Obviously joy is involved with the new baby, but if you ask most woman, they will also describe it was a source of unspeakable pain.

Well because there is that pain involved, two schools of thought have come about on how to deal with labor and delivery.  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 called the midwifery model.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 philosphy believes that pregnancy, labor, and delivery should happen as naturally as possible because it is a natural process.

This model is a profession practiced by midwives. Midwives San Diego are generally woman, who attend the birth, often times at the mother’s home.  This midwife would then assist the woman in trying to get through labor as naturally as possible without medicine.

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 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 makes the likelihood of a c-section less likely.  Doesn’t allow you to be subject to invasive hospital procedures such as episiotomys.  Less medical management like breaking the water or using drugs to slow or speed up the pregnancy.  And the best part of all that a woman will love, generally labor happens much quicker 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 minimum, maybe it gives you some other options to think about and look into.  Remember this is first hand knowledge from a San Diego midwife.