WAMC: Birth Talk (2008-03-07)

51 % The Women's Perspective

Birth Talk

(2008-03-07)

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ALBANY, NY (WAMC) - When I started telling people I was working on a show about childbirth, the only constant in their reactions was strong opinions. Some think women should be able to give birth in the privacy of their own homes. Others think there should be as many pain-relieving drugs as possible next the hospital bed of a mother in labor. Before delving head-first into controversy, let's get a history lesson.

Back in the 1600's, there was no choice between an obgyn and a midwife. There was a lot of pressure on midwives, though - especially Louyse Bourgeois in France. Just listen to 51%'s Selma Kaplan tell her story.

While they deliver just a small percentage of the babies in the United States, midwives are still working today - both at the hospital and in homes. Former talk show host Ricki Lake elected to go with a midwife at home with her second child. She recently produced a documentary about homebirth with director Abby Epstein. Here's Epstein, talking 51%'s Bob Barrett, about the film: The Business of Being Born.

A growing trend in childbirth is the employment of a doula. What does that word mean? Doula is a Greek word for servant. Modern-day doulas attend childbirth to assist the mother physically and emotionally - whether at a homebirth or in the hospital. At a hospital, doulas often act as a buffer between the laboring mother and nurses or doctors, helping the mother stick to her birth plan - and the painkillers included or omitted from that plan.

To de-mystify the doula, I spoke with Kassie Anderson, a doula practicing in Manhattan.

Alternatives are well and good - but are they safe? Homebirth advocates say yes...others still say not always. For a more traditional perspective on birth, I called up David Redfern, an obgyn from Springfield, Missouri.

Lisa Preller is a nurse on the obgyn wing of a major hospital in the Albany area. She's also worked as a doula, and is on her way to gaining certification as a midwife. With experience on both sides of birth, Preller has developed a middle-of-the-road view. © Copyright 2012, WAMC