Be Prepared for These Common Childbirth Interventions

By Amber Lewis, staff writer for The Attached Family publications

Most pregnant women will tell you they have a plan for their labor, but just as parents cannot imagine how their children will turn out as they grow and mature, soon-to-be mothers cannot be guaranteed a perfect birth. Labor experiences are as varied and vast as the types of people who go through them and the children those experiences bring into the world. There are just as many emotions involved in this miraculous experience, and while many births are happy and uncomplicated, others can be deeply disappointing for the parents.

This leads to the question: What to do when childbirth does not go as it was planned to?

First, we need to dismiss the notion that a mother can plan her child’s birth. While some aspects can be controlled, the event as a whole is beyond human influence and mothers need to admit that truth first and foremost. A few mothers can do everything “by the book” and still lose their child, and then there are those mothers who seem not to even realize they are pregnant and are eventually presented with a perfect surprise birth that is to be tomorrow’s headline. The reality is, expecting parents must hope for the best while being prepared for the other possible outcomes.

Much of the time, the process of giving birth goes well, and it is a joyful event. Other times, complications arise and leave deep emotional wounds in the birthing mother. Even some births that occur without complications can jolt a mother’s emotions, such as when the pain of labor was greater than imagined. Childbirth can be both terrifying and triumphant in the same instant, and the accompanying emotions can be both empowering and frightening. If you had a disappointing birth experience, it is important not to feel that your labor experience will foreshadow the type of mother you will become.

Login to the members-only section of this website to read about five common interventions that could arrive during childbirth, possible preventions of those interventions, and the ways parents can try to deal with the reality of these interventions and their effects on early mother-baby bonding.

Login details can be found in the spring 2009 annual New Baby issue of The Attached Family Magazine. If you haven’t yet received your copy or you’ve joined recently, contact Editor Rita Brhel for access. And if you aren’t a member of Attachment Parenting International, click here for information on membership benefits and information subscribing to The Attached Family Magazine and this online companion site.

Upcoming Articles on TheAttachedFamily.com Weekly Online Magazine…

• May 25-31: Deliver This! – Marisa Cohen’s book helps women make the right childbirth choices for themselves despite what everyone else thinks.
• June 1-7: Heal Thyself – The therapeutic benefits of telling your birth story in resolving feelings of disappointment, guilt, and fear.
• June 8-15: Your Best Birth – A companion to her documentary, The Business of Being Born,  actress Ricki Lake’s book encourages women to take back the birth experience by informing themselves about all of their childbirth options.