You have a choice

The link to the video below is called "You Have a Choice". I think most women that are pregnant don't know they have choices or are too freaked out about the pain of birth to even consider that they have choices...they just want an epidural & want labor to be over. They don't know that birth can be a wonderful, sometimes even enjoyable experience & that it can be the most empowering experience of a woman's life.

While the focus of this video is encouraging people to be open to a birth center or home birth, most of my HypnoBirthing couples are birthing in a hospital. I believe that the education HypnoBirthing couples receive empowers them to go into the hospital so that they can have the birth experience they want. They must choose the right care provider (OB/GYN or midwife), the right hospital, the right support people (just your partner or hiring a doula) & ensure that they ask the right questions every step of the way---from making sure the nurse assigned to their case is supportive of natural birth, to asking if they can have 10 minutes to discuss things whenever an intervention is suggested to figure out if it is being suggested because of a true medical situation or just because labor isn't happening the way the hospital staff are used to, to making sure they have a birth plan (& discuss it with their care provider well before their birth) & discuss it with their nurse while in the hospital, & so much more.

Some people just feel more comfortable & safe being in a medical setting, so if that is their choice, then I think it is their responsibility to ensure they maintain control of their birth & their birthing environment as long as the mom & baby are healthy. It's better to be a good parent than a good patient...know that there is always a choice. The choices you make now, while you're pregnant, help to make you a better parent. Instead of blindly trusting your medical care provider & the hospital, educate & empower yourselves as parents now to ensure that you have a positive birth experience rather than give your power away & become an observer to one of the most important experiences of your life.

Here's the link to the video: http://www.vimeo.com/6344770

From the video description: The video consists of a synopsis of a typical birth by a registered nurse in a labor & delivery unit of at a local hospital, followed by individuals and couples sharing their birth experiences.
The focus of this documentary is to show people that they have a choice in their birth, rather than just trusting "professionals" to take care of everything for them. You can educate yourself and have an amazing experience in your birth rather than just a "medical procedure."

I encourage people to share this blog post with their pregnant friends...sometimes all someone needs is a little information to open their minds to the fact that there are other options. Once people understand that birth doesn't have to be a horrific, painful experience & that a woman's body is made to give birth naturally & normally, they can move forward & take back control of their birth experience. I was reminded of this in the HypnoBirthing class series I just started teaching last night. A mom in the class had always thought she wanted to get an epidural as soon as she got to the hospital. But then she watch The Business of Being Born & it opened her & her husband's eyes to the fact that birth is a money-making industry & that getting an epidural right away wasn't really what she wanted for her birth experience. She found HypnoBirthing & is now confident in her body's natural ability to birth her baby.

Please visit www.HypnoBirthing.com to find a practitioner near you or to just learn more about how HypnoBirthing can help you & your partner have a calmer, more comfortable, empowered birth.

Remember, you always have a choice...even if you feel like there are no choices. Not choosing to make a choice IS making a choice.

www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com