Women Look For Control And Comfort During Childbirth

Currently, over 70% of birthing women in the U.S. receive epidurals, favoring some measure of comfort over physical control. However, the popularity of Dar a Luz and other birthing centers suggests that growing numbers appear to be choosing the opposite trade-off: participation and movement over medical pain relief. Perhaps, however, the challenge is not born of anesthesia itself but rather a false choice embedded in the way it gets presented, an all-or-nothing dichotomy between "natural" and "medical."

At birthing centers, epidurals are not available, and as a result, labor looks remarkably different from the hospital equivalent. While the mother may not necessarily look comfortable, her movements and her mindset more closely resemble an athlete accomplishing a feat than a patient undergoing an ordeal. Throughout, midwives are in attendance to provide support, careful monitoring and coaching.

Occasionally, complications develop during labor that make it necessary for these mothers to be transferred to the hospital. This requires acquiescing to changing circumstances and transferring some control to obstetricians and medical technology.



But the expectation of these mothers is not absolute control any more than it is absolute comfort. Most recognize that labor is neither completely controllable nor completely comfortable. They, perhaps like all people giving birth, simply seek to understand these trade-offs and have the opportunity to cede control – or comfort—on their own terms.

Medical Xpress