How often do we complain about hospitals and doctors trying to “fix” the birth process? If it doesn’t start when you want it to–induce. If it goes too slow–augment. If it hurts too much–medicate. And if all else fails–operate.
Unfortunately, there are those who desire a natural birth who try to “fix” things, too. While they don’t use drugs and scalpels, they use things like herbs, oils, and even knowledge to try to make their birth go the way they want it to.
As a midwife, I’m often called upon for advice. “Is this normal….? What if….? Is there anything I (or you) can do for….? Have you heard of this (herb, technique, theory,…)?” I tend to be very trusting of the normal birth process and I prefer to leave well enough alone until I have evidence that something is not normal. It is very hard, however, to convince some women that they should do the same.
Do you trust birth? Do you know your body and trust it to do what it needs to birth a baby? Are you willing to surrender control to the natural forces that will sweep through your body during labor? If you can honestly answer “yes” to these questions, you are more likely to have a smooth, uneventful labor and birth.
That doesn’t mean that there isn’t a time and a place for herbs, oils or whatever during a birth. But, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!