Counterculture? At first I was a little taken aback by the term. Really? That made us sound so... Ahem... Hippie-ish.
Then I stopped to think more deeply. Are the things we discuss truly counterculture? We call for respect for birthing women. We want families to have evidence-based information about the risks and benefits of interventions. We trust women to make informed decisions about their bodies and their babies. We believe in the sacredness of the birth space. We see birth, in most cases, as a normal, natural process — not a disaster waiting to happen. We honor women's right to choose where and with whom they give birth. Are these such crazy ideals? How can they be counterculture?
As I've continued to mull the midwife's comment, I've come to realize that of course, she's exactly right. We sometimes get caught up in our supportive birth bubble, but in reality, what we are doing really is counterculture. It's a pretty sad commentary to realize that as a whole, our maternity care system does not respect birthing women and doesn't often provide truthful information about risks and benefits. Our system doesn't trust families to make their own informed decisions, and it certainly doesn't believe in any sort of sacred birth space. Birth is definitely not seen as a normal, natural process. And by and large, women who go outside the traditional system are not respected in their choice of where and with whom to birth.
There are oases of quality, evidence-based, respectful care. Absolutely. But sadly, they too are counterculture.
So I've decided I'm ready to own that label. I've never been one to delight in making waves, but this boat truly needs some rocking. Around the world, it feels like there's a growing groundswell of support for quality maternity care and a return of respect and reverence to the birth space. New films, blogs, journal articles, book and a variety of organizations are all drawing attention to the critical issues facing our ailing maternity care system. The choir of voices is growing, we feel it in our own community too.
I do believe things are changing, but we have so very far to go, and we face so many obstacles. We'll get there eventually.
Until then, call me counterculture.
Jessica
