Consumer
Information
 Let your decisions
regarding pregnancy and birth be informed ones,
based on facts rather than misinformation and fear.
Do you keep thinking about all the "what ifs"?
Ask yourself:
What if...
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I can
give birth with joy instead of fear?
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I am
brave enough to choose the birth I really want?
-
I am
strong enough to birth under my own power?
-
I can
give birth safely and easily?
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I can
give birth comfortably without drugs?
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I had
the knowledge I needed to create my ideal birth?
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I can
be supported in my goal to give birth naturally?
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I
am not alone in my desire?
How to make your
ideal birth a reality.
"Decide carefully, exactly what you want in life,
then work like mad to make sure you get it!" ~
Hector Crawford
Far too often women experience a negative birth
experience (or more) before they realize that they
really do have choices in their childbirth
experience. So I'm telling you, you have choices!
There are some absolutes (things you can't change)
when it comes to birth, but there are a surprising
number of aspects over which you do have
control. These aspects can have a profound impact
on the absolutes and your resulting birth experience
(not to mention the health and well-being of
yourself and your baby). The following pages will
help you become aware of what your options are.
A great book
to help you figure out what type of birth you want
and how to get it is Mother's Intention by Kim Wildner. Her
book is basically a self-help book for pregnant
women to help them learn how to recognize what type
of birth experience they truly want and the choices
that are most likely to make that experience
happen. Here are a few quotes from her book that I
especially like (emphasis added):
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"If you want a comfortable, empowering, safe
and joyous birth, but all your friends have
to tell are horror stories, pain, and sick
babies, don't do what they did!
Doing the same things over-and-over but
expecting a different outcome is the definition
of insanity!" (Kim Wildner, Mother's Intention,
p. 82)
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"To have your own best birth, you need
to stop behaving in ways that interfere with
what you want, and begin behaving in ways
that bring the positive results you desire"
(Kim Wildner, Mother's Intention, p. 119).
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"What kind of commitment have you made to
your baby's safety based on this knowledge?
Are your choices based on scientific knowledge
or obstetric myths?" (Kim Wildner, Mother's Intention,
p. 118).
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"Blindly accepting opinion as fact keeps the
erroneous beliefs in play" (Kim Wildner, Mother's Intention, p. 117).
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"No matter what choices you make, they are
yours to make. If you want every intervention,
useful, dangerous or just plain nonsensical, go
for it. Just know what the consequences of your
actions are so you can own them when the
inevitable happens. If somehow you cheat the
statistics, great, thank your lucky stars. At
least you will have made your decisions
consciously and with purposeful intent" (Kim Wildner,
Mother's Intention, p. 64).
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"Make no mistake,
even choosing not to act in
a bad situation is a choice" (Kim Wildner,
Mother's Intention, p. 109).
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