I have recently been bombarded with hits to this blog by people searching for the “dangers of natural childbirth”.  At first, I was perplexed.  There is no inherent danger of having your baby naturally.  In fact, it is the safest, and in my opinion most satisfying way a woman can give birth.

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However, as I thought about it more, I remembered my own incessant worry about all of the things that could happen during my home birth, which could cause harm or even death to my baby or myself.  I thought that there must be all sorts of dangers out there lurking, waiting to strike at a moment’s notice.

I bought the book Emergency Childbirth: A Manual, by Dr. Gregory J. White.  I wanted to KNOW what was lurking, and what I could do about it if it happened.  I did not want to leave anything to surprise.  Here is what I learned:

• A healthy pregnancy, where a woman eats right, avoids drugs, cigarettes and alcohol, and remains active, sets the stage for a good, normal birth.

• There is only a small incidence of complication in a normal birth, and most of these could be dealt with successfully outside of the hospital, by a relatively untrained person (with this book).  These things include: baby’s shoulder getting stuck on the pubic bone, frank breech or footling breech position, twins, hemorrhage, and premature delivery (though some cases require immediate medical attention).
• The other complications, which are also very low in occurrence, but a little harder to deal with without medical assistance are:  eclampsia (which would be detected with normal prenatal visits and could possibly be corrected before birth), hand or cord presentation breech baby, or mother is physically too small to push the baby out and requires cesarean (according to Ina May Gaskin, a noted midwife, this occurs in less than 1% of women).
• There are some things that are out of our hands.  There is a very, very slight risk of death to baby, and much more rarely, mother, during childbirth.  However, there is risk in driving down the street, flying on an airplane, and even in eating potato chips.  In the case of childbirth, the rewards far outweigh the risks.

Click Here to find out more about Natural Childbirth.

I was amazed that there was not more to it.  THIS was all I had to worry about?  The real horror stories begin when we interrupt the process of birth with medication, unnatural birth settings and positions, and treat it like a medical condition. Birth is natural.  Birth is normal.  Women were made to birth in this way.  Relax and remember, many women have birthed before you and many more will birth after you.  Do not fear the power of birth.  Embrace it!