Business of Being Born

Oooo, doesn't THAT look cozy?

Saturday I stood at my business booth in downtown Ann Arbor's Birth Network birth fair from 12-4pm. Later that evening I took little E to a screening of Ricki Lake's: The Business of Being Born. (Which was a really good documentary, but somehow I'm feeling like something was missing that I can't put my finger on). Following the movie, there was a panel of professionals from the community. There was A. Smith who is my friend and my former preceptor, a woman from the local Lamaze chapter, Barbara Hoteling who I think is the president of Lamaze right now (and she's a sassy-assed Southern lady and I love her), there was Ray DeVries who is a bioethicist from the U of M (and is very pro midwife), and then there was a female OB from U of M. The audience asked questions to the panel in which they took turn answering.
Someone brought up the fact that the U of M, despite it's claim to support women's natural birth choices, are spending millions of dollars on new surgery suites and all the extra beds required to offer a 50% cesarean rate! WTF????
How does that support natural birth?
The OB said that birth is "big business, we all know that. Heck, even home birth is big business..."
A home birth midwife shouted out, "To WHOM?! HOW is home birth BIG BUSINESS?! How many home birth midwives do you know that drive a Lexus?!" The audience roared and clapped.
The OB rolled her eyes and went on to explain that she provides elective cesareans because she believes in listening to what woman wants. It's a societal trend, she explained.
She was speaking to the wrong church and choir.

Barbara Hotelling went OFF. She said, "If you really want to support women, you need to be spending millions of dollars on birth centers, not surgery rooms."

Amanda Smith said (when asked how do we train new CNMs and docs in normal birth) that they should be required to intern with a home birth midwife as part of their rotation.

Fabulous evening. I left feeling equal parts discouraged for the future of childbearing women, and refreshed by the many kick-ass people in our community.

I actually stopped to thank the OB before I left because she had some big ovaries to step into that forum and face being blasted by the birth junkies. I didn't agree with everything she said, but it's no use pointing fingers. We need to bridge that gap. And honestly, the hospitals around here have been very kind to the midwives and doulas.

At the end of the month I'm giving a presentation to a class of U of M anthropology students about What I Do. Should be interesting.


In other news, my husband's grandmother, or Nan, passed away Friday. Everyone is trying to make last-minute flights to get to England for the services. The only reason he might go is because his aunts said they'd pay for it. Heavens knows we don't have the cash to send him over.
We shall see.