After listening to the Guardian podcast series the Birth Keepers, I feel compelled to share my own story. I believe that it is important to share examples of a middle way somewhere between free birthing and obstetrical violence. Personally, I chose the middle way.
My child was born at home. At the time, we were living off grid in an isolated village in France. We knew of many women who had chosen to give birth at home in our village accompanied by the only independent certified midwife in the area who accepted the risk of accompanying home births in this particularly isolated place.
We were also friends with a registered physiotherapist – a mother to three children born at home – who agreed to accompany me throughout my pregnancy and who promised to be with us on the day of the birth of our child.
On the day of the birth of my child, guided by our friend, I stayed in conscious movement the whole day throughout the contractions. Our midwife arrived late in the day, a couple of hours before the actual birth.
I was able to maintain control of my body with the presence of the father of my child and two professional, highly experienced women by my side to ensure my safety and that of my baby.
We need informed comparative research about mother and baby mortalities in unassisted and hospitalised births. Without clear figures, women are left in a state of confusion and fear, making an informed choice difficult.
Olympia Bowman
Die, France
• It is absolute nonsense to say the risks of giving birth without medical assistance “are not well understood” (Editorial, 15 December). We know the risks from thousands of years of history when very many women died from childbirth and many babies were stillborn, and when mothers and babies were often severely damaged if they survived; and from other parts of the world now, we know exactly what those risks are.
Helen Style
Richmond, London
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