Proverbs 14:12 says “There is a way that seems right to a MAN, but its end is the way of death.” I think this particularly applies to childbirth. If it seems right to a MAN, it might not be the best way for a woman. Of course there are some rare men, such as Michel Odent who left his OB practice to become a midwife, but overall most women, most times, are going to have a much better birth outcome by trusting the way God has made their body, and trusting a woman who respects the natural birth process, to be her birth attendant.

There is a little booklet, called The Basic Needs of a Woman in Labor, written by an acquaintance of mine from Cape Town, South Africa. This short powerful book is a gleaning of information gained through working alongside Michel Odent and is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for all pregnant couples.

Through Dr Odent’s many years (more than half a century) of attending births (around 15,000 births) in both hospitals and at home, Dr. Odent has come to the conclusion that a laboring woman needs not much more than to be left alone, simply to be attended to by a quiet, non-invasive and low profile midwife.

If you’d like to read more information on the safety of homebirths, this is an important study recently published:

Outcomes of Care for 16,924 Planned Home Births in the United States: The Midwives Alliance of North America Statistics Project, 2004 to 2009, Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health, Volume 59, Issue 1, pages 17–27, January/February 2014 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jmwh.12172/abstract

And this is a discussion of the study by the Midwives Association of North America: http://mana.org/blog/home-birth-safety-outcomes

[The study] confirms the safety and overwhelmingly positive health benefits for low-risk mothers and babies who choose to birth at home with a midwife. At every step of the way, midwives are providing excellent care. This study enables families, providers and policymakers to have a transparent look at the risks and benefits of planned home birth as well as the health benefits of normal physiologic birth.

Birth is such a wonderful, incredible event in the life of a woman. Most of us don’t have enough children to allow us to “get it wrong” too many times. I urge all pregnant or wanting to be pregnant women to choose your birth attendants with much information and awareness.

Once you have made important decisions about your baby’s birth, you need to do some research on the necessity and risk of giving your newborn vaccines. I’ve written extensively on this topic.

Author Becky Hastings, wife, mother, grandmother, writer and speaker, is passionate about health, Jesus, and joy, and has been helping mothers breastfeed their babies for over 22 years. Becky blogs at https://journeyboost.com and shares health information on her Facebook page. Please like Journeyboost on Facebook!

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