Sushi at Taco Bell

 

Often times women will desire and plan for one type of birth but select care providers or locations for that birth that do not align with their desires. I call this asking for sushi at Taco Bell. No matter how many times you go to TB and ask for sushi they will not have it.

So if you want a low intervention birth but you select a care provider that loves to induce his patients, loves for them to get an epidural and stay in the bed… then asking him to practice very differently than the way he likes may prove challenging. Reading about upright birth postures, water births, moms catching their own baby, partners catching, etc… if they do not offer those things, dreaming about them for your ideal birth is fruitless. But you may be able to still get those things if you look outside the location you have originally selected.

But wait… what if you have a whole community of women going to TB every day asking for sushi. Well a good manager would alert the home office and ask about trying sushi on the menu! That is how change occurs in hospitals. That is exactly what happened in some hospitals…. we asked for upright birth postures- they got squat bars… we asked for water births and they brought in tubs… they decided that some of their protocols could stand reviewing and modifying.

But I ask you to think about your birth desires. Will you be able to achieve them within the choices you have currently made? If not, it may be time for a change.