Avoid Interventions That Are Not Medically Necessary

This is the health birth practice that gets me strange looks – why would anyone want to avoid medical interventions?? I truly think that people 1) aren’t stopping to hear the medically unnecessary part and 2) simply don’t trust birth to be uncomplicated and go off without a hitch.? Seriously, machines are not designed to give birth but women are!

The use of medical technology in the rare instance of a complicated birth is a blessing, but the flip side is that overuse of the exact same technology is a curse.? The use of fetal monitoring has done nothing but increase the cesarean rate.? Don’t believe me?? Ask ACOG.? We routinely give women IVs, fetal monitoring and the cesarean surgery rate has gone up 46% in 10 years.? Something is wrong.? That is the misuse of medical technology in a typically uncomplicated process.? When cooking, do you skip the blender because you know how to chew your food?? Or do you process all your food into liquid in case you might choke on a piece of it?

Here are some ways to avoid unnecessary interventions in birth:

• Consider where you are giving birth. Giving birth at home or in a birth center will help ensure that you are well supported in an uncomplicated pregnancy.? Unnecessary technology is not available because it is not needed.? Emergency equipment is saved for emergencies.

• Consider with whom you are giving birth. Giving birth with a midwife at home, a birth center or even a hospital could have beneficial effects on your labor by the lack of unneeded technology.? There are certainly OBs and family practitioners who provide quality, low risk care without overusing medical technology, but they are not trained in the specialty of low risk women.

• Frequent conversations about your needs. Talk to your practitioner about what you need both in terms of support and (in)action from them.? Ask them when they would resort to medical technology and open up that conversation.? Remember, the point is not that intervention is bad but that unnecessary intervention is harmful to labor, baby and mom.

• Don’t hesitate to change. So many women get into their pregnancies and realize that either they’ve changed their goals or that their practitioner is not supportive.? Some choose to have home births, some choose to go to a different facility or different provider.? That is an acceptable thing, do not be concerned about hurting your practitioner’s feelings.? If your plumber provided services that were not what you needed would you hesitate to find a new one? Or live with a broken faucet?

Trying to tell if a medical intervention is necessary?? Talk to your practitioner.? Over the course of your prenatal care, your relationship has grown and you need to trust this person in practice and philosophy.? Get informed consent.? Do you have time to think about it and discuss it or is this an emergency? Do you know why a test or procedure is being proposed? What is it supposed to so?? When will you know if it worked?? Are there other procedures, tests or possibilities?? What are the benefits?? What are the trade offs? What happens if you decide to do nothing or not go forward with what they are proposing?? If you determine, with the help of your medical team, that an intervention is necessary and not “just because we do it to everyone,” then you are still keeping with the spirit of this healthy birth practice.

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