Natural or normal physiological birth occurs when no drugs or interventions are employed while a woman labours to birth her baby vaginally. Some common interventions are:

• Induction
• Rupturing the membranes
• Inhaling nitrous oxide
• Pain relief such as pethidine or epidurals
• Caesarean birth.

For some women, considering the use of some interventions is necessary and essential to their health and that of their baby. However the rate of interventions has serious implications for babies and women. When we interfere in labour and birth we can upset the balance which evolution has developed to keep us safe. One intervention commonly leads to another in what has been called the cascade of interventions which can then lead to caesarean birth and all the risks associated with a surgical birth.

How can women achieve natural birth?

Many women plan to achieve a natural birth for their babies. While birth, like life, has no guarantees, there are some ways we can increase the likelihood of achieving a natural birth. Here are some suggestions:

Choosing a carer

Wherever you choose to give birth, your opportunity to birth naturally depends on the skill, beliefs and history of your carers. If you investigate the caesarean rates in most hospitals and birth centres in Australia, you will find that the rates are quite high. It is also widely accepted that private hospitals and obstetricians usually have higher rates of caesarean birth. You can ask a hospital or private practitioner to provide you with their annual data. Many hospitals have this on their web sites.

Choosing a private midwife means that you will have a carer who has a very low rate of caesarean birth and even lower rates of any interventions. You can ask a midwife to provide you with their personal statistics as you would any other carer. It is common to find that midwives also have much higher rates of HBAC (Homebirth After Caesarean) or VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Caesarean) than most hospitals or obstetricians.

If you have no choice but to give birth in a hospital or birth centre, make yourself very familiar with their protocols and with as many of the staff as possible. Planning to labour mostly at home can mean you spend less time in a hospital resulting in less potential for interventions. A midwife can support you in this.

Choosing the midwifery model of care

The World Health Organisation recommends that midwifery care is the most suitable for most women. The midwifery model is evidence-based, not protocol-based, and views pregnancy and birth as normal physiological states, not medical emergencies. One to one care through pregnancy and birth gives women greater safety and confidence as they are cared for by someone who comes to know them well not someone who only meets them for one shift.

While a private obstetrician can provide one to one care, it is rarely the kind of attention a midwife gives. Obstetricians are not usually present for most of the labour and do not have to invest as much time getting to know their clients. Women often spend up to an hour a month at their appointments with a midwife who also visits them at home in the week after birth. Many midwives can also provide breastfeeding support.

Understanding pregnancy and birth

While there are many books available on birth, many do not encourage a healthy consumer-type approach to choosing our health care. Many are more concerned with how to make labour pain go away than understanding its function in healthy labour. Many also do not encourage women to be in control of their own care but to hand responsibility over to medical personnel.

Professional journals, books by midwives, videos of natural births and birth stories by women are all invaluable tools for learning about labour. The more information you have the more informed choices you can make. You are the expert on your body!

It is appropriate to question your caregivers and expect straightforward answers. Ask what research opinion is based on and let the person know you will check it out. Evidence-based practice should support you in your quest for information. A caregiver who is threatened by your need for information is probably not the best carer to support your natural birth.

Support

There is little in our society which supports us in viewing birth as a normal and natural part of life. To help us achieve natural birth it can aid us to be around others who feel it is normal and desirable to want to birth without drugs or interventions. When you are actually in labour, it is the kind of support you receive, and how comfortable you are in your environment, that will make your pain manageable. You can learn ways to help you manage strong labour and help those around you to be the best support possible as well.

Robyn Dempsey is a mother and midwife in private practice located in Sydney, Australia. Robyn is passionate about facilitating positive birth outcomes for women and their families. Her practice New Beginnings Midwifery offers a safe, personal approach to childbirth.