Pregnancy and the act of labor and delivery, although joyful, also a source of pain.Obviously there is joy because of the newborn baby, but any woman will tell you, it was a source of unspeakable pain.

Well because of the pain that woman go through, there are two different schools of thought on how labor and delivery should happen.  I am going to offer some perspective on one particular school of thought that I have gained first hand experience with by being a homebirth midwife San Diego.

There is the medical model for delivery which is associated with drugs to kill the pain, and sometimes cesarean to complete the delivery.

There is one other model, though not as common or accepted, but for those that practice it and believe in it, consider it a safer alternative for the woman.

That model is the midwifery model as it is called.  That model is in stark contrast with the medical model.The medical model is where you rely heavily on medicine, while the midwifery model relies on the natural.  Midwifery believes that pregnancy and delivery is a natural process and thus should be allowed to happen naturally.

This model is carried out by a profession called midwives. Midwives San Diego are generally woman, who attend the birth, often times at the mother’s home.This midwife would help with some techniques that help the woman go through labor as naturally as possible without drugs.

Against most popular beliefs, not using medicine during labor actually allows the labor to happen quite a bit faster because drugs usually slow down the labor.

The midwife is a profession that has a regulatory board that oversees, certifies, and licenses the individual. 

Although often not a doctor or nurse, some midwives can be nurses.

Even though they are not formal doctors or nurses, they will have some medical equipment for emergencies like resuscitation devices and equipment for suturing.

So this describes what a midwife is and what midwifery is about in relation to pregnancy and delivery.

Their objective is to let the labor and delivery to occur as naturally as possible.This makes the likelihood of a c-section less likely.Does not subject you to hospital procedures that are invasive such as episiotomys.There will be less use of managing it with medical techniques such as breaking the water or using any types of drugs for the pregnancy.  And the best part of all that a woman will love, generally labor happens much quicker naturally.

Hopefully this was informative and helped you understand some of the benefits of midwifery and having a midwife there for your pregnancy.  At the very least, hopefully it gives you more options to explore.  Remember this is first hand knowledge from a San Diego midwife.

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