What's the Big Deal About Birth Education?

Why do I keep saying it's so important to "get educated" on pregnancy and birth? It's not because I think doctors are evil and don't care about you. It's not because I think you shouldn't trust your instincts. It's because of the rampant misconceptions and myths about birth that OB's, midwives, your mom, your aunt, your friend, and you still accept as truth, without updating themselves on the current research and evidence. I'm all for evidence-based maternity care, but if you don't know what the latest evidence is, how can you demand it?

You don't have to get a doula certification to be "educated" on the modern birth world, nor do you have to do much at all. Reading What to Expect When You're Expecting, or Your Pregnancy Week by Week, or any of those books, doesn't count, though. They aren't in keeping with the current research, they promote a lot of outdated stereotypes and information, and they really won't get you anywhere. I made that mistake as a first-time mom, I became more educated the second time around, and I'm taking it even farther before I have another baby, because I'm so passionate about the need for birth education in our society, and because I want to be more in control of any more births I have (by being confident in myself, more than anything).

It really is as simple as visiting sites like evidencebasedbirth.com, improvingbirth.org, and the like (and those two sites have plenty of links to other informational sites), seeing the statistics, the evidence, and deciding what you are and aren't okay with. Find out hospital policies in your area. Check your care provider's stats on infant/mother mortality, c-section, VBAC, pitocin use, and the like. Whatever interests or concerns you, ask questions. Look into it. Knowledge truly is power, and if all expectant mothers were armed with the knowledge they need to keep the control over their birth rights in their own hands, the "pushy doctor/midwife" stereotype would become obsolete, and hospitals/doctors/midwives/insurance companies would be forced to practice and cover evidence-based care.

So what are these statistics I keep talking about, anyway? Well, here's a graphic that illustrates the truth pretty well, I think:

How does this make you feel? What do you think about the way our maternity care is heading? I hope this inspires you to do more research for yourself, ask more questions, and not take anything that anyone (not your doctor, me, your nurse, midwife, mom, sister, friend, or anyone) says at face value. Find the truth. Because according to that chart, we're not getting the care we deserve.

And that is why it is so important to be educated in the birth world. Because blind trust certainly isn't getting us anywhere.