Although writer Taffy Brodesser-Akner had a traumatic experience with numerous medical interventions when she birthed her son, she is considering a more natural and holistic approach for her upcoming second childbirth. In an open and honest look into her painful experience, Brodesser-Akner asks the important question: Who controls childbirth - expectant moms or doctors?
In addition to reading the 'bibles' of intervention-free childbirths (Ina May's Guide to Childbirth and Your Best Birth), Brodesser-Akner also sought the sound advice of celebrity mom Mayim Bialik, who is a spokesperson for the nonprofit Holistic Moms Network.
We wanted to do everything we could to reduce the possibility of intervention," Bialik said of planning her first delivery, a home birth. "A culture that encourages you to let someone else tell you when to push instead of feeling it yourself scared me. I wanted to have power over my experience. Not to be a martyr but because my body was made to do this."
Bialik went on to describe her first birth. After three days of labor at home, she was transferred to the hospital where she birthed her son. Her newborn spent four days in the neonatal intensive-care unit. "My son was born with a low temperature and low blood sugar, which isn't unusual in light of the fact that I had gestational diabetes," she explained. "I understand doctors need to err on the side of caution, but there was nothing wrong with my child. All of our plans for bed sharing, nursing on demand, bathing him — gone."
