Overmedicalization of Birth

Overabundance of medical technologies can negatively impact peoples' lives and well-being. The over-medicalization of childbirth is an example of the problems abundance can cause. With advancing technology, we are able to make medical advances that can be life-saving. However, using unnecessary interventions can lead to more problems than they solve. For example, the United States has the highest maternal mortality rate of any developed country. A main reason for this is the use of unnecessary medical interventions such as planned cesarean sections, artificial induction, continuous fetal monitoring, regular cervical exams, among others, in an otherwise primal, natural process. The need for highly trained obstetricians and the technology we have in the U.S. that helps with high risk births is high. The problem arises when these interventions are implemented arbitrarily. Interventions have a tendency to multiply once initiated. A relevant example is when providers choose to induce a woman in labor because she is "overdue," beyond 40 weeks gestation. The problem with this is that delivering two-weeks post-due date is considered safe. Another issue with early induction is that contractions become strong and frequent, putting an immense amount of stress on the baby and can result in fetal distress, leading to emergency C-sections or calls for an epidural. The epidural then slows the process down again, requiring the administration of more Pitocin to keep the labor going, and this vicious cycle repeats until the now-need for a C-section, which is much higher risk to the mother than giving birth vaginally. This is just one example of how the abundance of medical knowledge and modern technology can hinder a natural process.

Birth trauma is a rising issue as well. With the over-medicalization of birth, it is common for hospitals to encourage practices that allow for the maximization in quantity, not quality, of births in their hospital. This leads to the neglect of some providers to cater toward the patients' requests, sometimes resulting in traumatic experiences. An example of this is Kimberly Turbin, a California woman who refused an episiotomy but was given one against her will and, as a result, suffered emotional and physical trauma. Although she filed a lawsuit and the doctor treating her is no longer practicing, she still lives with damage done to her in that painful experience of being both disrespected and physically disturbed.

In terms of policy change, there is a need for broader systemic changes in the way we view and practice birth in the U.S. It requires doctors, midwives, hospital administrators, and governmental officials to be in agreement with and follow best practices. This means altering what is taught in medical school to minimize unnecessary intervention. Doctors are taught how to deal with medical emergencies. Birth, however, is not a medical emergency for low-risk mothers, even though our culture in the U.S. places that fear within women so they think it is something that always requires hospitalization. A policy change that could help immensely is allowing for the licensing of homebirth midwives (CPMs) in all states because it is currently not legal in all states and this is limiting the number of safe options families have. Another policy change that I think could really impact the way we not only view birth culturally in the U.S. but also increase the equality in the amount of education provided to each mom-to-be is for hospitals to staff birth doulas, who are non-medical emotional and physical support people who provide prenatal, labor, and postpartum presence and education. They empower families by teaching them all of their options for their birth and helping them to advocate for themselves. If hospitals employed doulas this could drastically change the environment surrounding birth from one that is based in fear and the unknown to one that recognizes the amazing ability of women to give birth and empowers and educates them to make the best decisions for themselves physically, emotionally, and for their baby. The combination of these changes in policy would hopefully start to alter the way childbirth is treated in our country, but also make concrete steps toward changing the culture around it, too.