What’s more alarming is that the person giving you grief might actually be a midwife! Aren’t midwives supposed to be natural birth advocates?
Hospital Midwives Not So Different from Nurses?
Not anymore if the emails I am receiving about it are any indication. It seems that hospital midwives are becoming mouthpieces of conventional medical dogma unlike more open minded midwives who attend births in homes or birthing centers.
Obviously, not all hospital midwives can be categorized this way, but it is definitely something for new parents to watch out for.
Hint: if you would prefer not be harassed, intimidated and forced to defend your lifestyle during one of life’s most precious moments (the birth of your child), my advice would be to skip the hospital drama. Have your baby at home or at a freestanding birth center instead.
I realize that not everyone may have the luxury of that choice. The hospital might be the only game in town. If that’s the case, be ready, have a true birth advocate by your side (Dad, Mom, doula, or close relative/friend) at all times and hold firm. Don’t expect the midwife to necessarily be on your side if you are in a hospital setting.
How one Mom handled the situation
Beth S. wrote the following to me in a series of emails about the birth of her first grandson last week. The emails below plus the photo above were used with her daughter’s permission.
Dear Sarah,
My daughter had her baby YESTERDAY, completely naturally [in a birthing room at the hospital with a midwife, no doctor] and declined the vitamin K shot! Her midwife gave her hell about it and threatened he could die but she held firm. I was so proud!!!
I was so shocked but my daughter gently, firmly said no and kept returning her to the birth plan already written and in place. You would think since it was already decided on she would have left her alone!
Aimery (our new grandson) is healthy and beautiful and I wish there was some way to thank you for all your hard work. She immediately breast fed and he latched on like a champ.
It is only because she grew up reading your blog and watching me put it into practice, that a new generation in our family is taking seriously the lies of this world and making new family traditions.
Thank you again so much. This child came in the world completely alert and ready to bond and feed. It was my first time witnessing a natural birth and I could have used a Valium, lol!!! That is HARD on a mamas heart but I knew it was her choice so that got me through it.
Sorry, but I just can’t stop thanking you. She is my first born strong willed baby and I am just so thankful she knows what her choices are because of your hard work.
Warrior Moms are a Growing Trend Hospitals Can No Longer Ignore
Bravo to your daughter Beth! I am so glad that she was obviously prepared mentally for a potential battle over her birth plan. I hope Moms-to-be that might be reading this story learn that an approved birth plan that is already in place is no guarantee that you won’t still be harassed at the hospital during one of the most vulnerable moments of your entire life.
Conversely, I hope any hospital staff that read this realize that a dogmatic, inflexible approach to birth is no longer working. Hospitals must either learn to work with a patient’s needs and desires for a nontoxic, gentle birth experience or they will go elsewhere. Simply hiring a few midwives to make the hospital look on the surface like an open-minded, welcoming place to give birth naturally on par with a homebirth or a birth center is not going to cut it.
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
Sarah Pope has been a Health and Nutrition Educator since 2002. Her work is dedicated to helping families effectively incorporate the principles of ancestral diets within the modern household. She is a sought after lecturer around the world for conferences, summits, and podcasts.
Her work has been covered by major media including USA Today, ABC, NBC, and many others.
Oral Vitamin K versus Vitamin K Shot for Newborns
What could happen if I didn’t give my baby the vitamin K shot and do not supplement?
My 3 children never had the vitamin K shot and I did not give them oral K either. They are all fine 🙂 Oldest is 19 youngest is 12.
Could you please shed some light on the efficacy of the oral drops vs the injectable? I am an RN who has worked on L&D for 12 years now and have yet to see any. Also, the behavior described by many patients of hospital labor & delivery units is pretty sad. My colleagues would never conduct themselves this way and it seems deplorable. What’s worse, is blogs like this (which I actually really enjoy) serve to foster more drama in the situation. We really don’t need more patients coming in scared or absolutely terrified when they try to have a birth in a birthing center and it doesn’t go well. Because let’s face it, that happens all too often. Even if we only see it a couple times a year, that’s too much. Because babies can be born with life threatening conditions as a result of a failed home birth. Not that the hospital can’t sometimes be blamed for mismanaging things, but being born at home isn’t always the better option. So as I always say, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Hospitals are not all bad, and there are plenty of good providers in the hospital and outside of it.
The efficacy comparisons are in this article: https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/oral-vitamin-k-better-vitamin-k-shot/
That was smart – overwhelm them with info! Thanks again, Sarah, for shining the light on so many subjects and for the moms who are open minded enough to listen!
Unfortunately, this is not the case in my entourage. I know two two-year olds who can’t speak – one can’t even say, ‘mama’ or ‘dada’. One mother said, “I researched the vaccines!”
Google ‘infant vaccines’ and you’ll have to scroll down forever until you hit a negative.
A speech therapist friend said, “Get them off the screens!” telling me her professional publications suggest only after the age of three should children be exposed to screens – absolutely rejected by these mothers.
Yup, same here. When we came into the hospital with our very natural birth plan for our second daughter, the nurse immediately jumped on us for refusing all manner of “protocols.” She kept telling my husband that all manner of shots and eye drops were important and even went so far as to tell me that there was only one way to deliver a baby and that was with me lying on my back with my feet propped up on stirrups. I don’t think she liked the fact that it was too natural and kept telling me to push when I wasn’t even ready. I just had to ignore her ridiculous attitude while I wallowed in pain, unfortunately. When our baby started pushing her way out, on her own, the nurse told me to stop pushing hahaha! The doctor came in and informed the nurse that the baby was coming out whether I pushed or not. Now we have a healthy 2 year old little girl who’s blessed with never having endured unnecessary shots.
Back in 2007 when my son was born, the hospital threw away our oral vitamin K. We had administered one dose, however, we had to rush order another bottle at the time. They were livid with us for refusing vaccines, eye ointment, vit. K shot, etc. We even requested the insert for the Vitamin K shot from the hospital pharmacy….so many possible adverse effects, including death.
Well done to Beth, her daughter and new grandson!!!!