Yesterday’s FOXNews article, Deciding How, Where to Give Birth does a surprisingly good job of laying out the obstetrician versus midwife options in a fair and even-handed way. No mention of doulas though! But good use of risk and choice language. Some particularly nice passages:
Expectant mothers may be confused by the many options available. And frequently, they don’t fully consider what their wishes are for the birth. But they should.
Also, Holzer said, midwives are educated to deal with deviations from the norm, if they arise, but generally strive not to intervene with the natural process. In contrast, an OB/GYN is taught to actively “manage” the birth process using routine intervention.
Giving birth should be a positive and empowering experience for every expecting mother. Ensuring this depends on being fully informed and finding a health care practitioner the woman trusts, whether that is an OB/GYN or a midwife. The goal is always to deliver the baby in a safe and healthy manner, but the method in which this happens is as personal a choice as the decision to become a parent.
Sadly no mention of doulas though.
Radical Doula 