Pregnancy and delivery; a source of joy and pain for the woman.  Obviously joy because of the new baby, but ask any woman, and they will tell you a source of unspeakable pain.

Well it is because of that pain that there are two schools of thought on how pregnancy and delivery should be carried about.  I am going to offer some perspective on one particular school of thought that I have gained first hand experience with by being a homebirth midwife San Diego.

There is the medical model for delivery which is associated with drugs to kill the pain, and sometimes cesarean to complete the delivery.

There is one other model, though not as common or accepted, but for those that practice it and believe in it, consider it a safer alternative for the woman.

That model is called the midwifery model.That model is the exact opposite of the medical model which is usually used.The medical model is where you rely heavily on medicine, while the midwifery model relies on the natural.  Midwifery believes that pregnancy and delivery is a natural process and thus should be allowed to happen naturally.

This model is a profession practiced by midwives. Midwives San Diego are generally woman, who attend the birth, often times at the mother’s home.This midwife would help the woman try to deliver the baby as naturally as possible without the use of drugs.

Contrary to popular belief, the non-use of medicine actually allows the labor to happen much faster because most pain killers actually slows the labor down.

The midwife as a profession does have a regulatory board that licenses, certifies, and oversees the individual. 

Although a lot of the times they are not a nurse or a doctor, a midwife sometimes is a nurse also.

Even though they are not a doctor or nurse, they do carry with them some medical equipment, such as resuscitation devices and suturing equipment.

So this describes what a midwife is and what midwifery is about in relation to pregnancy and delivery.

Their goals are to allow the birth and delivery to happen as naturally as possible.  This reduces the likelihood of a c-section.Does not subject you to hospital procedures that are invasive such as episiotomys.There will be less use of managing it with medical techniques such as breaking the water or using any types of drugs for the pregnancy.And for the woman the best part of all is that labor and delivery usually happen quicker naturally.

Hopefully this was informative and helped you understand some of the benefits of midwifery and having a midwife there for your pregnancy.At the very least, it gives you some different options to look into and explore.  Remember this is first hand knowledge from a San Diego midwife.