This story comes to us from a lovely family Charlie had the honor to walk with through their second birth journey as their doula. Sarah's stories are that of trauma, heartache, determination, and ultimately strength. Through everything, this family has navigated bumps in the road with so much knowledge and peace knowing that they were in control (even when they were not!)  We love to point out that this also shows that doula support is not just for unmedicated vaginal birth! Doulas support families through all sorts of events surrounding childbearing and parenthood.

There's a saying that birth is as safe as life gets. Sometimes birth can become dangerous for the baby or, very rarely, for the mother. This is when hospital-based maternity care really shines, and we're able to save mothers and babies who might have died a hundred years ago. Thank goodness that there are skilled surgeons who can come to the rescue when truly necessary.

There's also a saying that when you've got a hammer in your hand, everything looks like a nail. So it is that for hospital-based birth attendants, it is easy to become accustomed to treating every birth as a disaster waiting to happen. Many obstetricians have lost touch with the possibility of normal birth, so much so that even a pitocin induction with an epidural, fetal scalp electrode and vacuum extraction is called a "natural birth". Some hospital staff seem offended by the idea of minimizing interventions, as if preferring not to have a needle the size of a house nail inserted near your spine is the same as declining to have a second piece of Aunt Sally's Fruit Cake. Sadly, some of today’s younger doctors may never even have seen a truly physiological labor and birth—a birth completely without medical intervention.