Gisele Bundchen is, apparently, a great authority on childbirth. The model has been blogging about the benefits of giving birth without drugs, saying that every woman should be encouraged to give birth at home, without epidurals. Well this is all very well – but what about those of us who have complications and need intervention – should we do it without help or pain relief either? I believe that hospitals are there to help us, to deliver our babies into the world as safely as possible – and if we need pain relief, we should absolutely be entitled to it.
Miranda Kerr has also waded in as a natural childbirth advocate, saying that babies are more likely to go straight to their mother’s breasts if they have not been exposed to drugs. These types of comments really don’t help women who experienced immense pain or complications. We have enough guilt to contend with over our various parenting decisions that the last thing we need is to be made to feel like a failure from the off.
However, having said all of this, I do think there is a flipside to Gisele’s argument. Many women are seeing hardcore pain relief as the norm – some even electing for c-sections because they are too afraid of the ‘natural’ option. So hearing positive stories about Gisele’s blissful birth are a good thing. I just wish she would balance her argument a little better. Yes, it’s great if women can have a natural, beautiful birth experience. But sometimes, things are out of our control and don’t go the way we planned. Women should not be made to feel guilty if they opt for pain relief – this is the modern world and we don’t need to be martyrs.
