Why in the world do the insurance companies get to be the boss of birth? That's what I want to know.
Ina May GaskinIf birth matters, midwives matter. In Europe, there are hospitals where the cesarean rate is less than 10%, and you'll find midwives in these hospitals, you'll see a lot less re-admissions with infections and complications, and you'll see a lot less injury to mothers.
Ina May GaskinWhen you destroy midwives, you also destroy a body of knowledge that is shared by women, that canโt be put together by a bunch of surgeons or a bunch of male obstetricians, because physiologically, birth doesnโt happen the same way around surgeons, medically trained doctors, as it does around sympathetic women.
Ina May GaskinBirth Matters... It matters because it is the way we all begin our lives outside of our source, our mother's bodies. It's the means from which we enter and feel our first impression of the wider world. For each mother, it is an event that shakes and shapes her to her innermost core. Women's perceptions about their bodies and their babies' capabilities will be deeply influenced by the care they receive around the time of birth.
Ina May Gaskin