Stand and Deliver!: And other Brilliant Ways to Give Birth

Ultrasound is technology without responsibility. It is you, not the radiographer, who has to deal with the fall-out of whatever probability ratio the scan brings up, and whatever further tests you might be offered. As the Government announces plans to mass-screen every woman in the UK (at a cost of £153 million to us taxpayers), few people have questioned why. Some groups for people with disabilities have even described the decision as ‘mass eugenics’ by another name. One woman who had decided that she did not want ultrasound rang up the doctor’s surgery to inform them that she did not want to have her 13-week scan. The receptionist became shirty with her about her decision, and wouldn’t let her cancel. Finally, to put an end to the discussion, this woman simply reminded the receptionist that her baby was really none of the receptionist’s business.

So, before you even go in for your scan, discuss the bigger picture with your partner. Talk about what you can cope with as parents, and then decide on what you’ll do on that basis. Don’t feel you have to be put on the conveyor belt without a choice.

Don’t Worry, Be Happy

All this talk is really an attempt to shake up a few accepted views about what happens to you during your pregnancy, and to get you thinking about what you want for yourself and your new family. You have all the answers, it may just require digging a little deeper to find them.

For example, all women know deep down where they would feel comfortable and safe giving birth. Even if your reasons might seem ridiculous to someone else, you know best. My mother wanted to have my elder brother at home in Norfolk because she was convinced that her first-born might get switched in the hospital nursery at night. Fortunately she had a sympathetic doctor who agreed to a home birth to save her worrying further. My 11-lb brother (ouch!) was born with a fire flickering in the grate, the midwife knitting in the armchair, chucking her cigarette butts into the fire as the hours wore on (my, how times have changed). Who is to say my mother was wrong, or should have been persuaded to do otherwise (as she would have today when the scan showed a baby of that size)? Who is even to say that her worst fear might not have come true, as women are often spookily intuitive during pregnancy, and seem to know things that are not explainable in a rational way?

So, don’t be downhearted by all the negativity surrounding our birth culture today, try shocking everyone around you by announcing that you are looking forward to the birth. You have already made a miracle by creating that baby inside of you, so why shouldn’t further miracles happen – such as enjoying the big day?

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