I read a post yesterday about a woman's amazing freebirth, and one of the comments suggested that she put a "disclaimer" on it that freebirth is only for women who are really knowledgeable and really in touch with their bodies.
What if something terrible happened to somebody else?!
It struck me as absolutely mad that we would even think of putting a disclaimer on a baby coming out of a woman's vagina with no interference. Like "don't try this at home"! Leave giving birth naturally to the "experts"!
Is this the state of affairs we have come to? Would we put a disclaimer on hospital birth stories essentially saying "enter at your peril"? No.
It reminded me of when a friend of mine who is a medical professional suggested I put a disclaimer on my blog about declining ultrasound. He said that I wouldn't want to make it look like I was encouraging women to not have ultrasound because what if something bad happened and I was responsible?
These opinions do nothing except infantilise women. If a woman needs an ultrasound and a midwife to feel safe, you can bet nothing I say about my *personal* choices will stop her. Women are the experts in their own bodies and their own experiences.
There is nothing special about me that makes me a better candidate for freebirth than the next woman. I am no more of an expert at getting babies through my body than any other woman. I'm 5ft4, about 135lbs. Average. Boringly so. My freebirth actually was the catalyst for my story of becoming in touch with my body, it is part of what set me free.
Freebirth is for any woman who wants it, is called to do it. It is the default, when you remove everything else. It is the original birth story. No disclaimer needed.
Photograph by Samantha Gadsden Doula
