Being proud of being radical

Before anyone gets too worried, I'm not so delusional as to think that my birthing my breech baby at home is on the same scale as Barack Obama getting elected as President of the United States ;-).

But as I have heard person after person talk about how "historic" his election is, in addition to the incredible excitement I feel at the anticipation of his leadership, I felt uncomfortable with the focus on his race.

And that's where I see the parallel. Yes, technically speaking, it is most definitely noteworthy that he is to be our first black President. But what bothers me is that it is only because of our history, that it is noteworthy. It is nothing to be proud of that African Americans have not been given the same respect as European Americans; that our history is littered with shameful reminders of how we as Americans have mistreated our fellow human beings.

I remember how person after person told me how "brave" I was to give birth to my son at home. I was always uncomfortable with this adjective being assigned to my decision, my journey. For yes, there was courage involved; there always is when one surrenders to a process ultimately outside one's control. But underneath the word "brave", I couldn't help but wonder if they really meant was "reckless". And that I dismiss. For no one cared more about the well-being of my child than I, and no one examined the risks of the birth options available to me more than I.

Yet women are being persecuted for their choices around birth. And even the folks at Birth Trauma Association and Birth Trauma Canada think that women should be given the right to choose a non-medically indicated c/s due to previous birth trauma.

Talk about off the tracks. Let's not address ways to avoid birth trauma in the first place, or to help a woman overcome the effects of birth trauma before subsequent births; no, instead, let's "offer" her major abdominal surgery, which, in addition to the medical risks, involves an increased risk of trauma and depression regardless of it being a "choice".

And women have been harassed, threatened and even faced with separation from their babies simply for denying what they felt to be unnecessary treatment, often cesarean surgery. Look, what I'm going to say may seem offensive, but I promise that is not the intent; women who make informed choices about their births are not radicals, they are mothers. Until we start respecting a woman's autonomy in birthing decisions, women and families will continue to be harmed.

President-elect Obama's inaugaration theme is "A New Birth of Freedom". While women have many freedoms in our country, let's empower more and more of them to begin exercising their autonomy in birth choices.