Why Evidenced Based Care Is Important

Every woman, child, and birth is different. Logic would then follow that every woman's and family's experience and care would differ with each birth. However, this is not the case for most of the United States.

I first want to state that I am in no way against interventions, inductions, or cesareans. These can be life-saving medical procedures, and they exist for a reason. They should be available for women who need them and ask for them.

Evidence based care is just that - care that is based on the highest-quality, most recent scientifically backed research, and is custom to each and every woman, baby, and birth. So what is the alternative that is so prevalent in our medical world today?

Routine care.

Instead of looking at each woman individually as they birth, a set of routine procedures are performed during a birth, whether they are medically indicated or not. These procedures can be needed in some cases, but they are not necessary for every birth. Here is a chart put together by Rebecca Dekker, PhD, RN, APRN on EvidenceBasedBirth.com and ImprovingBirth.org. See the full resources and article here: State of Maternity Care in the U.S.

I encourage every woman and man I know to do their own research. Before going into your birthing time, know your options - the possible interventions and which ones you are comfortable with and in what situations. Know how a normal birth unfolds, and that many paths are a variation of that "normal." Be ready to listen to your body. Be ready to hear your caregiver's suggestions and ideas. Be ready to make your own informed choices.

The more we learn about our own bodies and our babies, the more confident we can become in the natural physiological process of birth.