National Birth Rally 2012

I had the privilege to be a part of history this past Monday. I attended a national birth rally in Minneapolis at Lake Calhoun with roughly 200 other people who gathered to walk around the lake in hopes of raising awareness. Awareness for what? Evidence-based maternity care. The rally was organized nationally by www.improvingbirth.org and nearly 100 cities across the US organized rallies on the very fitting holiday of Labor Day. Visit their site for more information! This may possibly be the largest women's movement in decades. It's not just for women, though. This is for everyone. You were born, weren't you? You may want to have your own kids someday or you may already have children. You may have nieces or nephews and/or have witnessed a woman in your life go through the process of labor. Birth is a normal process and should not be treated like a "condition" or a disease that needs to be cured. Fear and/or money should not be the basis for our decision making around birth: clinical research and evidence should.

Some rallies may have looked more like protests, with individuals carrying cardboard signs on stakes or people gathering on the steps in front of hospitals. This was NOT a protest. This was an attempt to help educate our communities where everyone is affected by birth outcomes. The education and awareness we hoped to raise is simply this: Ask questions. Ask why policies and protocols are in place. Ask why procedures and interventions are done or not done. Ask yourself what is best for your body, for your family, and for your baby.

Our hope is that the research that has been done in maternity care will not take 20 years to come to fruition. We, as a society, can not wait that long. Women deserve quality care and to have their voices heard. Women and babies deserve the best possible outcomes and America, being the leader in spending on healthcare, deserves to have lower rates of maternal and infant deaths.

I was honored to walk around Lake Calhoun Monday morning with some incredible women and families. Several strollers and toddlers made the trek, complete with their yogurt-covered raisins and sippy cups. Each woman at that rally gave birth in her own way: some at home in a tub of water, some at the hospital with their doula by their side, some by C-section, and some in a neighboring birth center. Birth occurs in different forms and can take place in a variety of settings. Women deserve to have the information available to them so they can make the best choice for their own pregnancy.