Two interesting points of view

I have to give a huge shout-out to the brave souls who came out in that torrential downpour on Monday to take part in my book talk at the Jericho Public Library. Whenever I do these talks, the most interesting thing for me is to hear from other new moms. Since I started working on this book, I have spoken to hundreds of women about their birth experiences, and every single one of them has something new and different to add to the conversation. A woman named Alexa came to this event, who had given birth to four children in Israel, and was now pregnant with her fifth and wondering how it would be different to deliver in the U.S. She talked a lot about the spiritual aspect of childbirth and wanted to deliver as naturally as possible; however, her husband is a doctor, and she feels safest in a hospital setting, so she was trying to figure out the best way to satisfy both needs. Pam, a mother of three, talked about how her experience as a medical-malpractice lawyer informed her birth choices. Whereas Alexa said she was uncomfortable with the idea of following standard hospital protocols, because they do not treat the patient as an individual, but as a set of medical symptoms, Pam said she felt safest when she knew a set of rules was being followed, since she had worked on case where they hadn't, with devastating consequences. It was really an interesting conversation, and everyone was respectful of everyone else's opinion, even when they were diametrically opposed. And there was even a guest appearance by baby Samantha (formerly Eightball), who stole the show with her big blue eyes and adorable Maryjane socks.

Tonight I'm going to see "Knocked Up," which I hear has a very realistic birth scene. I'll let you know what I think in my next entry...