More than 20 years ago, when my husband and I were seeking a new home for our expanding family, we were shown several beautiful plots of land. The houses were spacious, the plots of land were large and the entire area backed up onto conservation land. The builder who owned the land was offering three different house models, all very attractive.
We toured the development, but were not happy with the available models; none had a family room located off the kitchen and that was one of my few absolute requirements. My children were small and I wanted to be able to see them at all times, including when I was preparing meals. The fact that our 3 year old had recently cut the 5 year old’s hair with kindergarten scissors when I left them playing where I could not see them from the kitchen only strengthened my resolve on this point.
We tried to convince the builder to adapt an existing model to our requirement and were astounded when he told us that while we thought we wanted a family room off the kitchen, we didn’t really want one. Eventually the kids would get older and we would appreciate it when they weren’t in view. In other words, he couldn’t or wouldn’t built a house with the family room attached to the kitchen and it was therefore in his economic interest to convince us that we didn’t need one.
Not surprisingly, we sought out another builder with a different piece of land and ultimately got the house we wanted with a kitchen overlooking a sunken family room. For years I watched 4 children play by themselves, with each other and with friends in that room, and no one ever cut anyone else’s hair with kindergarten scissors ever again. And when the kids got older and we didn’t want them in view, we finished the basement.
I’m reminded of that episode whenever I see homebirth midwives discussing C-sections. Just like the builder who wouldn’t build the house we wanted tried to convince us that we really wanted what he was selling, homebirth midwives, who cannot perform C-sections, try to convince women that they don’t need C-sections, don’t want them, and will be sorry if they have them.
What never ceases to amaze me is that women seeking information on C-section from homebirth midwives fail to recognize the economic motivation behind midwives’ demonization of C-sections. It’s the intellectual equivalent of seeking information on solar power from Big Oil. Would you believe Big Oil if it tried to convince you that solar power was a bad idea? I doubt it. So why believe homebirth midwives when they tell you that C-sections are a bad idea?
