WHAT IS NATURAL BIRTH?
For the purpose of this group, natural birth refers to giving birth without unnecessary medication, induction, augmentation and other interventions. By "unnecessary," I mean when these things are used without a true medical need.

WHY GIVE BIRTH NATURALLY?
Families who choose natural birth believe that a woman's body is designed to give birth, and if left to progress naturally, the process of birth works beautifully the vast majority of the time. We understand that there are times when true medical complications arise, and in these situations interventions save lives. However, when mothers are pressured to have "routine" interventions (because they are "policy," not because there is a true medical need in a specific mother's situation), these invasive interruptions to the natural process do more harm than good.

WHY DO NATURAL BIRTH FAMILIES NEED A GROUP?
Unfortunately, in the United States today, natural birth is the exception, not the rule. Many care providers have never seen a truly natural birth... even mothers who forgo pain medication are often still subjected to augmentation, AROM and other unnatural interventions.

In today's society, it can be difficult to find local support when you're planning a natural birth. I've created this group so local families who have either given birth naturally, or are hoping for a natural birth, can connect.

My goal with this group is to enable families who are interested in natural birth to exchange ideas and resources, and find the support that is so lacking in today's mainstream birthing atmosphere.

Members here can find-
* Support
* Encouragement
* Advice
* Recommendations to local providers & facilities that are supportive of natural birth from our fellow natural-birthers

FEES
I am providing this group free of charge to all members. I strongly believe that finances should never stand in the way of a mother learning about all her birthing options.

WHO IS WELCOME?
* Someone who has had a natural birth (whether in the hospital, at a birth center, or at home)
* Someone who planned a natural birth but had interventions, whether or not for a true medical reason
* Someone who is planning a natural birth
* Someone who is interested in learning more about natural birth, or just exploring their options

GUIDELINES
We're all adults, so I'm sure everyone can play nice! All I ask is that everyone be mature and respectful of differing choices and opinions.

OFFERING INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR SERVICES VS SPAM
Spammers will not be tolerated in this group. If you participate in the group and you have a local doula practice, offer natural birth classes, work at a birth center, etc., I am absolutely fine with you mentioning your services. That being said, you should not join this group for the sole purpose of promoting your business. If I feel that a member is using our member base as a spam list (for example, posting about their services every day without ever contributing to any other discussions, or sending unsolicited emails to our members), I reserve the right to ban them from our group.

PRIVACY & SAFETY
As the organizer, I do my best to screen new members. I have been an organizer of another meetup group since November 2007, and I have never had a problem. That being said, this is the internet, so please use common sense. If you are arranging to get together with another member that you have not yet met in real life, please arrange to meet in a public place.

ABOUT THE ORGANIZER
My name is Mandi, and I am passionate about natural birth. I'm a childbirth educator, and I'm also working on my birth doula certification through DONA.

I've had three completely different births.

With my first son, I wanted a natural birth, so I took the hospital "Prepared Childbirth" course, because I had no clue there was any alternative. In retrospect, that class "prepared" me for what hospital policies and routines were, and to do whatever the Doctors and Nurses said. I ended up with an induction, AROM, an enema, an epidural and being told to stay in bed. After 24 hours of labor and 2 hours of pushing while completely numb, my doctor told me my time was up and I had a cesarean. I was devastated at the loss of the natural birth I had so hoped for.

When I was pregnant with my second son, I switched doctors and hospitals. I took an independent childbirth course, focused specifically on natural birth. At 10 days past my EDD, I had a completely natural VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean). The whole process was only 4 hours, start to finish!

I was all set for another natural birth when I was pregnant with my daughter. Unfortunately, during labor her heart rate was nowhere near normal, and was not recovering between contractions. After this had continued for some time, my Midwife, my Doula, my OB, my husband and I all decided that a cesarean was necessary at this point. Since I had had no interventions, medication or augmentation before the cesarean, I had the comfort of knowing that there was nothing that we had done to cause her to not tolerate labor. Although I didn't get a natural birth the third time, I had no doubt or regret about my situation. Whereas my first cesarean was undoubtedly caused by the numerous "routine" interventions, this cesarean was unavoidable and necessary for the safety of both me and my daughter.

Welcome, and I look forward to getting to know some other local natural birthers!