lest ye be judged

Monday, I wrote about the current crisis in midwifery in the National Capital Region.  While I did - and will continue to - obfuscate over many of the details, there was quite a bit of discussion about judgment.  As those who had gathered shared birth experiences, particularly those which were negative, unpleasant or which deviated from our desired approach to our births, there were many expressions of dissatisfaction, of anger, of judgment toward the midwives who had been involved and had committed these "wrongs".

The issue of judging the actions of others comes up a lot when talking about...well, anything even remotely controversial.  Childbirth, parenting, codes of practice, medical practices: it is nigh impossible to engage in a discussion of these topics without the dialogue leading to some level of judgment in the course of things.

My darling husband likes to make the point that we should judge, that we must judge, that judgment and discernment are important elements of being an intelligent and considerate human being.  It is what we choose to do with that judgment that determines whether we are just and fair...or not.  To judge for one's self does not necessitate being judgmental.

There are practices which we midwifery/natural birth/informed choice advocates generally oppose.  There are practices and trends and attitudes which I personally abhor. How do we reconcile supporting and caring for our midwives - as well as each other - while also advocating against the practices we oppose, even while these same midwives engage in these practices?

I do not want, and refuse, to be an apologist.  Unacceptable practices are just that: unacceptable.  It is unacceptable that there are fear-mongering midwives threatening mothers with the spectres of dead babies and hemorrhaging mothers.  It is unacceptable that women in the throes of labour are being let down by their midwives, too afraid of litigation to act in the best interest of the mother.  It is unacceptable that antiquated procedures - which evidence shows to be ineffective or harmful - continue to be used because they make some midwives comfortable.  Moreover, it is unacceptable that there are midwives who play the "uncomfortable" card with mothers and families with regard to informed choices which midwives had previously supported.  If the playing field remains the same (that is, if there is no change to the mother's or unborn child's condition) why are the rules being changed?

The answer is fear.  More on that later.