Many Approaches Taken to Childbirth

From the (Ohio) Tribune Chronicle, a neat story on choices in childbirth, with this quote:

Diane Simcox, a long-time labor and delivery nurse at St. Elizabeth and a self-described advocate of epidurals, said pain management options have improved over the years.

"You don’t get a gold star for going through the pain," Simcox said.

Martin, whose three children were born with the help of a midwife, and all without pain medication, disagrees.

"I have my own gold star," she said. "I am so proud of myself."

Her husband, Tim Martin, is proud, too.

"I'm a sissy — if I were a woman, I'd probably never have kids," he said. "But whenever you tell someone you just had a baby, one of the first questions they ask is, did she get the epidural? If you say no, the next question is, didn't that hurt? And when I say no, there’s a look of respect."