Yes, you can give birth in the position of your choice

“Hey Doc, if you ‘don't know how’ to catch my baby with me on my hands and knees, maybe it's not a doctor that I need.” - Me inside my brain

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Labor tip no. 10: make it make sense.

If your doctor tells you they don't know how to catch your baby if you're not on your back or in lithotomy, ask yourself if that makes sense - ask yourself if that's even safe.

Is it safe for a doctor, trained in the complications of labor, to have little to no skill in doing their job in various positions?

My doctor chuckled and scoffed when I told her, in my prenatal appointment, that I wanted to give birth upright.

I never saw her after that.

That chuckle, the scoff, was the impetus for me choosing a home birth.

I didn't feel safe with an OB who would treat me with disrespect and who also couldn't do her job forwards AND backwards - upside down and inside out (She has since retired).

It's not possible for everyone to change providers. But if you have that privilege, use it. It sends a message to doctors that they need to make change.

Biologically, it’s never too late to change providers.

I’ve even seen clients fire their OB during labor.

Does your provider "know how" to catch your baby with you upright or on hands and knees?