Natural vs. Normal

For an AWOL birth to be considered "normal" it usually has to involve bright fluorescent lighting and men in white coats who don't know you and probably don't care that much about you. It also includes foreign, cold hospital instruments, heavy drugs and an uncomfortable setting. With visiting hours telling you when you can and can't see your loved ones, hospitals make the "norm" out to be something miserable. Laying in bed, barley conscious from being doped up, childbirth at a hospital is usually just a fuzzy, faint memory of discomfort and detachment from the baby.
With that as a standard American birth it's no wonder people who know about the benefits of a natural birth prefer it to the MO of a more typical hospital birth. Hearing all about natural childbirth on Friday made me see that they are a lot more comfortable and beneficial. Natural childbirth can be done at home, in a comfortable environment with people who are close to you and who you know you can trust. Without drugs to fog your memory, natural births leave the mother fully aware, making it a more personal and satisfying experience, even causing a closer connection to the baby.