Embracing Our Values: Ending the “Birth Wars” and Improving Women’s Satisfaction with Childbirth

Anne Drapkin Lyerly argues that U.S. women’s experience of childbirth is a negative one because of confusion about what constitutes a “good birth.” She is partially right. In addition, these negative childbirth experiences result from women feeling that they have betrayed themselves in how they gave birth. I argue that this stems from confused thinking that one must use or eschew technology in childbirth to be “true to oneself” and that addressing this problem requires recognizing the multiple values simultaneously embedded in birth technologies. Doing so demonstrates that women can give birth in a variety of ways while remaining true to their values.