There are times where safety is a factor like if a mom wants her baby to be allowed to swim in the birth tub until it feels ready to come to the surface after a waterbirth. In that case safety should win out over empowerment but for choice of where to have baby I don't think so. I was reading an articl that said all the moms a certain midwife helps deliver on the floor (not directly on the floor plastic sheets, pillow etc are involoved). The impression I got was the midwife is comfortable with that and that is simply how she does things. My first issue was it was very similar sounding to laying in a hospital bed and second why can't the mom choose? It could become a safety issue if the mom wants to deliver in a way the midwife has never seen before but for most positions it isn't too hard to figure out.
In my mind midwifery is supposed to be about empowering the mom and allowing her to do what her body is telling her to do. If her midwife insists she deliver laying on the floor or on a certain birth stool even if the mom doesn't like it how is that empowering?
I realize everyone has things they are and aren't comfortable with but when it comes to empowering women and allowing them to have a voice in how they birth their babies I think that as long as safety isn't an issue maybe we as midwives need to step out of our comfort zone and allow the mom to choose.
