At three am this morning after getting up to cover Brendan and putting Breanna back to sleep I lay awake thinking about the wording in our upcoming press release. My mind wandered to Breanna's birth as she moved to touch me, needing to know I was there and fell back to sleep.

It is almost ten months since that miraculous night she was born and I am still amazed at how un-painful recovery was despite the tearing and skid marks she caused during her quick passage out and into Cathy's hands. I had assumed some involution pain and was anticipating similar or worse pain than I had experienced after the boys' births. Yet I had no involution discomfort at all, even when breastfeeding!

Then it hit me like a weight, I had not been given oxytocin after she was born! It is standard procedure to give oxytocin after baby is born via IM injection or into an IV (if Mom is unfortunate enough to have one) based on questionable studies showing reduced postpartum hemorrhage with this procedure. However at homebirths it is rarely done, given only when indicated. My midwife did ask if I would want a herbal equivalent given my history (there is an increased risk of placental complications if a mother has had a prior cesarean). Since my placenta had detached within three minutes of Breanna's birth, I declined, wanting to avoid any increased chance of increased involution pain. So once again my belief that routine interventions are rarely necessary and their side effects should be strongly considered when deciding on whether to use them or not.

My dear friend Crystal Sada said it best, "It's not that I dislike doctors or hospitals or even interventions. I dislike routine."