Dr. Shannon M. Clark, MD, FACOG

When I hear about patients choosing an out-of-hospital birth because of things that happened to them in the hospital, to me, that's not the answer, but I understand why they do it. Knowing that some of these patients go to birth centers like the one talked about on this podcast and that they're not placed in better hands, that's even more alarming to me.

And I know it just doesn't happen in Dallas. It happens all across this country.

And I know it just doesn't happen in Dallas. It happens all across this country.

And I know it just doesn't happen in Dallas. It happens all across this country.

Yes. Since 2000 was when my first year of residency, I've always worked alongside midwives on a labor and delivery unit. Where I work, it's a little bit of a different model. Maternal fetal medicine specialist staff labor and delivery 24-7. But we also have midwives there to take care of patients. But they're on the floor with us. And if they need us, they let us know. If they don't, they don't.

Yes. Since 2000 was when my first year of residency, I've always worked alongside midwives on a labor and delivery unit. Where I work, it's a little bit of a different model. Maternal fetal medicine specialist staff labor and delivery 24-7. But we also have midwives there to take care of patients. But they're on the floor with us. And if they need us, they let us know. If they don't, they don't.

Yes. Since 2000 was when my first year of residency, I've always worked alongside midwives on a labor and delivery unit. Where I work, it's a little bit of a different model. Maternal fetal medicine specialist staff labor and delivery 24-7. But we also have midwives there to take care of patients. But they're on the floor with us. And if they need us, they let us know. If they don't, they don't.

But we're there. It's still a hospital setting. But if something goes wrong, they have what they need. I love that model. I wish we had midwifery care on all labor delivery units. I wish we had doula services available on labor delivery units. So that's another place to focus on is what can we do on labor delivery units to get the best of both worlds?

But we're there. It's still a hospital setting. But if something goes wrong, they have what they need. I love that model. I wish we had midwifery care on all labor delivery units. I wish we had doula services available on labor delivery units. So that's another place to focus on is what can we do on labor delivery units to get the best of both worlds?

But we're there. It's still a hospital setting. But if something goes wrong, they have what they need. I love that model. I wish we had midwifery care on all labor delivery units. I wish we had doula services available on labor delivery units. So that's another place to focus on is what can we do on labor delivery units to get the best of both worlds?

The first thing is what exactly is physiological birth? What's the definition? Because there is no one definition. It's pretty much going to be according to whoever's talking about it. If you think about it, maternal physiology is what the body does during the course of birth.

The first thing is what exactly is physiological birth? What's the definition? Because there is no one definition. It's pretty much going to be according to whoever's talking about it. If you think about it, maternal physiology is what the body does during the course of birth.

The first thing is what exactly is physiological birth? What's the definition? Because there is no one definition. It's pretty much going to be according to whoever's talking about it. If you think about it, maternal physiology is what the body does during the course of birth.

The physiological changes in the blood volume, the uterine blood flow, the elevation of the diaphragm, all that still happens in a hospital birth. Managing labor and delivery by having a spontaneous vaginal delivery, that's still physiological birth. There are a lot of OBGYN practices who are very hands-off. They do interventions when they need to. It's hit or miss.

The physiological changes in the blood volume, the uterine blood flow, the elevation of the diaphragm, all that still happens in a hospital birth. Managing labor and delivery by having a spontaneous vaginal delivery, that's still physiological birth. There are a lot of OBGYN practices who are very hands-off. They do interventions when they need to. It's hit or miss.

The physiological changes in the blood volume, the uterine blood flow, the elevation of the diaphragm, all that still happens in a hospital birth. Managing labor and delivery by having a spontaneous vaginal delivery, that's still physiological birth. There are a lot of OBGYN practices who are very hands-off. They do interventions when they need to. It's hit or miss.

I'm not going to pretend that it's an option for everyone. I know that it's not. But there is a very common misconception that if you want to have a physiological birth, you need to be in an out-of-hospital birth setting. And that's simply not true because we really don't even know what that means. I think interventions should be done when they're indicated.

I'm not going to pretend that it's an option for everyone. I know that it's not. But there is a very common misconception that if you want to have a physiological birth, you need to be in an out-of-hospital birth setting. And that's simply not true because we really don't even know what that means. I think interventions should be done when they're indicated.

I'm not going to pretend that it's an option for everyone. I know that it's not. But there is a very common misconception that if you want to have a physiological birth, you need to be in an out-of-hospital birth setting. And that's simply not true because we really don't even know what that means. I think interventions should be done when they're indicated.

If something is recommended, it should be explained to the patient. The most important thing is a good maternal and fetal neonatal outcome, whatever that looks like. If a cesarean section is needed, that's what's needed. If pitocin augmentation is needed, that's what's needed. I've talked about this on my platform.