Common Sense is not so common therefore should it be called Uncommon Sense?

When Thomas Paine wrote "Common Sense" and published it on January 10, 1776, it created quite a stir. Arguing in the people's language and with then-present-day references, Paine set out in print to show the meaning of independence from British rule.

The same can be applied to birthing.

Paine argued that it is ridiculous for an island to rule a continent. I submit, in many cases, it is ridiculous to have careproviders with little or no training in normal birth to be "managing" women who are candidates and seek normal birth.

America was not a "British nation"; it was composed of influences and peoples from all of Europe. Since it is well documented that every pregnancy is different and every birth experience is different, physicians and midwives should not practice by standing orders.

Even if Britain was the "mother country" of America, that made her actions all the more horrendous, for no mother would harm her children so brutally. The real truth about inducing too early and the detrimental effects it has on newborns, the long term side effects of epidural anesthesia on women and their babies, and the dangers of the rising cesarean rate.... ok, nuff said.

The distance between the two nations made governing the colonies from England unwieldy. Careproviders who are trained in crisis intervention are worlds away from normal birth. While in a small percentage of labors, intervention is necessary and often life-saving, birth is not a crisis waiting to happen. For God's sake, teach the careproviders to help women birth normally!

Britain ruled the colonies for its own benefit, and did not consider the best interests of the colonists in governing them. Between careproviders who don't seem to want to accept that babies come when they want to and not on a schedule, and insurance companies that want to drive the birthing boat, women are left with fighting for the options they deserve to know about.

"A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right, and raises at first a formidable outcry in defense of custom."

The above is a direct quote from Paine's pamphlet, "Common Sense". How does this compare to policies on electronic fetal monitoring, being hydrated and nourished during labor, application of medication to induce or augment labor, episiotomy, length of labor, etc.

Frankly, the comparison is frighteningly similar.