Not to be judgmental . . .

Not to be judgmental or anything, but I just don’t understand, and I’m really trying to. I like to watch some reality television shows. I love Survivor and The Amazing Race which are my staples when they are on, but I also like to watch some of the shows on TLC like Little People Big World, The Little Couple, Big Medicine, Cake Boss and 18 Kids and Counting. (Just for the record I don’t watch Jon & Kate Plus 8.) The other day I was watching a special 18 Kids and Counting where Josh and his wife Anna are having their first baby Mackynzie. Now here is the part I don’t understand, and again I’m not trying to be judgmental, but Anna’s doctor is out of town, so she chooses to have her baby at home with her doula el natural. Now in this modern world of pain medication why does someone choose to do this? I have had two children, and I had epidurals both times, though the second one I felt way more than I wanted to. So why choose to go through the pain if you don’t have to?

▪ Do these people think they will love their children more because of the pain?

▪ Are they going to laud the amount of pain they endured over the child’s head later in their life?

▪ Will the amount of pain endured make them appreciate the child more?

▪ By not having pain medication do they feel they will be more responsive to the baby after the birth?

▪ Is it some religious belief? And if so I would love to know the basis?

▪ Do they enjoy the pain?

I just don’t understand.