Rachel Ward 2UE Interview

DR JAMES WRIGHT:	Now as promised I have a special interview with one of our special Australians today. Australian actress, Rachel Ward, thought pain was part of the package when she prepared to give birth to her first child, by number three she had changed her mind. You all know Rachel Ward, she's a very successful Australian actress and we are very proud to have her on this show today on 2UE. This week she was presented with the inaugural Society of Obstetrics Anaesthesia and Perinatalogy (that's babies) called SOAP. (It's got nothing to do with eating soap - that's the name of the Association.) She received their Media Award at the Prince of Wales Hospital in Sydney. This was presented in recognition of her contribution to public awareness regarding the benefits epidural analgesia use for labour pain management. Using her own life experience and following two very difficult and painful childbirths, Rachel put pen to paper and wrote frankly, without any frills, about her third childbirth and the pain-free experience. Rachel, welcome to the Good Health Show.

RACHEL WARD:	Thank you very much. That's quite a mouthful isn't it? SOAP…

WRIGHT:	Good on you. Yes, SOAP, great stuff! Rachel, what made you decide after two children to have the third with an epidural pain relief? Why, tell me please.

WARD:	Why not? I must have been insane not to have it with the first two!

WRIGHT:	Well you didn't know about it, probably.

WARD:	I did.

WRIGHT:	You did?

WARD:	Of course I did. I knew absolutely and it was, I think, the reason I wrote the article. I felt that I was being less than serious about my parenting or my maternal role by choosing to have an epidural and it was the fashion at that time (and it probably still is) to have a natural childbirth. I felt that it was very much a fashion trend was dictating which way women had babies. A few years before that, a girlfriend of mine in England had had an epidural and had this incredible easy birth and completely enjoyed the birth. It was very untraumatic. And I was sort of thinking, "well great, that's the way I'll go". About 10 years later when I had my first child, there was a real movement for natural childbirth (which works for a lot of people). I can understand why people make that choice but I felt that a lot of people who were influencing how you gave birth that had a position against epidural. [Interruption] Just a second, I have my epidural baby with me.

WRIGHT:	Hello epidural baby! I guess the baby's names "Epi", of course.

WARD:	Hang on one a second.

WRIGHT:	Marvellous. You can hear the baby in the background. At least, the epidural had no effect on the baby as you can hear in the background. I hope Rachel comes back with her screaming baby.

WARD:	I could do with an epidural right now for the weekend.

WRIGHT:	Now look, why actually did you decide to write about your own personal experience during childbirth. The majority of folk have it and that's the end of the story. They tell their friends. But you actually put pen to paper and put your money where you mouth is, sort of thing. Why did you decide to do this, Rachel?

WARD:	When you first have a baby, you are so inexperienced about the whole thing and you are very vulnerable to everybody else who is in a more experienced position telling you what to do. By the time I had the third, I felt that I was really an experienced birther.

WRIGHT:	From both angles, the bad and the good.

WARD:	Yes. I felt that I knew really as much about giving birth as my obstetrician or anybody else around me (who were mainly male) telling me how I should give birth, and what the best options were for me. And when I went into my obstetrician (who is a great guy by the way and extremely understanding and delivered my children no problems at all), I said I wanted to have an epidural for the third one and he looked at me as if I was insane.

WRIGHT:	Is that a fact?

WARD:	"Why do you want to have an epidural? You have had two births, they were relatively easy births. There was no complications. It'll all be over in 2-3 hours and, why have the epidural?" And I thought, "I don't understand your position here. I have a position that I want to have an epidural and you are actually persuading me not to have an epidural". I didn't really understand that and I found that everybody around me was suspicious about why I wanted to have the epidural and were not encouraging about me having the epidural and were making me feel like I was making the wrong choice for having a epidural.

WRIGHT:	I find that amazing.

WARD:	Less of a woman, that I was being undermined in a way for choosing to go the epidural. So I decided I was now in a position where I have the authority from having the personal experience to put my own case and to be sure about what I want to do. What's more, I believe that a lot of other women were probably being persuaded away from the epidural as much as I was. The long and the short of it is that I went and had the epidural. The epidural was terrific! I had a great anaesthetist. All the myths about the horse needle coming towards me and the needle being stuck in the spine and that you can be paralysed for life…

WRIGHT:	Absolute rubbish!

WARD:	All of that mythology that is around having the epidural completely dispelled. It was a fantastic birth! I was completely untraumatised. I was able to participate with the birth and with the birthing experience because I wasn't in deep pain and just wanted to get it all over with. I actually enjoyed the birthing experience. I had control of my legs. I was in control of pushing. I was participating…

WRIGHT:	Yes, you were participating. Of course.

WARD:	Participating. In the other one, you are participating but you are so consumed by the pain that you are not enjoying the experience. Not that we always have to enjoy experiences like that.

WRIGHT:	But it is better to enjoy it if you can, isn't it? Rather than be in this agonising pain.

WARD:	That's right. Then the difference of afterwards and just the whole thing had been very untraumatic experience. If ever I did it again I wouldn't question going the route of the epidural.

WRIGHT:	A lot of these "rules and regulations" are made by men, who have never had a baby and wouldn't know what it was all about and they can just see these screaming, yelling women and they are just saying "oh that's just part of life". It's not part of life at all if you can get rid of pain.

WARD:	It is easier to blame the guys but I think actually a lot of the birthing instructors are women and they have been through the same thing. I am not saying that you shouldn't have a natural childbirth but I think it is loaded in the area of going the painful way then going the epidural. It is disapportionately loaded with the people who are in the know about birthing that go, "No, no, no, unless there is a real problem do it naturally". Why?

WRIGHT:	Rachel, according to the Society (the SOAP Society), your story is fervently followed now by women in labour throughout the world. Now did you ever hope to have such a major impact on society and to assist so many women to avoid suffering and pain? Did you think that this would happen with your article?

WARD:	I'm sure it is well exaggerated that, but …

WRIGHT:	Maybe it's exaggerated but still it has helped lots of women so it's a big plus in my opinion. I support you.

WARD:	I think there is obviously a reason why I felt that there was a gap there that needed to be told and needed that perspective. I felt that it was slightly out of whack - the whole thing. When you write something like that you hope that a few people might identify with it or who might be feeling the same kind of thing but it just needs to be articulated or clarified. Obviously, I was articulating a consciousness that probably a lot of women were feeling the same thing.

WRIGHT:	Rachel, all I can say is congratulations. Australia has 18 million people - 9 million women - so there has got to be 250,000 babies every year. So to help at least 50,000 or even 10 of those women make a good decision like yours you have done a great thing for Australia. You are a wonderful lady. We all love you. We congratulate you and thank you for what you have done. Thank you for lovely interview.

WARD:	You are very generous and very undeserved.

WRIGHT:	Rachel Ward on epidurals. Many thanks indeed.