“I have gained a lot of sovereignty through … Bitcoin, and I am also grateful that my partner has done the same by choosing to give birth at home.”
This is an editorial opinion by Conor Chepenik, organizer of the Bitcoin Mass Adoption meeting and father of a child born at home.
When my partner first mentioned a home birth for our first child, I didn’t think much of it. As a man, I have limited knowledge of what it takes to give birth. For most of my life, it seems like most people know that giving birth in a hospital is something you only do because it’s “safe”. Luckily, my partner didn’t believe in common knowledge, he went and verified it himself.
Did you know that by 2021, cesarean deliveries will account for 32.1% of live births in the United States? I was shocked when I found out. One third of women do not have a natural birth in one of the richest countries in the world?
I also learned that pushing women too early is a common practice in hospitals. It is usually done when there are concerns for the health of the mother or the baby, but elective induction of labor is also often done for convenience. Induction of labor carries various risks, including induction failure, low fetal heart rate, infection, uterine rupture and increased bleeding after delivery.
Furthermore, epidurals containing fentanyl have been known to cause difficulty for babies to attach to their mothers’ breasts. This is not meant to bash the hospital. This is to show that a woman’s body was able to give birth to a baby before humans made hospitals.
At first, a home birth seemed like a great idea to me because it meant I got to watch my son enter the world from my living room. But after learning about these statistics, my mindset quickly shifted to home births being not only interesting, but the best option.
Now, you might be wondering why an essay in Bitcoin Magazine is discussing childbirth. The answer is simple: Bitcoin, like home birth, is based on the idea of trusting yourself and your own abilities. Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency that allows secure and private transactions without intermediaries such as banks or governments. Saving in bitcoin is a way to trust your own ability to manage your financial assets.
There’s no way you’ll be able to get past your home birth or save on bitcoin if you haven’t put in the time, research and willingness to verify the value of the item. It is important to make a decision that suits your values and preferences, because not everyone is suitable for home birth or for Bitcoin.
Avoid Making Decisions Based on Fear
Just because someone in a position of authority recommends a certain course of action, doesn’t mean it’s the right choice for you. Fear-based decision-making should be avoided at all costs. Home birth can be scary, as can keeping a large portion of your wealth in bitcoin. Empowering individuals, rather than fear-mongering, will help people make the best decisions.
For example, some doctors may recommend a hospital birth and some bankers may recommend keeping your money in a bank because of the safety and security of the institution. Do not accept this without verifying yourself. Everyone is different, which means it’s important to weigh the potential benefits and drawbacks of each option.
While hospital births may provide access to more advanced medical equipment and professionals, they also carry a higher risk of medical intervention and complications. In addition, while banks may offer convenience and the perception of safety, they also carry the risk of losses due to inflation or bank failure. As we have seen with the collapse of Silvergate, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank, it doesn’t take many banks to make things happen in our digital world.
If the Federal Reserve, the US Treasury, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) just announced that the FDIC will guarantee our SVB depositors, but what these financial experts did not reveal is that inflation will tear them back when they print money. to make these depositors whole again.
With this announcement, you can be sure that most deposits at any bank in the US will be covered in the event of a bank failure. Unfortunately, the dollars in that bank account lose purchasing power every time they create more of them out of thin air. Dilution is a simple concept. For those who don’t know, Thomas Massie does a great job of explaining this videos around the three minute mark. By taking the time to educate yourself and make informed decisions, you can maintain your autonomy and make the right choices in your best interests.
Another reason people argue that you should keep your money in a bank rather than in bitcoin is because, with bitcoin, you have no recourse to get your funds back if you mess up. This is true. You are responsible for your UTXOs, stop. If you fat finger Bitcoin transactions, there is no bank to call and tell them to freeze that transaction. This is the trade-off you face when holding private keys. With freedom comes more responsibility.
Bitcoin and home births are not for the weak and dependent. I am proud of my partner for choosing to have a home birth, and a happy, healthy baby is proof of the benefits of trusting your body. Although there are cases where doctors and banks have saved lives and money, both are dependent on third parties. Being sovereign means acting independently and minimizing outside interference.
Live With Tradeoffs
Of course, there are tradeoffs with everything. I’ve lost bitcoins due to my own stupidity, and I’m sure there are horror stories of people losing children due to lack of medical care. Still, I can only speak from anecdotal evidence, but I believe there is enormous value in being sovereign. It’s a shame that the banks are failing and mothers are hurting because of the current system. However, I don’t think most of the people in this system are bad; it’s just that the system is broken.
If you are willing and able, there is value in holding your own bitcoins and giving birth at home. If you are truly sovereign, you may consider free birth, meaning giving birth without medical assistance. My partner has a midwife, and it’s amazing. I am so glad that someone guided us for our first child.
That reminds me of people who take their own custody of bitcoin but rely on other people’s nodes, like they can using the Muun wallet. Yes, you are relying on someone else’s server to send and receive your bitcoins. If you can, you should open your own node and become sovereign. That said, if you’re just starting down the Bitcoin rabbit hole, the first step is often just getting coins from an exchange. If you don’t take custody of yourself, you’re no better off than someone who has all their funds in the bank — or arguably worse, since crypto exchanges aren’t FDIC insured.
You can always learn to untie the knot as you become more experienced. Also, having a midwife to help with a home birth can be beneficial for your first child. Not everyone is ready to give birth without medical help, and relying on someone with more experience can be super expensive. This is what my partner chose, and although it wasn’t as sovereign a choice as a free birth, we still had an amazing experience.
In the same way I don’t recommend my grandmother to use Bitcoin nodes, my partner wouldn’t recommend it to his friends who have their first child on their own. It’s important to weigh your options, do your research, and make the right decision for your situation. Personally, I have gained a lot of sovereignty through my experience with Bitcoin, and I am also grateful that my partner has done the same by choosing to give birth at home. I believe there are lessons to be learned from both communities, as they prioritize autonomy and self-reliance. Bitcoiners recognize the importance of being in control of financial assets, while home birthers prioritize taking ownership of the experience of childbirth and trust in the natural abilities of the body. By understanding and embracing these values, we can create a stronger and more independent community.
There Are No Easy Solutions
In life there are no easy solutions. Every decision we make comes with a set of tradeoffs, and it’s our responsibility to consider them all instead of outsourcing them to “experts.” Although the concept of Bitcoin and home birth seem very different, they share the same goal – to ensure the success of future generations.
This is a promising sign for the future, as these children will become leaders and decision makers in our society. Regardless of their parents’ beliefs or values, they will inherit a world that continues to evolve, and they will have the power to shape it in ways they have not yet imagined. generation how to consider options and trust themselves, not others, to make the right decisions.
This is a guest post by Conor Chepenik. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.