“I have gained a lot of sovereignty through…Bitcoin, and I am equally grateful that my partner has done the same by choosing home birth.”
This is an Op-Ed by Conor Chepenik, Bitcoin Mass Adoption Meetup organizer and father of a homeborn child.
When my partner initially mentioned a home birth for our first child, I didn’t think much of it. As a man, I had limited knowledge of what childbirth entailed. For my entire life, it seemed common knowledge that giving birth in the hospital is simply what you do because it’s “safe.” Luckily my partner didn’t trust common knowledge, she went and verified for herself.
Did you know that in 2021 caesarean sections accounted for 32.1% of live births in the United States? I was taken aback when I found out about that. A third of women did not have natural childbirth in one of the richest countries in the world?
I also learned that inducing women early is common practice in a hospital. It is usually done when there are concerns about the health of the mother or baby, but elective induction of labor is also often done for convenience. Induction of labor carries several risksincluding failed induction, low fetal heart rate, infection, uterine rupture, and increased bleeding after delivery.
In addition, epidurals containing fentanyl have been known to cause difficulties for infants to latch on to their mothers’ breasts. This is not meant to criticize hospitals. It’s to point out that women’s bodies have been able to birth babies long before humans created hospitals.
At first, a home birth seemed like a good idea because it would mean that I would be able to watch my son enter this world from the comfort of my living room. But after learning these statistics, my mindset quickly changed to home birth not only being interesting, but our best option.
Now, you may be wondering why an essay in Bitcoin Magazine talks about 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 can go through with a home birth or save in bitcoin if you haven’t put in the time, research, and willingness to verify the value of these things. It’s important to make informed decisions that align with your values and preferences, as not everyone is a fit for home birth or Bitcoin.
Avoid fear-based decision making
Just because someone in a position of authority recommends a particular course of action, it doesn’t necessarily 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 chunk of your wealth in bitcoin. Empowering people, rather than frightening them, will help people make the decisions that are best for them.
For example, some doctors may recommend a hospital delivery and some bankers may recommend keeping your money in a bank because of the perceived safety of those institutions. Please do not accept this without verifying it yourself. Everyone is different, which means it’s important to weigh the potential benefits and drawbacks of each option.
While hospital deliveries may offer access to advanced medical professionals and equipment, they also carry a higher risk of medical intervention and complications. Similarly, while banks may offer convenience and the perception of security, they also carry the risk of loss due to inflation or bank failures. As we have seen with the collapse of Silvergate, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank, it doesn’t take much for a run on the bank to happen in our digital world.
Sure, the Federal Reserve, the US Treasury, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) just announced that the FDIC would bail out our SVB depositors, but what these financial experts aren’t revealing is that this means inflation will spike again as they print money to make these depositors whole again.
With this announcement, you can probably be sure that most deposits at any US bank will be guaranteed in the event of a bank failure. Unfortunately, the dollars in that bank account are going to lose purchasing power each time they create more out of nothing. Dilution is a simple concept. For those who don’t get it, Thomas Massie did a great job explaining it in this video around the three minute mark. By taking the time to educate yourself and make informed decisions, you can maintain your autonomy and make decisions that are truly in your best interest.
Another reason why people argue that you should keep your money in a bank instead of bitcoin is because with bitcoin, you don’t have any recourse to recover your funds if you mess something up. This is correct. You are responsible for your UTXOs, full stop. If you do a Bitcoin transaction with your thumb, there is no bank to call and tell them to freeze that transaction. This is the tradeoff you face when you have your private keys. With more freedom comes more responsibility.
Bitcoin and home birth are not for the weak and dependent. I am proud of my partner for choosing a home birth, and our happy and healthy baby is a testament to the benefits of trusting one’s own body. While there are undoubtedly cases where doctors and banks have saved lives and money, respectively, they both rely on a third party. Being sovereign means taking independent action and minimizing outside interference.
living with trade-offs
Of course, there are tradeoffs with everything. I have lost bitcoins due to my own stupidity, and I’m sure there are horror stories of people losing their children due to lack of healthcare. Still, I can only speak from anecdotal evidence, but I think there is immense value in being as sovereign as possible. It is unfortunate to see banks fail and mothers hurt by the current system we have. However, I don’t think most people in these systems are bad; they are simply inside corrupted systems.
If you are willing and able, it is worth having your own bitcoin and birthing it at home. If you’re really sovereign, you might even consider free delivery, which means giving birth without medical help. My partner had a midwife and that was amazing. I am so glad we had someone to guide us for our first child.
That reminded me of someone self-guarding their bitcoin but trusting someone else’s node, like those who might use the Muun wallet. Yes, you trust someone else’s server to send and receive your bitcoin. If you can, you should run your own node and be fully sovereign. That said, if you’re just starting out down the Bitcoin rabbit hole, the first step is often to simply get your coins off an exchange. If you don’t take self-custody, you’re no better than someone with all their funds in one bank, or arguably worse, because crypto exchanges don’t get FDIC insurance.
You can always learn to run a node once you have more experience. Similarly, having a midwife to help with a home birth might make sense for a first child. Not everyone is ready to give birth without medical help, and trusting someone with more experience can be invaluable. That’s what my partner opted for, and although it wasn’t as sovereign an option as free delivery, we had an amazing experience.
In the same way that I wouldn’t recommend that my grandfather run a Bitcoin node, my partner wouldn’t suggest that her friends having their first children give birth alone. It is crucial to weigh your options, do your research, and make informed decisions that work for your individual situation. Personally, I have gained a lot of sovereignty through my experience with Bitcoin, and I am equally grateful that my partner has done the same by choosing home birth. I believe there are valuable lessons to be learned from both communities, as both prioritize autonomy and self-sufficiency. Bitcoiners recognize the importance of being in control of their financial assets, while home birthers prioritize taking charge of their birthing experiences and trusting their bodies’ natural abilities. By understanding and embracing these values, we can create more empowered and self-sufficient communities.
no easy solutions
In life there are no easy solutions. Every decision we make comes with a number of trade-offs, and it’s our responsibility to consider them all rather than outsource that to an “expert.” Although the concepts of Bitcoin and home birth may seem very different, they share a common goal: to ensure the success of future generations.
This is a promising sign for the future, as these children will become the leaders and decision makers of our society. Regardless of their parents’ beliefs or values, they will inherit an ever-evolving world and have the power to shape it in ways we can’t yet imagine. We can’t give you the right answers, but we can show you the future. generations how to weigh their 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.
