Wednesday 15 April 2015

Was it in the 1950s when birth went wrong?

Just read an article posted by Orgasmic Birth and was interested in their telling of the history of childbirth and when it all went wrong.

"In the 1950s, with the new dynamic of birth being behind closed doors- women were alone, drugs and twilight sleep were given, and as a result the knowledge of how to work with our bodies in birth was lost and fear grew. I can’t even imagine what it was like for the many women who found themselves alone, in a hospital gown, put down with a wheel chair and tied to bed (yes they were tied with lambs wool). How different this was from being in your own home, in your own clothes and familiar textiles and fabrics, surrounded by those who love you. While we have had benefits of hospital birth, there is much to ponder and question of what we have lost and what we can birth forward in new ways."

They have taken birth away from women, but we can get it back. Education is the key. Real education, not gained from watching One Born Every Frelling Minute!

See my posts Why Labour Hurts (5 posts) and Hazards to a Pain Free Labour.(6 posts)

The doctors can care for high risk women such as diabetics and eclamptics. Leave the low risk women to find a better way to labour. Birth centers in England are amazing but you may still find a midwife there who calls contractions "pains". Just follow the advice for learning a relaxation technique (post-Progressive Muscle Relaxation) in pregnancy and stay sat upright on a ball or chair or couch, mobilising when you need to. Stay at home for as long as possible, scoffing lots of carbs before going to hospital, you will know when the time is right, listen to your inner voice. Better still have a home birth then the midwife will come to you.

We need to listen to our bodies and trust. WE ARE WOMEN AND WE ARE POWERFUL AND WE LOVE IT!

Pain Free Labour books now available from Amazon, cheap as chips to download.