Instinct during birth has all but been driven underground in modern obstetric hospitals. Women who want to squat, crawl, kneel, hang, lean against the wall/bed, stand, sit on the toilet bowl (because a birthstool is unavailable) are prevented from doing so. It does not suit the medical attendants aka doctors and midwives for women to …
On one occasion, I accompanied the doctors and medical students, a group of about 15 medics, on their rounds, in a maternity hospital. We came to the bedside of a woman lying on her back on a hospital bed, attached with leads to a cardiotocograph (CTG) machine, which was measuring the unborn baby’s heartbeat.
Newborn babies are unique and it is easy to meet their needs when you understand what those needs are. Listening to babies and understanding them takes time and practice, especially when you are a first time mother.
Women spend years learning to behave in certain ways in order to ‘fit in’ to society. Giving Birth acts as a gateway to rediscover blocked parts of the self that enable a woman to reclaim her life force.
Sometimes labour and birth can go backwards, stall or slow down when the mother is tense or frightened. It is important to meet the needs of each individual woman and birth.
Life has seasons and changes occur in ways and at times we least expect. Change at any age is like being born again. It is both a process of letting go and new discovery.
Traditionally we have thought that babies had only 5 senses and that they only started learning after birth. Research is beginning to show that babies use many senses to gather information, even before birth.