Today the question of where to give birth is very topical for all the pregnant women and generally, they have two variants – birth in a hospital or homebirth. There many different possibilities is each of these two variants, and each of them has its advantages and drawbacks, as well as risks. This paper will concentrate on the latter variant and will show why many women decide to give birth to their children at home – what they receive, and what they miss.
Many studies have already shown that only about 5% of women are in real need of care at birth, while all the others are able to give birth without any medical intervention. For many experts in natural birth, both medical and psychological, it is a shame to look at the situation that is currently true for many births in hospitals. Women are forced to do, as it is convenient to doctors, to take the back position in the strains period, although everyone knows that it is nonpysiological for birth! Unfortunately, the experience gained in hundreds of years as to the birth traditions – for example, belly dancing, specifically designed to help women in the labor process, is not used everywhere (Keirse 574). It is really sad.
What happened to breastfeeding is also almost a disaster. Women in the U.S. do not want to breastfeed, because the media are constantly told that formulas have enough vitamins and are very helpful. However, we cannot disagree that breastfeeding is not only vitamins, but also a valuable contact with the mother. In addition, if we all abide by these simple rules created by nature, we could avoid many psychological problems that we face now.
If humankind had returned to natural childbirth, we would have made a huge leap. Perhaps the best option would be to establish in every hospital a room of homely kind, where women could bring their favorite things, invite family members or friends, but behind the walls of which a woman could receive medical care only when it is necessary. It would be a great option.
What does it mean for the modern woman to give birth naturally? First, it is a unique and single (there is no other possible birth for the child) opportunity to pass the whole process of birth with the baby, to give it love and support, to be the first one to take it into hands, and to the breast. Those who for some reason had not been able to give birth naturally, talk about a sense of loss, for some it is a truly agonizing feeling.
The question of how women give birth – naturally or with the help of medical technology – is not only a medical issue. Here the theme of relationships between mother and child is intertwined with the question of informed choice of women on obstetrics methods, psychological well-being of the little baby, as well as the question of whether labor will help a woman in her realization, as a mother or it will cause psychological trauma. Everything that happens during childbirth is full of meaning, and the most important factor influencing the course of childbirth is the psychological attitude of women; even the most conservative doctors recognize its importance.
Michel Odent, who is an obstetrician widely known throughout the world, is an active supporter of natural childbirth, the author of numerous scientific papers and books on this subject. He called oxytocin (a hormone that controls childbirth) the hormone of love and proved that production of this hormone directly affects the psychological state of a woman. However, until now, instead of support and understanding, woman and her baby most often receive large doses of potent drugs and electronic monitoring.
How in today’s world are the rights of woman and child on natural childbirth reserved? What about the psychological comfort during labor? Respect and understanding of the uniqueness of her labor process? This is a problem topical in many countries. Throughout the world, psychologists and doctors are sounding the alarm – the number of caesarean sections has been steadily increasing, and fertility in developed countries as well steadily declining. Technologies to monitor the progress of labor and to influence their course have been increasingly used, and healthy children are born less. And most importantly, women "forget" how to give birth on their own, by a script written for them by nature, their participation in the child's birth being often minimal.
It is necessary to say that in many countries today (including the U.S., France) childbirth is called natural if it occurs vaginally, thus it is all births performed not by caesarean section (Keirse 345). But can we call natural the childbirth, occurring under the influence of numerous drugs, childbirth, in which a woman is forced to lie still, being "tied" to a drip or confined under epidural anesthesia?
Natural processes are the ones that occur by the internal forces of the body, because nature – that is what is initially inherent in human, the natural properties. Any outside interference is unnatural. Childbirth is a normal physiological process that does not require additional intervention, like hundreds of other physiological processes, constantly occurring in our body. We do not control the processes of digestion, respiration, hormonal regulation. We also do not control and direct the time of conception (though in this process science has found ways to intervene), and such a "lack of control" does not cause us concern. However, birth has always been a process causing if not fear, then some worries, since birth and death are the most important events in human life, which, despite all the scientific discoveries in this area, remain a mystery to our consciousness.
In some countries, there is a better tendency of calling natural those births that occur without medical intervention, by the scenario written by nature. Unfortunately, the main trend of modern obstetrics is that deliveries are becoming more tech and medication-based, and the level of maternal and child health, as well as the birth rate continues to decline. Most modern women have lost faith in their own abilities to give birth safely, and the concept of "natural childbirth" is gradually disappearing from our lives as something archaic. The birth process can now accelerate, slow down, numb, and even "be cancelled", replaced by a caesarean section. We completely forgot about the fact that pregnancy and childbirth are natural, normal processes in a woman's life that may well take place without intrusive medical intervention. Is pregnancy a disease and childbirth – surgery? Is it time to think how such high-tech "artificial" birth will affect the future of humankind?
Just a hundred years people had to try artificial substitutes and synthetic components in virtually all areas of their lives. Everywhere, after some time, they recognized that it is impossible to replace completely the natural ingredients. As we try to improve nature, eventually, it turns out that it adversely affects a person both physically and psychologically. Moreover, wherever possible, the person tries again to return to the natural conditions of existence. Artificial food will not cease to exist, but the natural products are much more valuable. Synthetic fabrics will not replace cotton and linen for us (Wax et al. 243).
In the most intimate areas –reproduction of our own kind – we increasingly rely on medical advances for solving problems, and then think how to deal with their consequences. Painless childbirth – what could be better? However, it is found out that epidural radically violates contact between mother and child and prevents successful breastfeeding; the use of drugs in labor harms the child and creates the preconditions for the development of drug addiction in his future; general anesthesia affects the health of a mother and newborn. Medications designed to help a woman give birth are disrupting deliveries and require the introduction of new drugs, which is fraught with complications (Olsen and Clausen 25).
Gradually people come to understand that medication delivery is simply not so safe. As a result, a growing number of expectant mothers want to give birth naturally and are even willing to pay a doctor to be left alone during childbirth! That is, we return to the values of natural childbirth, the one occurring in its natural rhythm, without the influence of drugs and medical intervention, unless you have a really good reason.
Conditions suitable for such childbirth are the following:
- calm intimate atmosphere that as little as possible resembles a hospital;
- subdued light, silence or quiet, nice music;
- a comfortable bed and accessories for comfortable postures (balls, ottomans, pillows, rugs, cushions, chairs, etc.);
- the use of water for relaxation (shower, basin, bath);
- the possibility for the presence of someone close;
- trusting relationship with a midwife and a doctor;
- their unobtrusive observation instead of strict control.
That is all that gives a woman the opportunity to feel safe, relaxed, behave naturally and not experience stress, which slows down the process of delivery.
Michel Odent demonstrates that oxytocin and adrenaline, a stress hormone, are counteracting each other. Therefore, when a woman is under stress, her blood contains a large amount of adrenaline, and oxytocin content decreases sharply, which is why childbirth slows down or stops altogether. Odent also writes that it is important for successful delivery to reduce the activity of the cerebral cortex, i.e. "shut down", not to think about how to behave, what to do and to stop rigid control. Childbirth is controlled by ancient subcortical structures of the brain – the hypothalamus and pituitary, and they are most active during those times when we sleep, our consciousness has rest.
However, the conditions that exist in most modern maternity homes are contrary to the requirements and are a major obstacle to the natural course of labor. Woman gets into the hospital environment, she has to answer many questions, she is surrounded by strangers, not always friendly, and it is not possible to retire and relax. Glass walls, bright lights, loud foreign sounds, uncomfortable bed, the absence of individual shower and toilet, etc. do not give the woman the possibility to be herself (Janssen et al. 380).
In the twentieth century, humankind has made a great discovery. We discovered that a newborn needs a mother. Why did not we it know before? Previously, the mother and child were separated immediately after birth. In all cultures, mother’s aggressive instinct to protect the child was suppressed. This instinct has been in fact suppressed for many years. The aborigines of Australia envelop their newborns with smoke. In other places, they are bathed, sometimes in cold water, washed immediately from body grease, immediately cut off the umbilical cord before it pulses through. It was long considered that colostrum was harmful to the child and we had many of the same beliefs that reinforced each other's actions. However, they all had one effect – the separation of mother and child.
It turned out that the child should be immediately taken away from the mother, and someone else should take care of it. It was assumed that a child in need of care on the part of an outsider. It was and still is in some countries a normal practice for a midwife to immediately cut the umbilical cord, baby soap. The woman never said, "Can I squeeze the child to me? Leave it with me?" A few days old baby was held separately. Then, scientists have found that mammals have a short period after childbirth – a period, which will never happen again – which is very important to establish a link between mother and child. Scientists began to study it in humans. We found that if they are not separated, the child within an hour finds his mother's breast, which is programmed in his behavior. Found that, in ideal conditions, the baby should be populated by microorganisms of its mother. Fifty years ago, we did not know it. Now suddenly realized that the newborn needs a mother. This discovery has rejected 1,000 years of opinion and led to the idea that we need joint maintenance of mother and child. Previously, no one thought about it.
Thus the belief was born that the family should be together, but the concept of co-host spread also to the father. In addition, there was the belief that the father of the child must also be present at birth. Women today are giving birth in hospitals, with the participation of doctors. Joyous natural event turned into a surgery, and a woman into a passive patient. Women need to understand that the birth is not a medical problem. Medicine deals with pathology, illness, while childbirth is a normal physiological process.
It is important to add some information about the hormone oxytocin. What do we know about him? That it is the main part of the whole cocktail of love that a woman must release into the blood to give birth. We need to understand how its selection depends on environmental factors. It is also called "shy hormone." It does not stand out if strangers are present. A man without it there has no erection, women do not release lubrication of the vagina, which means that it is a key hormone in the birth of love. Therefore, even in a society where there is freedom of sexual relations, people always retire for sex. This is why birth cannot take place in a hectic environment – oxytocin will not appear (Olsen 80).
In nature, the female retreats for delivery. Women used to do it in the past as well. But even then they gave birth next to their mother, aunt or grandmother, whose task was to defend the peace of women from animals or humans. Hence originates the skill of midwives. Then came another step: delivery became more socialized, there were more and more people to participate and we seem to have forgotten that oxytocin is a shy hormone. And the next phase began when the woman appeared next to a male doctor. Until the mid-twentieth century obstetrics was women's work (oxytocin still less shy in the female environment). In the 50 years of the twentieth century, doctors appear only at the end of delivery, to impose tongs – it was all that obstetricians then had to learn. But then things got very rapidly, appeared more male doctors and more fathers were present at birth, more equipment. Hi-tech – in favor of men. In the twentieth century, masculinization of society began. Now, there is a new epidemic – video on childbirth. The room has many people, including the operator. Moreover, this is called natural childbirth just because it happens at home, or because the woman is in the water or on all fours, but it is unnatural! It turns out that a woman cannot give birth on her own, that she did not have the energy for this. And it turns out that the movement of natural childbirth actually says exactly the opposite.
Works Cited
Janssen, Patricia A., et al. "Outcomes of planned home birth with registered midwife versus planned hospital birth with midwife or physician." Canadian Medical Association Journal 181.6-7 (2009): 377-383.
Keirse, Marc JNC. "Home birth: gone away, gone astray, and here to stay." Birth 37.4 (2010): 341-346.
Keirse, M. J. "Planned homebirth in Australia." The Medical journal of Australia 198.11 (2013): 574.
Olsen, Ole. "Promoting home birth in accordance with the best scientific evidence." Promoting Normal Birth: Research, Reflections and Guidelines (2011): 80.
Olsen, Ole, and Jette A. Clausen. "Planned hospital birth versus planned home birth." Cochrane Database Syst Rev 9 (2012).
Wax, Joseph R., et al. "Maternal and newborn outcomes in planned home birth vs planned hospital births: a metaanalysis." American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 203.3 (2010): 243-e1.
