WELCOME

It is TIME for a REVOLUTION in the way we THINK & CREATE!
It is TIME to create JOY & EMPOWERMENT rather than PAIN & STRUGGLE!
TOGETHER we can move mountains and shift GLOBAL consciousness to LOVE rather than FEAR
JOIN me as I explore this concept.

Tuesday 26 February 2013

NATURAL BIRTH REQUIRES SAFETY & PRIVACY


NATURAL BIRTH REQUIRES THE MOTHER TO FEEL SAFE AND UNOBSERVED

“Anything that disturbs a labouring woman’s sense of safety and privacy will disrupt the birth process.  This definition covers most of modern obstetrics, which has created an entire industry around the observation and monitoring of pregnant and birthing women.”[1]
Dr Sarah J Buckley
In order for the natural system of birth to begin functioning optimally with a gradual release and build up of the birthing hormones, the mother needs to feel safe and unobserved!

Safety is a deep instinctual primal need for a woman to feel comfortable enough to relax into the physical state of vulnerability required for birthing.  We can observe how animals instinctually seek out a secluded, hidden safe place in which to birth their young.
During the preparatory phase before the onset of labour, women will instinctively want to find this private, safe place.  This is the time that many women start ‘nesting’ activities; renovating, cleaning and preparing for the birth.  As the majority of women in the developed world birth in hospital, packing the hospital bag has replaced preparing the home as the most common ‘nesting’ activity.

Our culture has been programmed to believe that hospital is the “safe” place for birth and many women want to race off there at the first signs of labour.  Often, once they arrive, their bodies instinctively do not feel safe or unobserved and for many women, labour slows down or stops altogether.  This then validates the belief that women’s bodies are not to be trusted to birth by themselves and that they require all the intervention that the medical model offers.  It is in this situation of arrested labour that the 'cascade of intervention' begins with labour inducing drugs, electronic foetal monitors, restricted movement, large technological machines, epidurals and finally the caesarean section.  From the moment she arrives, fear is building in the mother.  Fear is contraindicated to natural birth.

Privacy is essential for a woman to feel safe and comfortable to surrender and let go; to allow the body to find its own wisdom in how to birth the baby. Sadly, there is little if any privacy in the hospital setting.  Strangers, bright lights, machines, people coming in and out of the room at will, loud noises. Labouring women are often subjected to invasive procedures such as internal examinations, catheter insertion, IV insertion, attachment of the EFM to the babies head and their genitals on show with little respect for the sanctity of birth and  the need for privacy.  Giving Birth is a truly intimate act, not unlike the act of lovemaking which put the baby there in the first place.  Making love in full view of a room of strangers is not conducive to a relaxing and ecstatic experience, the same applies to birth.  Even some homebirth midwives do not create enough privacy for the labouring woman and her partner.

If you want this situation to change then you, the consumer needs to start demanding increased safety and  privacy in the birth setting.  If you don't get the answers you want, then change doctors, change hospitals and spend your money where you can get what you want!  This is the power of the people!  We have a choice as to how and to whom we spend our money!



.


[1] Dr Sarah J Buckley, Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering, One Moon Press, 2005, P110.

Wednesday 20 February 2013

BIRTH: Nature Knows Best


We are living in a world that has decided that technology and machines can replace the natural physiology of the human body.  One of the reasons is that there is a lot of money to be made out of all things man-made.  In this series of posts I am going to examine the requirements of the ‘birth system’ so that it can function optimally, the natural physiological responses of the ‘birth system’ and the consequences of inhibiting and trying to control nature.

Obstetricians, as members of society, tend to blind faith in technology and the mantra: technology = progress = modern. The other side of the coin is the lack of faith in nature, best expressed by a Canadian obstetrician: 'Nature is a bad obstetrician.' So the idea is to conquer nature and results in the widespread application of attempts to improve on nature before scientific evaluation. This has led to a series of failed attempts in the twentieth century to improve on biological and social evolution. Doctors replaced midwives for low risk births, then science proved midwives safer. Hospital replaced home for low risk birth, then science proved home as safe with far less unnecessary intervention. Hospital staff replaced family as birth support, then science proved birth safer if family present. Lithotomy replaced vertical birth positions, then science proved vertical positions safer. Newborn examinations away from mothers in the first 20 minutes replaced leaving babies with mothers, then science proved the necessity for maternal attachment during this time. Man-made milk replaced woman-made milk, then science proved breast milk superior. The central nursery replaced the mother, then science proved rooming-in superior. The incubator replaced the mother's body for care of low-weight newborns, then science proved the kangaroo method better in many cases.
If more doctors experienced an earthquake or volcano, they would realize their ideas of controlling nature are nothing more than stories to rewrite insignificance.
Dr Marcus Wagner[1]
The human body is an amazing piece of structural, chemical and electrical engineering.  There are a myriad of systems that integrate and work together to establish and maintain internal equilibrium or balance.  At university I studied Anatomy, physiology, exercise physiology and biomechanics and was constantly in awe as I learnt the intricacies and machinations of the human body.  What makes humans so interesting is the role that consciousness plays in physical responses to internal and external environments.  Whereas most other mammals respond to bodily requirements such as eating, drinking and birth with instinctual actions, we humans influence and control these actions with conscious thoughts and emotions.
A human body consists of its anatomy and physiological systems. Examples of these are the respiratory, digestive and circulatory systems, to name a few, which contribute to the optimal functioning of the body during its everyday activities.  I now understand that Birth too, is another perfectly designed physiological system.  It is activated when the innate consciousness of both the baby and mother release the trigger, suggested to be the hormone, oxytocin.  As in all the other physiological systems, to function optimally, birth requires healthy nutrition, a relaxed emotional state and no interference from external stimulants.  .
It is interesting to note that the obstetrical industry only began in the sixteenth century and it was not until the twentieth century that it really began to take over birth.  In 1972 the caesarean rate in the US was only 3% and that has now risen to 33% in 2011.  Humans have been birthing and evolving for 2 millioin years, mostly without obstetrical intervention.  Therfore the notion that we NEED obstetrical assistance is a mere blip, not even worth registering on the continuum of human existence.  Although we are several generations into this model of care, now is the time to re examine the facts and remember that nature knows best.

Monday 4 February 2013

The Goddess Gives Birth

To follow up from last week's posting about the role of 'The Goddess', here is the story of my encounter with my inner Goddess!  I know there are many women out there who have experienced this too!

I first met my inner Goddess during the birth of my first child.  At the time I was unaware that it was she that I was communing with.  When I first encountered her, I was simultaneously awestruck and deeply afraid.  I wasn’t afraid of the discomfort or hard work that I was experiencing during labour, I was afraid of her power!  I tried to hold her power back.  I tried to control her. I thought if I unleashed her power, I would tear in two and be destroyed.  I resisted her with every cell of my being, keeping at bay the primal scream that threatened to be released.
My body was no longer in control; a force that shook me to the very core had seized it.  This was happening during the second, pushing stage of labour and with each contraction, this force threatened to consume me so I held it back as best as I could.  For over two hours, I resisted until my conscious, earthly fear of being transferred to hospital to have my baby surgically removed overtook my other fears.  I knew then that I had to harness this energy and power within me.  I had to surrender my need for control and release my fear to fully embrace this source of power. 
With great trepidation, on the next contraction, I answered the call.  I finally surrendered my resistance and said YES to this hidden force.  I felt my connection to my inner power.  I realised that I could do it; I could handle all this energy and still survive.  Within minutes, my baby started to be released from my body and less than twenty minutes later she was born safely into my eager hands.  My euphoria soared as I experienced the ecstasy of achievement.  I had accessed my hidden power to birth my baby fully naturally with no pain relief or medical procedures.  Even though it was my first child, my perineum had stretched beautifully, accommodating her passage without tearing.  Ten minutes later, my body once again responded with its natural physiology to spontaneously eject the placenta with minimal bleeding.
The context of this birth was that my baby was breech and I was having a home birth against all medical and social advice.  Contrary to most other people, I did not trust hospitals and doctors due to past negative experiences and I wanted to avoid a surgical birth at all costs.  Additionally I had learnt during my holistic therapy training of the connection between the mind and body and the art of manifestation.  I had read many books that taught the importance of natural birth to the baby and I truly believed that birth was a natural not a medical event.
Additionally during my daughter’s birth, I had learned something about the process of birth and myself.  I had learned that hidden deep in my female physiology lay a fierce and immense power and if I had it then other women had it too.  I felt like I had uncovered a secret, a secret that I knew many other women had not yet learned.  I knew something that no man could ever know or experience and I knew that is why the male dominated medical model of birth is so unsuccessful. I was passionate in a way that I had never experienced before. Just slightly below my level of conscious awareness, I knew that I had stumbled on my very reason for being.
I immediately wanted to shout it to the world.  I wanted to reveal its mysteries to all the women in my life because I wanted them to share in the euphoria and transformation that I had experienced.  When I tried to impart this knowledge, I found that no one was listening.  I found that the conditioning and programming around birth was so deeply ingrained that most women could not even fathom what I was talking about.  I saw that a deep fear and resistance stopped them from even trying.
It seemed incredulous that strong, successful women believed they couldn’t do it when it came to birth. I struggled to understand why so many gave up the opportunity to experience their inner strength and access their sacred inner wisdom. I felt frustrated by a society and culture that actively encouraged this disempowerment and felt angry with those who chose to profit financially from the business of birth.
The Goddess exists for us all, it is time to reclaim her in the process of birth!