healingways


Giving Birth Naturally


Conscious Choices Lead to Less Intervention by Meredith Montgomery


L


abor and delivery is a natural process that can be enjoyed.


“It’s not something to be afraid of,” says Mel Campbell, author of The Yoga of Pregnan- cy. “It’s a wonderful and beautiful experience. We need to remember that the body is designed for giving birth.” Natural childbirth uses few or no artificial medical interventions such as drugs, continuous fetal monitoring, forceps delivery or episiotomies (cuts to enlarge the vaginal opening). According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 32.7 percent of deliveries were by Cesarean section in 2013—most performed in situations where a vaginal birth would have posed a relatively low risk to the health of mother and child. Entirely natural childbirth is now rare here compared with other countries, but that wasn’t always the case. In 1900, 95 percent of all U.S. births took place in the home; when more moved to hospitals here in the early 20th century, midwives still typically handled the delivery in other


24 Pocono, PA / Warren Co., NJ


Most births should be viewed as a natural life process instead of a potential


medical emergency.


~Abby Epstein, The Business of Being Born


countries, sometimes without a doctor pres- ent. In America, obstet- rics became a profession and a doctor-attended birth in a hospital was promoted as a safer alternative. By 1938, half of domestic births took place in hospitals, and by 1960 it rose to 97 percent. Currently, midwives attend less than 8 percent of births


here, and fewer than 1 percent occur outside a hospital. Natural labor and delivery in a hospital is possible, but, “It’s hard to have an unmedicated birth in many hospitals if you don’t know your rights, understand your physiology and have a doula by your side helping you avoid unnecessary interventions,” says Ina May Gaskin, a pioneering midwife and author of Ina May’s Guide to Child- birth. Key factors to discuss include fetal monitoring, intravenous tubes and the option to eat or drink during labor.


Benefits of Home Births Women choose home births and homey birthing centers because they


www.healthylehighvalley.com


labor there more comfortably, feel more in control of the process and can more easily avoid interventions. Many moms seek out a midwife’s services because they don’t want to repeat the conven- tional hospital experience that accom- panied their first baby’s arrival. When actress Ricki Lake gave birth to her second child in her home bathtub with the assistance of a mid- wife, she felt empowered by doing it on her own terms. “Giving birth wasn’t an illness, something that needed to be numbed. It was something to be experi- enced,” she says. When women let their bodies


naturally lead, labor can last as little as 20 minutes or as long as two weeks, and the spectrum of pain intensity is equally broad. A healthy prenatal life- style that prepares a mom-to-be for a natural physical, emotional and spiritual experience of childbirth is highly beneficial.


Compassionate Self-Care “Pregnancy’s not the time to overex- ert yourself; let go of the temptation to overachieve and instead practice breathing and mindfulness,” advises Campbell. “If you’re experiencing morning sickness, try to embrace it and how it serves you. By doing so, you’ll be more in tune with your body. These lessons are gifts you can take with you into labor.”


She reminds women that the baby


is always getting nourishment from all that mom eats and breathes in, and also feeds off of her feelings and emo- tions. “The more we can feel at peace with ourselves and incorporate the baby into our being, the more we feel a connection and union,” she says. “It’s vital that you let your body’s innate wisdom be your guide and respect any cues it may give.”


Campbell guides expectant mothers through a yoga practice that embraces the changes occurring each trimester. For example, a more physical practice in the second trimester utilizes the surge of energy to build stamina and strength, while opening the heart, hips and pelvis.


Complementary relaxation tech- niques for labor include breathing


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40