By Sandy Williamson, CNM

Birth is an awesome miracle.  I marvel when I sit back and look at the divinity involved in the creation of each new life that I, as a midwife, have had the honor to help come into this world.  Midwifery is a calling, and birth is a privilege to participate in.

One thing that I cannot emphasize more is: Birth is safe!   The whole process of pregnancy, labor and birth are biologically coded in your DNA.  God did not make a broken machine!!  Even if your mind doesn’t think you can endure labor, your body knows how to labor and you can trust this ancient wisdom.  Time after time, research data supports vaginal birth as much more safe than Cesarean section for both mom and baby.  Elective C-sections, which are more and more common these days, are fear-based decisions, not evidenced-based medical necessities.  C-sections are not biologically coded into a woman’s body.  The television reality shows on birth are meant to be sensational and most often focus on situations outside of the “norm”.  They are the exception and not the rule.  ‘Birth is safe’ is the rule.


Birth is a Time of Empowerment 

Birth is the culmination of a women’s highest creative essence, a place of total accomplishment.  The whole developmental time during pregnancy, labor and birth affects how a woman sees herself.  She learns either to trust her body or not, to make decisions that either enhance her self worth—confidence, competency, wisdom—or not.  The degree to which a woman is empowered through the birth process affects how she will see herself as a mother.  As we midwives know from years of experience, enhancing a woman’s confidence in her self and her abilities helps her family begin on a positive note.


Birth is a Spiritual and Physical Event

The union of two spirits unites to create a third—the ‘word being made flesh.’  How this third spirit is brought into the world stamps an indelible mark on the child and family forever.  Is the new baby separated from the ones she loves?  Are there bright lights and people shuffling in and out of the birth space without regard for the miracle that is happening?  Are they in tune with the wishes of the birthing family?  Is the atmosphere in the room calm or crisis oriented? Are the messages for the laboring woman empowering?

You’re strong! 

Your body is doing a great job!

You’re listening to what your body needs (food, drink, warm bath, message, hugs, quiet, love, prayer). 

Or, are the messages to the laboring woman sabotaging?

You’re sick.

You’re not able to make good decisions on your own.

You can’t cope with the pain of labor without medicine or an epidural.

 
Is the birth atmosphere grounded—one of peace, sanctuary, safety and love for the birthing family and child?   I believe that the birth room is the Holy of Holies—it is a place where spirit becomes flesh and the divine light of God is made manifest.

Birth is Affected by the Emotions in the Room 

Are the people you have invited to be present in your room supportive of your birthing method?  Did any of them invite themselves to your birth (despite the fact that you don’t want them there)?  Are they scared about your birth?  Are they undoing a past birth experience that did not go the way they wanted and so are seeking to heal through your birth? 

 
In my experience, I have come to know that the emotions of discord to mom and baby increase the possibility of medical intervention.  My point?  Choose wisely whom you invite to participate in your birth.  Make sure they are in agreement with your birth plans and are there to support you.

 
Laboring and Birthing Pain is Positive 

When in labor, the body is involved in a physiological “dance,” coordinating the contractions of the uterus with the dilatation of the cervix and the movement of the baby down the birth canal.  In fact, the uterus has its own electrical mechanism that produces coordination of the contractions, although certain conditions can inhibit this natural process. For instance, did you know that the emotion of fear produces chemical reactions in the body that can slow the firing mechanism of contractions? This can cause the uterus to work ineffectively. The concept that ‘pain is bad and should be feared’ must change in order for your laboring body to work optimally.  

So instead of fearing your next contraction, recognize that each one brings you a step closer to holding your baby.  Holding positive thoughts during contractions enhances relaxation and releases endorphins—your body’s own natural pain relievers.  Prepare ahead by creating positive statements that you, your partner and support team can repeat during labor, such as:


“I’m strong”

 
“My body is working well”

 
“I’m safe”

 
“I’m powerful”

 
“Each contraction brings me one step closer to seeing and holding my child”

 
“I am loved”


Make up positive affirmations.  Write them on pieces of paper and put them all over the birth room.  Make the room yours.

 
And that is what I know—for sure.

By Tina Cassidy

In early 2004, as I was about to become a mother, the women of my family regaled me with stories of their own birth experiences.

 
My grandmother, who gave birth in the 1940s and '50s, explained how she was "gassed,'' slipping in and out of consciousness on a stretcher with crib-like bars in the hallway of the hospital and screaming like a madwoman. The nurses told her to "shut up" and my grandfather was literally out to lunch, as he had nothing else to do while she labored. She didn't see her first child for three days.

 
My mother, who had me in the late 1960s, recounted an equally frightening story, condensing her five-hour labor and delivery ordeal into a 10-second sound bite.

 
"They gave me an enema. They made me walk around the room a couple of times. They shaved my pubic area. They gave me a shot. I woke up three hours later standing on the gurney in excruciating pain. The doctor came in, gave me another shot and then the next thing I know you were born.''

 
When she had my brother in 1976, she had attended Lamaze classes, which were then in vogue. There she learned how to breathe—hee hee huhhhh—and Dad was prepped to witness the birth. She had an X-ray to determine if her petite pelvis could allow for a child to pass through—even though I was proof of that—and the doctor said its width was borderline before ordering a C-section.

 
My youngest aunt, who had her first child in the early 1980s, just as so-called natural child-birth methods were peaking, had the most unusual experience of all of the women in my family to date: She had to beg for pain medication.

           
In the back of my mind, I smugly thought that bad hospitals and unchecked respect for the medical establishment had conspired to doom all of their birth experiences. Mine (in a Boston hospital) would be different. I was convinced. Armed with a birth plan—the latest fad in obstetrical empowerment—I would sail through labor and delivery wearing my favorite black spaghetti-strap nightgown, with the lights dim and an epidural juicing my spine only if absolutely necessary.

           
But after 10 hours of labor and fully dilated, the nurse told me not to push because the doctors were busy. I waited an hour, got the green light, pushed for four hours and…nothing. Despite my protestations, they told me I needed a C-section.

           
The next morning, my ashen spouse cornered the doctor. 

"What did they do in that situation before there were C-sections?'' he wanted to know.

 
Her answer was horrifying.

 
When I felt better, many weeks later, I began researching the history of childbirth, mostly to put myself at ease. I craved context for trends in childbirth today. Was I supposed to feel lucky that I had had a c-section? Or should I have been outraged that I had become a statistic: one out of three hospital births today is a C-section.

 
My childbearing experience, like the chain of births the women in my family had during the last half of the 20th century, was merely a reflection of the time in which it took place. It may not have been better. It may not have been worse. It was different.

           
One of the most important lessons I learned writing my book is that where birth happens makes a huge difference in how mothers and babies are treated. Hospitals are not always the best place. That was true in my grandmother's day, and it is still true today. 

Tina Cassidy is the author of Birth: The Surprising History of How We Are Born. Tina was a reporter and editor at the Boston Globe for over a decade, covering everything from business to politics to fashion, which, she learned, are the very things that have influenced birth for centuries. When Tina became pregnant with her first child in 2004, she took a permanent leave to write her book. Her first child was born by unexpected C-section and her second child was a home VBAC. Tina now lives in Boston with her husband and their children.

 
Tina can be contacted at birth@tinacassidy.net