Birth is supposed to be an instinctive process. It's outside the logical, scheduled world that we live in. Because it is a primal process, things move along more smoothly if you can shut down your conscious mind and let your instincts take over.
The rules of social interaction which have been ingrained from childhood, can have a strong influence on a woman in labour, preventing her from yielding to the powerful instincts which are at work to help her birth her child. For example, as a child, a woman might have been taught not to expose her naked body in public. Cold air on her exposed skin might cause her to tense up and fight against her body which is working to open her cervix. Labour may be prolonged as a result.
A woman in labour is vulnerable. She is at the mercy of a hormone cocktail, pulsing from her brain to her body. This labour cocktail causes uterine muscle contractions which pulse like waves which sweep her up to a crest and then down again. Each crest opens her cervix more. This process is hindered by the neocortex.
The contractions are stimulated via the central part of her brain which controls involuntary processes, such as breathing and your heartbeat. The neocortex is the thinking part of the brain. In labour a woman copes better if she can put aside thoughts of what's happening around her and retreat from thinking.
So the labouring process works best when a woman withdraws mentally from thought and social training and just rides the waves.
Unfortunately it is often difficult for the modern woman to go into labour and immediately begin to act instinctively. Getting in touch with our innate birthing skills takes practice before the actual event. It takes time and work because we aren't used to behaving instinctively, we often suppress our instincts in our day to day lives because of our social conditioning.
Part of the preparation should include learning the mechanics involved in the birthing process and how the brain chemicals work. When we have an understanding of this we can then begin to work on coping techniques to work with the body not against it.
Childbirth is something which the average first time mother has not witnessed (lets not count TV and films made in Hollywood), so it would be difficult to comprehend what labour will be like. Many women find it helpful to have someone at their birth who is an experienced mother, but who also has birth support training. Sometimes they are called doulas, or birth assistants.
Doula is a word of Greek extraction meaning "a woman's slave". A doula was the slave who took care of the mistress in all of her daily needs, but also attended her in childbirth. The modern doula is paid to provide a woman with informational support, physical support, and emotional support. Prior to the birth she will ideally provide information about coping techniques which will be useful for labour and which can be practiced ahead of time. During the labour the doula will be at her side to help keep to labouring womans environment peaceful and conducive to allowing the labouring woman to retreat from her surroundings and focus inward. The doula, as well as the woman's partner work together to support her in various labouring positions, provide her with regular drinks and energy snacks and use heat and labour massage to keep her as comfortable as possible. It's important to note that a doula will not take the place of the woman's partner, who has a very important role to play of emotionally supporting her. A doula can be very useful in preparing your partner for the experience of labour.
A woman who is well prepared ahead of time and knows she has a reliable support team will be more able to relax and let her body work.
Several studies have been done which show the benefits of having a doula at birth. These show that women who have used a doula experienced:
-50% fewer cesarean births
-40% reduction in the use of forceps
-60% fewer requests for epidurals
-40% reduction in the use of synthetic oxytocin (Pitocin/Syntocinon) to induce or augment labour
-30% reduction in the use of pain relieving medications in labour
-25% reduction in the average length of labour
-51% increase in the numbers of women breastfeeding past the first six weeks after birth
Women who used a doula also had higher self-esteem, less anxiety about being in labour and being a new mother, and fewer instances of post-partum depression. Ideally you will have your family to help you adjust to your new life, but many women like to have a doula around in the first few weeks as a caring supportive presence, and this seems to make a big difference.
Speaking from experience, the caring women who helped me in my childbirth journeys were people whom I shall always treasure. They helped me to make it through the most empowering experience a female will ever go through in her life. Both my partner and I are so grateful for them.
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