It is now common place that optimal birthing environments and fulfilled mothers benefit babies about to take their first breath. With compassionate care and understanding, mothers’ limited stress and pain welcome their progenies to this world; holding hopes they will be the most intelligent and the strongest. Understandably, this was my disposition. However, the feature documentary “Babies” left no doubt in my mind that babies anywhere in the world show the same intelligence regardless of what parents do to boost their babies’ brain development (Babies, Thomas Balmès, 2010).
Whenever the conversation drifted to pregnancy, I told my friends loud and clear that getting an epidural was the only way I could give birth because women did not need to give birth proving right the Bible, Genesis 3:16 “To the woman he said, "I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children." In college, I became close friends with a woman pregnant with her second child who confided that giving birth was more likely to inflict pain but the kind of pain you would feel when you exert yourself physically. As the idea of physical challenge grew and I wanted to welcome my baby in a peaceful and friendly environment, I decided to give birth in a pool with the epidural backup plan. At the beginning of my seventh month of pregnancy, the clinic with the pool closed down. At this point, I was ready for the natural birth still having my backup plan as an option in case of excruciating pain. Fortunately, the clinic where obstetricians shared this philosophy had a spot for me. I took yoga classes to help with the process and was determined to use the traditional Native American way of giving birth, standing up and squatting (Holmes Pearson E., 2012). The midwife told me that I could choose any position that would make me feel more comfortable and explained how I should carry through with standing up and squatting. I understood what my friend meant with intense physical effort. When my body accompanied the contractions’ downward movement, it was comparable to pushing my already exhausted and achy body to run to an invisible finish line. My husband helped me in every contraction pulling me back up and holding me so that I could rest a moment. To better monitor the dilation, the midwife asked me to lie down on the table for the last twenty minutes. Unfortunately too late for the epidural, I understood the unconditional choice for the epidural.
In each circumstance concerning their bodies, women should have the possibility to choose the way they want to give birth. My mother in law only had a vague recollection of her two birthing experiences and with the regret of having oxygen widely dispensed to her as was widely practiced at the time. Also, it makes sense that mothers should enjoy the beautiful moments that lead to giving life, therefore requiring some kind of pain management.
More importantly and even if to this day I encourage women to start labor the way Native American women used to, at least some of them, with the idea to avoid unnecessary pain, good nutrition and knowledgeable midwives should provide mothers a physical and emotional safe environment to give birth. Thanks to an experienced midwife who delivered my sister at home, my mother survived a breached birth because the midwife succeeded in turning around the baby at the last minute, safely extracting her. Moreover, the baby turning blue was saved by the same midwife who, understanding the situation, took the necessary steps to relieve the baby.
Curious about Africa’s practices, I came upon two websites concerning Mali. Nicole Warren (2009) “Empowering Birth Blog” explains Malian midwives’ difficulties in responding to 60% of births that require formal training. Malian midwives “Matrones” need training in order to successfully respond to challenging deliveries (Warren, 2009). A horrific example of difficult childbirth can be found on Canadian International Development Agency page “Mali - Dignity, Compassion, and a Trade, 2011). The Malian organization “Delta Survie” sponsored by the Canadian Agency works to rehabilitate women suffering from fistulae, an incredible one in three women (Canadian International Development Agency). Clearly, trained people need to accompany women in childbirth.
References
Babies, Thomas Balmès, Amandine Billot, Christine Rouxel, Alain Chabat , May 7, 2010 (USA), Retrieved from You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vupEpNjCuY
Holmes Pearson E., Ph.D., 2012, retrieved from Center for History and New Media at George Mason University, http://teachinghistory.org/history-content/ask-a-historian/24097
Nicole Warren, PhD, Empowering Birth Blog, October 03, 2008
http://empoweredbirth.typepad.com/empowering_birth_blog/2008/10/mali-midwives.html
Canada International Development Agency, Mali – Dignity, Compassion, and a Trade. 2011, Retrieved from: http://www.acdi-cida.gc.ca/acdi-cida/acdi-cida.nsf/eng/ANN-1223115410-MTW
