Birthing From Within

This is a very popular birth book, and it fell into my hands a few weeks ago.  I recently finished reading HypnoBirthing, and even more so I feel that it is one tool that may work for some women, but definitely not an absolute or one way that would fit in every situation.

Birthing From Within by Pam England and Rob Horowitz begins by exploring your journey and incorporating art.  I love performance art, and listening to music and really appreciate artists, but drawing or painting is just not a form of self expression that works for me.  This past week was a beautiful whirlwind of the possibilities of a natural birth, I am in awe of how it it supposed to work if everybody just supports yet stays out of the way so the mother can find her own way to get through it.
I am getting to the second half of the book which powerfully demonstrates this point, and I want to share my favorites.

"I feel the most important thing the birthing woman does is to listen to her own body and find out what her body is telling her she needs to do.  And that neither the partner, nor the midwife, nor the doula, or whomever, should be giving orders, "Now do this' or 'Now do that' because that interferes with what she is really trying to get from her body." -Marsden Wagner, MD.

If you pick up this book, you have to read chapter 19, it is the most important chapter and it was almost not written because it is called Home Birth.  It is about how birth should be period, not about just home birth, but about choices, and how each woman today has amazing options to birth her way.

"In 1927, 85 percent of all births in the United States took place at home.  Even in the mid-1940's the majority of births still occurred at home (55 percent).  Incredibly, by 1973, 91 percent of babies were born in the hospital." - Anthony Reading, Psychological aspects of pregnancy (1976).

THE PHILOSOPHICAL ASSUMPTIONS OF HOME BIRTH PARENTS AND ATTENDANTS:

• Because pregnancy and birth are natural physiological events, normal birth does not belong in hospitals.
• The natural course of labor is already perfect, and should be interfered with as little as possible.
• Pain is part of an essential and healthy feedback mechanism in labor, which women can learn to cope with, with proper encouragement and support.
• Medical management of pregnancy and birth should be limited to those which are medically complicated.
• Unnecessary medical interventions complicate normal labor, creating additional risk and the need for more intervention. (page 102).

Chapters 20, 21, 22, 23, and 24 really show you tools, techniques, and amazing stories and perspective on how to think about your own birth.

AMAZING!

Great relaxing Shabbat after a week of Doulaing,

Excited to be on call for the next beautiful soul,

High From The Miracles Of Life,

Coach Yulia