How Do You Want Your Baby to Be Born

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    How do you want your baby to be born ?

    What is the most important event that happened in your life? Birth!Coming into this world was quite an event. Although you dont rememberit anymore, the circumstances in which you were born could have causedtraumas that you are still carrying around, unconsciously. People whohave been regressed through hypnosis to the moment of birth haveremembered unpleasant experiences that caused psychological problemslater on in their lives. Frederic Leboyer (see below) demonstrates thiswith a letter a woman sent him when she learnt about his teachings:

    "Allow me to share the following story with you. I can attest to itsauthenticity, for it is about me.

    I was born in 1915, on June 22. One month later I became a ward of the

    state. I will pass over my childhood and adolescence, which wereexceptionally happy. Nonetheless, I often had bad dreams at night, andone in particular, which was particularly vivid, woke me up every time.The admirable foster-mother who raised me would then take me into herbed and comfort me. This ghostly vision was always the same: a middle-aged woman, wearing an old-fashioned bonnet, would reach for mythroat with such obvious intentions that I would scream ... and wake up.

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    This nightmare is still very vivid in my memory for the following reason:it haunted my nights, about a dozen times a year, until I was about forty(my husband was the one who would comfort me then).

    Well, when I was thirty-nine, without having looked for her, I found mymother again. She explained the reason why she had abandoned me.She was unmarried, and as soon as she confessed her "sin" to hermother, the latter flew into a horrible rage. At the moment of my birth,in a little village near here, she threw her daughter down off the bed andleaped onto me, trying to strangle me. Some good neighbors, who werepresent, called the nuns from the little hospital nearby, and they took usboth away. Faced with repeated threats from that irascible grandmother,my mother took me herself to the Public Assistance office in Privas as

    soon as she was strong enough to make the trip, which was a long one inthose days. When I asked her what that woman looked like, I had the(totally unexpected) surprise of recognizing, in her description, thewoman who had caused me so many nightmares.

    I, of course, have told this story to all of my children, waiting for thetime when I could speak of it to a specialist. Now it has come! I hopethat this will corroborate your thesis on the ability of the baby to feel:the already conscious state, of a new-born baby. If it is possible for you,

    I would like you to give me your feelings about my story, which is totallytruthful."

    The circumstances of birth were primarily determined by midwives. InGreek and Roman times, midwives functioned as respected, autonomouscare providers to women during their reproductive cycles. Somequalifications for the practice of midwifery began to evolve during thisperiod. For example, in Greece the midwife was a woman who had bornechildren herself. This requirement has remained a commonality in thepractice of midwifery.

    The midwives of these centuries generally continued to learn by theapprentice model. As an apprentice, skills and knowledge were passeddown from generation to generation .

    As modern medicine gained legitimacy and power toward the end ofthe nineteenth century, it called for the abolition of midwifery and home

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    birth in favor of obstetrics in a hospital setting. In 1900, midwives stillwere attending almost half of all births but was steadily declining.Midwives were portrayed as dirty, illiterate, and ignorant, and eventuallywomen were convinced that they were safer in the hands of doctors andhospitals. Midwives were effectively stamped out in the early years of the20th century. Physicians trained in the specialty of obstetrics andgynecology declared themselves to be the proper caregivers forchildbearing women, and the hospital was deemed to be the propersetting for that care. Birth evolved from a physiological event into amedical procedure.

    By the 1960s women were forced to endure labor without thepresence or support from partners or family. Infants were taken from the

    mother at delivery and cared for in newborn nurseries and bottle-feedingbecame the norm. Any babies born outside the sterile environment of theoperating room were labeled contaminated and kept separately.

    Although modern medicine has given us many advantages in healthcare, the circumstances of birth have completely changed. Fortunatelywe have seen many changes in the last decades in hospitals, maternitywards, and a growing interest in natural births, or home births, coupledwith the advantages and knowledge of modern medicine.

    Why is the environment at birth so important? As the newborn babyarrives into a new world sounds are loud and harsh, light is blinding, andbig hands are touching him all over. The baby is very susceptible to whathappens to him, and around him. When doctors took over midwifery, thisfact was totally ignored. Babies were seen as just a part of a medicalprocedure. A person who shed new light on the importance of childbirthwas Frederick Leboyer.

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    Frederick Leboyer, M.D. was a French physician who was responsiblefor creating the awareness in maternity wards of the intact anfunctioning senses of the newborn. Many doctors at the time eventhought newborns to be blind at birth! His revolutionary book "Birth

    without Violence" changed the way in which many parents andprofessionals bring babies into the world.

    When I first read Birth without Violence it opened my eyes. Birthwithout Violence explores in depth the sensitivity of the newborn and theimportance of how the baby is handled by the people around him. I firstread the book after I had seen a TV program about natural births, inwhich Leboyer was teaching pregnant women how they could

    communicate with their yet unborn babies. He taught that the baby inthe womb is able to intuitively understand what the mother is saying, notthe actual words, of course, but what she wants. He would teach them toput their hands on their belly and tell the baby to move upwards ordownwards in the belly, and yes, after five or ten seconds touch couldclearly see that the baby did move into the desired direction. It workedevery time.

    Leboyer's focus was primarily on improving the quality of the birthexperience for the baby. His message was that a sensitive, unobtrusivestyle of care which is deeply respectful of the natural process, and apeaceful atmosphere at the time of birth would help the baby to be bornwith a minimum of trauma. His famous book and film 'Birth WithoutViolence' inspired mothers all over the world to want to give birth

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    naturally and in a more quiet atmosphere. Birth Without Violenceillustrates how to create an environment of tranquility in which towelcome our children: a relaxed mother, gentle lighting, soothingatmosphere, and a warm bath that mirrors the childs prenatalsurroundings. Dr. Leboyers simple techniques demonstrate how a birthwithout violence has far-reaching implications for improving the qualityof human life physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

    Leboyer's book, Birth without Violence, is available at the bookstore,it is published by Healing Arts Press, ISBN 0-89281-983-9. It has alsobeen published by Publisher Cedar, ISBN 0 7493 0642 4. You can read it

    online at http://www.eco-action.org/dt/bwv1.html.

    Let me bring to your attention anotherinteresting book: "Spiritual Midwifery" by

    Ina May Gaskin's (originally published in1975). Ina May Gaskin and her husbandStephen were the founders of "The Farm"in Tennessee, USA. A self-sufficientcommunity that was started by creating asafe place for women who wanted to birthwith freedom. Ina May is known as the"mother of midwifery" and editor of "TheBirth Gazette" a midwifery magazine.

    Visit her site at thefarm.org . Considereda seminal work, Spiritual Midwiferypresented pregnancy, childbirth andbreastfeeding from a fresh, natural andspiritual perspective, rather than thestandard clinical viewpoint. The book is

    http://www.eco-action.org/dt/bwv1.htmlhttp://www.eco-action.org/dt/bwv1.html
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    available through Book PublishingCompany.