But who am I to tell parents what to do? Who is Marie Mongan? Who is the HypnoBirthing Institute? Especially when your highly educated doctor or midwife (who is supposed to know the research and the biology of birth) is so untrusting.
Well, consider this:
- Henci Goer suggests that moms think in terms of breathing their babies through the birth path, rather than pushing, in her The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth.
- Laura Shanley, author of Unassisted Childbirth, wrote an amazing article about this same topic called "Don't Push the River, It Flows By Itself." It includes some amazing advice from professionals such as Ina May Gaskin.
Babies are born beautifully and calmly if mom just lets her body do all the work. Trust the process. Follow this advice: "Purina's Handbook of Cat Care advises owners to pet the laboring cat reassuringly and leave her on her own. She may stay in the box; on the other hand, don't be surprised if she doesn't. The best thing to do at this point is to do nothing. Keep quiet and do not attempt to help her - it's her problem. Mother nature usually takes over at this point and it is amazing to see how she goes about doing what comes naturally."
Breathe your baby down. I know you can do it. And I know you will LOVE IT!
And, after you do, please...TELL ME ALL ABOUT IT!
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1 comments:
Thanks for recommending my article! Yes, this really gets to me, as well. I hear stories all the time of women pushing for hours and it makes me wonder if they were truly ready to push or if someone said, "You're 10 centimeters - now PUSH!" In my experience, women who don't push until they truly feel the urge have much shorter and easier labors. And even then, they may not "push" their babies out as much as they "allow" them to come out. I'll be speaking at the Hypnobirthing conference in Austin in Oct. Marie Mongan and I are also going to be making a film together. Should be exciting!
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