S Tenuta
5-6-24
What was your birth experience? How many births did you experience? Did you have a birth that was induced? Did your baby come quickly or slowly? How many hours did you labor? When was your first clue that this was the real birth approaching?
No birth is exactly the same. There are so many variables from person to person. First of all, mother has many emotions, thoughts that affect the hormones, and cultural influences. 2ndly, the father, of the baby, along with mother, each has their own DNA strains, and information passed to their child, including epigenetic experiences. 3rdly, the baby has development within mother proportionately according to her healthy living, eating and processing of emotions. If baby is spoken to and explained to what is happening during an event, that mother is experiencing hard times, or emotional times, but baby can rest assured that baby is still wanted and loved, and that baby can release any stressful emotions, then baby can still develop in a healthy way.
Other layers of a birth experience for mother can be related to familial relationships. These people can be supportive of a pregnant mother’s choices, or they can be influential in stressful ways. A mother who has the cultural influence of birth, tends to take on fears of a painful birth, of one with complications and one that will need drugs. These fears are real, and they need to be processed by mother. Some of that processing can happen through studying the natural process of labor and birth. There are a variety of stories out there. For mother’s hormonal system to allow her body to birth normally, mother needs to gain a confidence and trust in herself and her body. A person who holds fears, tend to bring those fears into existence.
Feeding the brain positive birth stories, stories of how babies navigate the birth canal with little need to make noise, and watching some of the empowered mommies who share their intimate experience of birth, help mothers to reframe any reference they might have to fear of the process. There are mothers who have ecstatic births, there are some who breathe baby down using HypnoBirth the Mongan Way ® or Hypnobabies. Other educational systems claim they can assist a mother to have the power and confidence she needs such as Water Birth, Lamaze, Bradley and Boot Camp for Labor and Birth.
Now, there still must be the realization that, any preparation will never guarantee the baby’s route out of mother. The learning never guarantees all will be fine. There is risk in life no matter what we do. Birth is no different. We are born to navigate this earth journey until we die. It is a fact of this life journey.
Moms with people in their lives who have given birth naturally, at home, in a birth facility, or a hospital, can be encouraging to others. They can never guarantee that their story is enough to have what a mom would call a “successful” birth. Birth will happen. Baby has a say, as well. Depending upon the emotional influence of baby, baby’s ability to navigate the canal, and mother’s muscles responding in the hormonal symphony, will determine the rest of baby’s journey and mom’s experience.
Sometimes a cesarean is necessary. Most often birth can happen, if all the natural hormones are activated and trusted to work mothers’ body in the most effective way. If baby’s heart rate does go down after contractions, this is a sign that baby would need to be given special care. If mother’s blood pressure is going too high, that is also a time to watch baby’s reactions to mother. Some say a cesarean is necessary if baby decides to come breech. There is a group that is reclaiming the natural birth of breech babies. They are the group, “Breech without Borders.” Many more professional doctors and midwives are choosing to learn these special skills. They are only special skills these days, because our labor professionals have no longer been trained in the medical curriculum to use the maneuvers necessary for allowing this variation on natural birth to happen. Breech Without Borders is teaching professionals internationally.
Once a person has a cesarean, they are sometimes taught they can no longer have a natural vaginal birth. This is not true. If a person finds a provider or a midwife willing to assist the mother, vaginal birth is possible. Her body creates a new amnion and chorion every time a baby is conceived, making it possible to birth her baby vaginally, even after a cesarean. The amnion and chorion create a strong protective bag around the baby, it is stronger if mother eats in a healthy way. The scar from a cesarean normally will not interfere with a vaginal birth after a cesarean. Many women have had successful vaginal births after a cesarean, even after several cesareans, and even after having a special cesarean scar. Two fabulous organizations to empower women in this natural way are ICAN and Special Scars.
If you are a person who wants to trust the natural process of the birth experience, do listen and read stories that help you develop this confidence. Seek your inner wisdom. Listen to your inner wisdom. Listen to baby. Develop that relationship with baby and your body. Together, you will gain confidence in yourself, your baby and your physical, mental and intuitive wisdom.
Reach out to Intouch and Intune if you’d like to reflect on this topic some more.