This will be a short
post. There is a 50 minute video on how doulas support women in labor.
Benefits include less need for pain meds and reduced chance of having a
C-section.
Click on this link to watch the trailer, to rent or to purchase the video. The trailer is free, and prices are reasonable for either option.
http://muvi.es/w3219/283382
Disclosure: The organization
which put out this video has a system where the person who provides a
link will receive a small fee for sharing if the movie is rented or
purchased. I have not idea what that fee is, but it is probably very
minimal. My goal is to inform women of the fantastic benefits of having a
doula.
With facts, stories, Scripture, and sometimes humor, a pastor's wife, RN, certified lactation consultant, and childbirth educator presents breastfeeding and birth from a Christian perspective. Occasionally I will drift into another topic which MIGHT be related to birth and breastfeeding. "1 Peter 2:2-3" examines the beautiful picture of why Jesus chose mother's milk to describe the Word of God.
Pages
- Required "Cookies Alert"
- Pure Milk Blog Posts (formerly "Sincere Milk")
- The Big Picture
- 1 Peter 2:2-3 -- Desire the Pure Milk of the Word
- How to Use the Blog to Learn about Breastfeeding and Childbirth
- Having a Baby? Quick Guide for Success in the First Few Days -- For C-section Moms, Too.
- A List of Risks of Formula Feeding
- Links to Helpful Web Sites
- Do You Speak At Women's Events?
Friday, July 11, 2014
Thursday, July 3, 2014
Noise Making: Friend of the Woman Giving Birth
One of the Power Point slides in my class shows three names: Grantly Dick-Read, Fernand Lamaze, and Robert Bradley. By each name are a few sentences describing the philosophy of their approach to birth. Somewhere in each of those descriptions are the words "relaxation", "breathing", and "painless". I explain that these physicians were known for developing a way of approaching childbirth in the previous century, with Dick-Read's work in the 1930's, Lamaze's work in the 1950's and 60's, and Robert Bradley's in the 60s and 70s. I then ask the class to see if they find common themes, or simply anything common among the physicians as they read the blurbs.
Most of the time, members will identify the three words noted above. And, in most cases, they notice that the physicians were all men. "This is why they think birth can be painless if you can only relax enough. They have NOT given birth", is my response, which typically brings about some laughter. I also point out that they deserved some kudos for trying to make birth easier for women, and in some ways, they did.
However, these men were probably very uncomfortable with women making noise in labor! Why? In the context of the culture from which these physicians came, men did not want to hear women crying. They typically wanted to "rescue" women in distress. It naturally followed that they would look for a way to keep the women they cared for in childbirth from making noise because crying, moaning, etc. meant the problem of pain and her response to it was not fixed.
The patterned breathing and the relaxation techniques were supposed to help a woman CONTROL her response to pain, but it also lessened or eliminated any noise she might make during contractions. This is not a natural thing for women to do. Therefore, "natural childbirth" practiced this way, is not really natural. Even women who manage to "hee" and "hoo" their way through most of labor often make the hard "aaehhhh" sounds of work when pushing. Finally, women who are feeling their contractions seem to emit an almost primal scream as the baby is exiting her body.
Tears, too, are a natural part of many natural birth experiences. Years ago, a young woman, around 18 years old came to my childbirth class. Her mother was her "coach". They wrote back that during labor, K., young woman, sat on the toilet to use the bathroom. She found it comfortable and stayed there. Her mother brought a pillow and placed it on the floor in front of her daughter. She knelt down, and her daughter leaned against her during contractions. At one point, K. began crying quietly, releasing tears. The nurse came in, saw the tears, and said "Oh no! Don't cry!". K. told the nurse "I -- i-- it's al --- right. (Sniff.) I'm O -- oK" and continued coping the way she was. K. ended up delivering without any pain meds and was thrilled she reached her personal goal of a natural childbirth.
A friend something to me. She told me how she tripped on her friend's deck, and hit her elbow. She said, "All I could do what hold my elbow, rock back and forth, and moan.". My response was "Somewhat like a woman in active labor".
I am convinced that women in labor naturally make noise (along with rhythmic movements) as a method of coping with pain -- and SHOULD be allowed, even encouraged, to do so. I am not talking about screaming with fists clenched and back arched. I am talking about tension releasing noises like moaning, or staccato sounds like "oh, oh, oh, oh, oh" vocalized in a tension releasing way. A good cry during advanced labor helps to release tension, also. Crying is part of the Master's design for tension release.
I also think that many nurses and physicians in today's hospital setting are uncomfortable with noise women make as a way of coping with contractions. Nurses are trained to ask about and document their patient's level of pain based on the "faces" pain scale where "1" is a happy face and "10" shows an agonized countenance. Then, they are trained to "fix" the patient's problem by medication until she can give a lower number when asked to rate her pain once again. Our normal reaction is to want to help the woman "not to suffer", so drugs, or breathing techniques are offered, sometimes with intense pressure to comply.
In order to really help a woman prepare for her labor, she needs to be encouraged to surrender to it. Learning to relax or "let go" at will is also important. She needs to be told it is OK to cry (real tears) and to make tension releasing noise.
It is especially hard for the woman's husband or other support person, unless that person is a doula or someone who understands natural birth, to listen to his loved one "suffering". But, it really is not suffering when the woman is not crying out for help. It is coping, and needs to be supported and not discouraged.
This does not mean that you should not learn breathing techniques. You might find them, particularly Bradley's show abdominal breathing, to be helpful, especially in the earlier phases of labor. But don't feel like you have to stay with them when your body is "telling" you to make noise.
If you are planning to have a natural childbirth, you might need to write something in your birth plan along the lines of "I plan to use vocalization as part of my coping techniques. Please encourage tension releasing noises instead of returning to more artificial breathing techniques if I am finding vocalization to be helpful."
I have a feeling that Dr. Lamaze, especially, would abandon his "hee-hee-hoo"s for some "ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"s moans if he actually labored and gave birth.
Most of the time, members will identify the three words noted above. And, in most cases, they notice that the physicians were all men. "This is why they think birth can be painless if you can only relax enough. They have NOT given birth", is my response, which typically brings about some laughter. I also point out that they deserved some kudos for trying to make birth easier for women, and in some ways, they did.
However, these men were probably very uncomfortable with women making noise in labor! Why? In the context of the culture from which these physicians came, men did not want to hear women crying. They typically wanted to "rescue" women in distress. It naturally followed that they would look for a way to keep the women they cared for in childbirth from making noise because crying, moaning, etc. meant the problem of pain and her response to it was not fixed.
The patterned breathing and the relaxation techniques were supposed to help a woman CONTROL her response to pain, but it also lessened or eliminated any noise she might make during contractions. This is not a natural thing for women to do. Therefore, "natural childbirth" practiced this way, is not really natural. Even women who manage to "hee" and "hoo" their way through most of labor often make the hard "aaehhhh" sounds of work when pushing. Finally, women who are feeling their contractions seem to emit an almost primal scream as the baby is exiting her body.
Tears, too, are a natural part of many natural birth experiences. Years ago, a young woman, around 18 years old came to my childbirth class. Her mother was her "coach". They wrote back that during labor, K., young woman, sat on the toilet to use the bathroom. She found it comfortable and stayed there. Her mother brought a pillow and placed it on the floor in front of her daughter. She knelt down, and her daughter leaned against her during contractions. At one point, K. began crying quietly, releasing tears. The nurse came in, saw the tears, and said "Oh no! Don't cry!". K. told the nurse "I -- i-- it's al --- right. (Sniff.) I'm O -- oK" and continued coping the way she was. K. ended up delivering without any pain meds and was thrilled she reached her personal goal of a natural childbirth.
A friend something to me. She told me how she tripped on her friend's deck, and hit her elbow. She said, "All I could do what hold my elbow, rock back and forth, and moan.". My response was "Somewhat like a woman in active labor".
I am convinced that women in labor naturally make noise (along with rhythmic movements) as a method of coping with pain -- and SHOULD be allowed, even encouraged, to do so. I am not talking about screaming with fists clenched and back arched. I am talking about tension releasing noises like moaning, or staccato sounds like "oh, oh, oh, oh, oh" vocalized in a tension releasing way. A good cry during advanced labor helps to release tension, also. Crying is part of the Master's design for tension release.
I also think that many nurses and physicians in today's hospital setting are uncomfortable with noise women make as a way of coping with contractions. Nurses are trained to ask about and document their patient's level of pain based on the "faces" pain scale where "1" is a happy face and "10" shows an agonized countenance. Then, they are trained to "fix" the patient's problem by medication until she can give a lower number when asked to rate her pain once again. Our normal reaction is to want to help the woman "not to suffer", so drugs, or breathing techniques are offered, sometimes with intense pressure to comply.
In order to really help a woman prepare for her labor, she needs to be encouraged to surrender to it. Learning to relax or "let go" at will is also important. She needs to be told it is OK to cry (real tears) and to make tension releasing noise.
It is especially hard for the woman's husband or other support person, unless that person is a doula or someone who understands natural birth, to listen to his loved one "suffering". But, it really is not suffering when the woman is not crying out for help. It is coping, and needs to be supported and not discouraged.
This does not mean that you should not learn breathing techniques. You might find them, particularly Bradley's show abdominal breathing, to be helpful, especially in the earlier phases of labor. But don't feel like you have to stay with them when your body is "telling" you to make noise.
If you are planning to have a natural childbirth, you might need to write something in your birth plan along the lines of "I plan to use vocalization as part of my coping techniques. Please encourage tension releasing noises instead of returning to more artificial breathing techniques if I am finding vocalization to be helpful."
I have a feeling that Dr. Lamaze, especially, would abandon his "hee-hee-hoo"s for some "ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh"s moans if he actually labored and gave birth.
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