CATHY AND NIGEL BOCK AND DUNCAN wrote:

> Dear Maxine,
>
> How beautiful and eloquent your words are, never let go of that dream.
> It is a vision that carries many.
>
> Of course women who have little experience of true midwifery see it as
> being something largely of unimportance.  What a contrast to the women
> who have learned that their midwife is the person who travels with and
> supports throughout their birth and beyond into their family life.
> Snip>>>>

I agree, we badly need education perhaps in the form of feature films which

show midwifes using their loving skills and expertise in the mother's home.

> Paul & Maxine <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> > Dear Nicky and all
> Snip>>>

>  Medicos can catch babies - even
> > taxidrivers and policemen do
> > it.

And so can mothers. I was so delighted at our second birth, that Medra, a
midwife
practising in Hawaii who is so intuitive, strong and really supportive of
the women
that she helps birth, encouraged my partner to birth herself, and catch her
baby.
With Medra's loving but firm assistence she was able to discharge
her feelings which were holding up her labor.My partner felt so confident
and
responsible by being "put in charge" of her own birthing that it made a
very significant
difference to her in later nurturing.

I believe that one of the most important factors in having an easy labor,
is
becoming aware of the strength of the fight or flight response, and being
able to
discharge the adrenaline that will be flooding the system and delaying
labor.
An alternative is of course making absolutely sure that birthing attendants
will not
stimulate this reaction. If they do there are ways to discharge the
adrenaline so that
people who hitherto would have stimulated that unconscious response quite
unwittingly,
no longer do so.

This survival mechanism is
instinctual and will be stimulated by any slight, perceived threat that the

birthing
environment is unsafe. Because this is largely an unconscious mechanism it
can
not always be easily perceived, or forestalled. Prenatal relaxation methods
are
not sufficiently powerful in my experience to counter the fight or flight
syndrome, only  strenuous physical exertion that mimics fight or flight, to

remove the adrenaline and allow the uterus to coordinate opposing muscles
to work in harmony instead of being agonists.

We are the only species that allows relative strangers in the birthing
environment.
All mammals seek a private, quiet, and dark place in which to give birth.
For
very
sound biological reasons, (avoiding the dangers of inappropriate bonding,
that
could lead to the formation of a rogue species,) we are also the only
mammals
that
permit unrelated care givers into the nurturing space. IMHO we pay an
enormous
price for this convenience.
Rayner Garner
The Nurturing Center






%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%