There was an interesting comparative between traditional and hospital care with this to be expected a risk of more intervention in the hospital setting. Intervention that is driven by fear of complications by staff and that women were often alienated from working with their inner birth goddess. There was a key point I put in the time of questions and sharing. As a biologist first and foremost I can see how the need for a feeling of privacy and intimacy is key. When we are feeling safe and surrounded by love then our love hormone is secreted more efficiently. Our love hormone is that 9 chain of amino acids Oxytocin that bonds us and also stimulates uterine power. I highlighted that even in a busy London birth unit I would be protective of the birthing room to ensure that room was like a dedicated personal bedroom for the mother and her partner to be private and intimate. As I type this blogpost I am reminded of a couple that I was caring for ....the labour was being induced and we did have CTG monitoring. Despite CTG I would encourage maternal positioning straddle a chair or on the pezzi ball. In this case it gave some scientific evidence of how disruption can effect the power of the uterus. You see we had a very intimate atmosphere in the room, I blended in as a midwife to the couple's intimacy.. the partner caring beautifully for his wife, his love.. the CTG showed beautiful regular waves of power to bring the baby into the world. But they had also given permission to a friend to be part of the experience. The friend has arrived and had an argument with security to come into the birth centre. She entered the room bringing disruptive vibes and agitation. The CTG from the moment of that entry showed disarray of power to long resting phases of no power & the power irregular. I was able to demonstrate this to the friend and my birthing couple and the need re-establish the calm intimacy and blend in. Once this done progress was made to have a good delivery.
So I loved the teams talks on the tribal wisdom of this intimacy to help with the birthing progress. In this intimacy there is reduced emphasis of internal examinations to assess progress. I wish I could have had time with the meeting to put forward my publications of Labour progress and how in the hospital setting the office board boils down to just reporting on cervix dilation as the only way to assess progress. When really there is a complexity of changes in power, presentation with station above and below spines. In my publication reveals how there can be a dramatic drop in station in a thin pocket of anterior cervix with os remaining posterior and very little if no change in dilation but the continued pressure of the presenting part will result in a yield of the cervix and presenting part visible at introitus ready to deliver passenger the baby to the outside world..Progress in a Pocket part 1 &2 note published in my previous married name!
The other important point is maternal positioning. Keep upright and active, squatting and use of slings a brilliant way to help with pressure and descent of baby. It is important to work with the skeletal anatomy of the pelvis. The coccyx is on an hinge joint to the sacrum. It never makes anatomical sense to be sat as that hinges the coccyx inward and narrows the bony outlet. To be kneeling, sat straddle a chair with freedom of the back, to be squatting in the power of the uterus, makes for working with the anatomy not creating resistance. With this more it is comfortable to work with the surges of power. Remember a wave of power lasts less than a min so the peak of intensity only seconds.. so the mother can work with the pattern of this and know that each wave is one less and one nearer to seeing their lovely son or daughter birthed.
The day looked a the clash of tribal wisdom in some of the local hospitals and the women feeling like their power taken from them and having to blend into what the hospital staff told them to do. It was sad to hear how the women would find ways to still covertly follow tribal wisdom in the hospital, instead of the staff blending in the wisdom. There was a worrying point I made that if the hospital intervention led to C-section then this was a problem for next birthing if in tribal region as now there was a scarred uterus with the risk of rupture in a trial of scar. Oh this brings back a lovely case on one of my night duties. A lovely Nigerian woman that her first pregnancy had led to a need to emergency deliver by C-section for fulminating eclampsia. A complication that can and does occur. She presented in labour with me for her now second child. on examination was 8 cms with intact membranes. So no need to rupture the membranes as the labour was progressing well.. her vital signs no problems and I had cannulated and taken bloods for group & xmatch if a need to go to C-section. But no need for surgical intervention as we had a lovely en caul delivery. She felt she had reclaimed her birthing Goddess...
So yes complications can occur that do need intervention but these are the smaller % of those births that can proceed naturally to birth without complication. Scroll for some screen captures from the day of sharing.
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