By: betsy

betsy
Thu, 27 Jul 2023 12:09:04 +0000

I was very active in the natural birth movement in the 1970s and 80s. I had four babies of my own with no pain relief or medication at all. Quick easy labours with big healthy offspring. The subject is vast and has far-reaching social causes and factors. Fear, obesity, expectations, ignorance and poor support can all make for a horrible painful labour, with the ‘cascade of intervention’ which I worked so hard to avoid. I ran antenatal (not anti natal) classes and the great majority of my ‘ladies’ (as my kids called them) had straightforward and non-traumatic deliveries. Interventions were discussed and understood and therefore readily accepted. Pethidine was sometimes very welcome. Unscheduled caesarians were always seen as some sort of disaster. Many midwives fell short, but others were absolutely brilliant. I was often present at home births, which were always the best possible way to do it.