Re: [ozmidwifery] birth and the power of the mind

[Marilyn Kleidon]

MY mistake the website is: www.commonknowledgetrust.com  (forgot the trust part, how ironic). marilyn ----- Original Message ----- From: Jayne To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, November 20, 2002 1:49 AM Subject: Re: [ozmidwifery] birth and the power of the mind Marilyn   How do I find the PINK KIT on this web site?  It seems to be about marketing research.  Maybe I'm looking in the wrong place.   Jayne       Some people on this list recently recommended the PINK KIT which I purchased from www.commonknowledge.com and think is most inciteful on birth preparation especially in the instruction given to help a woman and her partner become familar with her pelvis and especially the muscles therein. It seems to me that when labours progress slowly, often times there is tension in those deep muscles that line the inside of the pelvis from the lumbar spine down to the pelvic floor. Relaxation of those muscles so that the baby can descend is quite an art. The birth process is always so interesting.   marilyn An English obstetrician, Dr Grantly Dick-Read, summed it up beautifully in his book, "Childbirth without Pain". In a nutshell, he described the "Fear-Tension-Pain" Syndrome as programming by society on womenkind to expect pain. And what you expect is what you get. The expectation of pain, introduces the "fight or flight syndrome". This increases blood flow to the limbs by 200% -300% and also produces adrenaline. The effect of this, is to direct the blood away from the uterus and placenta where it's needed most critically. The uterus, which needs to expand gradually, is hit with the adrenaline, which constricts muscles. The sum total of this disast  -------Original Message-------   From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Wednesday, 20 November 2002 02:51:32 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [ozmidwifery] birth and the power of the mind   I have often thought that the power of the mind would have a vast impact on labour and so forth. Haven't 'been there' for too many birth and each has been with women who were really sure, informed and so forth, but fear played a HUGE factor in my experiences.  Could people please share their knowledge on how fear can impact (or doesn't if the case may be) on labour lengths and especially in regards to vbac.  My vbac although supported and informed was still long and hard, but the second vbac was great as there was that self assuredly and understanding that my body knew what it was meant to do so my brain didn't fear what my uterus was doing.  Also does anyone have comments on "is simply providing information alleviate fear?"  When women are 'empowered through information' is this really all that needs to be done to empower, or does faith have an important role to play?  Does the faith or trust of those around the birthing women have an impact on her empowerment? There's a couple of questions for those beautiful midwifery students to ponder (and the seasoned professional). Jo Bainbridge founding member CARES SA email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] phone: 08 8388 6918 birth with trust,