Re: [ozmidwifery] Yahoo news article

[Marilyn Kleidon]

Nobody who has ever worked in a third world country would say such a thing, it is a myth. I haven't worked in a third world country as a midwife but (believe,it or not) my eldest daughter has (Ghana). And of course the women she cared for felt pain. It is just that they expect to cope. The infant and maternal mortality rate is also soooooo much higher, she is still processing  the pain of being with women whose babies died, of resussing babies that subsequently died. People do what they have to do. On the other hand i personally think we have done natural childbirth more harm than good by debunking breathing techniques whether they be lamaze or the meditative breathing of yoga or hypnobirthing. Following the breath either in or out of your body is a powerful way for women (and men) to cope with not only pain but stress. Some of us never need to be "taught" this but many others of us do. Scoffing at people being "taught to breath", I think, has been counterproductive. I have worked with many women from many different cultures and one thing those that birth without drugs do is some kind of meditative breathwork either consciously or unconsciously.   marilyn     ----- Original Message ----- From: Sally Westbury To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, October 28, 2003 7:50 PM Subject: RE: [ozmidwifery] Yahoo news article Sorry to be the doubting thomas… but does anyone really believe that women in third world contries don’t feel pain?? Perhaps their social constructs allow them to accept and process thing differently….   Sally Westbury   -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Diane Gardner Sent: Tuesday, 28 October 2003 8:17 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [ozmidwifery] Yahoo news article   My goodness!  I was just sent an email to let me know that my article has been published on the Australia and NZ Yahoo news and even more amazing that they have reported it exactly as I told it in the interview.   wow Diane Gardner   http://au.news.yahoo.com//031014/2/m1yw.html   "If you look at third world countries, they don't have pain in childbirth. "They squat down and birth their baby and off they go.