I don't think that any of the breathwork modalities take away from women the owning of their own birth experience. Nor are they the answer for every woman or for every birth. As much as birth is a natural event for women, I think we need to acknowledge ourselves as social animals, and just as we may need to learn to breastfeed we also may need to learn to birth. In fact I do think it is clear that we do need to learn to birth. Part of that is learning how to calm ourselves and enter that primal space to release our young into the world. For many of us that entails unlearning the dramatic fear ridden birth stories of our culture. If we persist in telling women in antenatal classes that we don't need to teach them how to breathe, because (obviously) they can do that, that all they need to do is follow their body we are setting most of them up for narcotics and/or epidurals. In teaching breathwork we are not teaching people how to breath so much as how to focus on relaxation, how to release tension, fear, and stress, how to meditate on birthing their baby, and how to use breath to mediate this process. When I re-entered the birth movement about 10 years ago (sorry but I thought the battle had been won 10 yrs before that) I was surprised to hear and read educators poo pooing the breathing techniques many of us had used so successfully (and yes there were some rather exaggerated techniques at the time). Quite honestly I think that has been an error of childbirth educators for the last decade.
marilyn From: "Belinda Maier" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, October 31, 2003 6:06 PM Subject: Re: [ozmidwifery] Hypnobirthing > My concern is and always has been that any therapy asserted as being the > answer to what women need for a 'good' birth confines the needs and > experiecnes of women. Do women really need to have a hypno birth use > acupuncture, aromatherapy or epiducral? Maybe where women are at the time of > their lives impacts on the effectiveness of any therapy used . This is the > journey of birth it is not just the actual experience of birth although that > is important, but the transition through pregnancy and life are just as > essential and women need support and freedom to explore their own needs not > what their carer is into at the time. Birthing in a space that enables a > sense of freedom, stregth and security while being cared for is in my > experience the most essential aspect for a 'good' birth. Many women in this > atmosphere do find a head space to 'hypnobirth'. However my concern is that > so many alternate therapies still give the idea that women need something to > enable them to birth well. Thsi is not a great deal dsifferent to medical > doctors who believe that epidurals enable women more control over pain. > Grantly Dick-read although with the best intentions was still confining > woimen into a type of behaviour to deal with birth. > Pain- In my study (PhD) so far womens fears are not all about pain, in fact > even though all the women strt with well of course its the pain - but - and > then go on to discuss everything they fear which is not about pain. So to me > arguments about women not viewing birth as pain excludes many women who > instantly think well of course its painful, as i found. However that is not > to say it was soemthign I couldnt manage or that was bad in any way. I > still found birth incredible and fantastic and yeah painful oin a very > unique way. And there is a lot more head work going on that women themselves > need to deal with. I am not saying alternate therapys are not good, they can > be fantastic however they cannot be postulated to being something that would > benefit all women or that women should try them. I am here for all women and > aim not to exclude thsoe who's head is in a place I am not. Dont get me > wrong, anything is better than drugs (in general ) in my opinion, but its > not about my prersonal belief, and it would be fantastic if women could be > aware of and offered access to alternate therapires if they choose them. > Just some of my jumbled thoiughts, Belinda > > > > > > > > > -- > This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. > Visit <http://www.acegraphics.com.au> to subscribe or unsubscribe. -- This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. Visit <http://www.acegraphics.com.au> to subscribe or unsubscribe.
