| Gentle Birth World Congress September 2007 Portland OregonWe are just back from Portland, and attending the first global conference with scientists from all over the world discussing the results of birthing the ways we have been led to believe, are best for mother and child! And they are not! www.waterbirth.org NEW EVIDENCED BASED SCIENCE IS CONFIRMING! It’s stunning really, and relates essentially to incorrect birthing techniques in our western approach to medicine! The worst yet, is the C-Section, which is separating the Mother and infant, and robs the mother & infants of essential hormones for homeostasis. (Bringing all systems into balance). Further we witnessed C-Sectioned mothers trying to bond with their little ones and both struggling, even after 8-10 months, as the mother’s oxytocin levels at birth are dropped in half by the epidural and when she’s not producing the infant matches her output. The result of this, is neither have the oxytocin, which they call the bond of love. It’s the joy, the love the connection that all human’s are looking for in this life. If it’s missed at the first breath, we have evidence now, that within the GENOME, other gene switches get turned on, like the survival ones. Fear, panic, tension, pain distortions, response to fear stimulus….and create:
HISTORY Hence we have conditioned our current culture to fear and panic disorders from birth! And of course we have governments that are also led by people that had the same experience at birth! It’s huge really, as science maps the GENOME, and sees how those first hours of birth are essential to critical bonding, and for the infant to do more than survive, it needs the bonding at the moment of birth. It seems a very small thing, so it’ makes sense science might miss it. We all believed babies felt nothing, knew nothing…etc. – since the 1950’s….birthing mothers were essentially unconscious– babies were taken to a nursery in the essential critical hour or so after birth, - essentially left alone in the first hours of birth, the infant is unable to reach this critical state of homeostasis. The babies survived, but in survival, mode- FEAR & PANIC mode. Highly stressed! And we still are doing this today! Scientists have now proven this is critical in the creation of depression, fears, anxiety, phobias, addictions ADD, ADHD & many other related disorders, later in life! Further they know that these infants turn on the essential genes for survival. Therefore, low abilities to bond, to commit to relationships, they become disoriented in relationships, never trusting them. Always fearful. The statistics for medicine to intervene In birthing began in the 1900’s home births were 100% Then medicine realized the way to secure the family practice was to secure the woman of the house. Get her and you get the family. By 1930 – there were about 40% birthed in hospitals, by 1950 – it was 100% and midwifery and homebirths were a thing of the past. So was Breast feeding and babies survived, but look what we have today:
All stress indicators! And these were just a few of them. SOCIETY & THE OB/GYNS And as we look at our society today, the reflection is very real. The OB/GYNS that attended said things like “ we can’t, our insurance companies won’t cover us if there is a problem” So many just C-Section today, and they don’t get what they are doing to their infants or the mother! They feel it’s safest, less stress on everyone, but is it? It wasn’t the mothers fault, and that’s the sadness of it, as many mothers protested after these births, they found themselves depressed after their births – wondering what was wrong with them! So the infants we lost and the mothers too and the fathers…well they are another story altogether! Even if we were breastfed, many babies were taken from their mothers for those first critical hours, and bonded with the nurses or machines instead of the mothers! It’s the first few moments after birth, and the first hours that are so critical! Even incubators which were created during the first war, were not actually tested until the 1960’s! It was then several doctors noticed the very high level of mortality for infants incubated instead of held against the mother! Somewhere close to 83% of these infants will die, and yet when incubated against the mother, her homeostasis, brings her infant through crucial moments in it’s early life and reduces the stress hormones allowing for homeostasis to occur naturally. Incubators don't save babies! Stress loads on the infant have created illness throughout our culture, and the mothers and fathers have to deal with it. The OB/GYNS now say, “well at least it’s on another surgeon’s watch, not mine, I delivered a live infant”. That’s all they are looking for. A healthy mother, and a live infant, then it’s some other disciplines issue ! Psychologically, however, it’s had a huge impact on our society and our experience as a human. HOW DO WE CHANGE THIS: One doctor said, this is “evolution”, as we can have a much faster reflective time and allow our brains to change these old patterns of belief. And our brains as they change, send out new chemicals to the body, to the receptors in the cells, and very quickly changes begin to happen as the brain changes, the body must follow. It cannot do otherwise. We can learn new information, that information can give us alternatives, choices and ultimately new opportunities to experience something very different. This scientist delivered his own three children himself at home in water. They are 19, 17, & 12. There were neuro scientists from all over the world, some from the USA, and Germany, UK< Mexico, S. Africa, Brazil, Sweden, Netherlands. All these scientists have found out what mothers have known for ever:
Medicine as evidence based science, is now in “hard testing” with some 4,5 million births a year in the USA and percentages of C-sections, and infant mortalities, morbidity and homeostasis interference! They have the evidence! It’s a brilliant body of evidence and the pharmaceutical companies and insurance companies and the medical models were all in attendance. RECOMMENDATIONS The very best thing you can do for you and baby every day is to have skin to skin time, and breast feeding is this, and it’s recommended to 1 year. Touch, is the connector! Eye contact, soul to soul contact. The German doctors had done many tests and had films to show us about how babies get confused about “who is my mother?” at birth when the mother is not the first one to touch it. That infant is looking for it’s mother! That confusion at birth causes the stress hormones to begin and to start! The mother needs to be present and ready to greet her baby, both with her body, and her mind! That baby wants to see her and it can! They know now, babies can see at birth up to thirty centimeters which is the distance from mother's face to the breast! AT BIRTH, Bring your baby up to your chest, and place your infant on your left side, over your heart, as the infant knows your heart beat better than any other single sound! Calm and quiet, the ears are still sensitive to sound! Especially when birthing in water, as the water is a conductor for sound! Calm and breathing, brings your own heart rate & respiratory rate down. Look into baby's eyes, don’t give the baby to anyone else for at least 1 hour! All medical attendance can be done on the mother! No matter what they tell you! OUR OWN BIRTHS If you can get, or have any information about your own birth? Often if our mothers were drugged, she wasn’t ready to see baby for a few days, and we were in the nursery with RN’s. If you were home birthed, - was she available to you after birth? Were you breast fed? If you know about this, do you know how long? It’s the first year of life, that infants need the eye & skin to skin contact to their mothers. ONE YEAR! I know. It’s a lot to consider, because we are told the opposite. “Medical model knows best” but it’s overwhelmed now with it’s own “trauma based” thinking and the evidence is just too big to keep telling the same stories and expect mothers to believe it! You have to know they are running, when presented with all this evidence and their only come back is “ well, our insurance companies won’t let us“. Statistically, more C-sections are done Friday afternoons at 4pm than at any other time in the hospital! Nurses gave evidence where doctors told them not to chart the woman’s progress, so the chart showed she was still at 2 cm after 12 hours in labour. C-Section her. And it’s truly not the mothers fault AT ALL! She is doing what she believed was best for her infant, she always has! The one thing I heard over and over at the conference, was “no mother knowingly would hurt her infant or put her infant in danger…if she knew”. Now mothers can know, and once they know, things can change! Various doctors offered:
I’ll have web sites and additional information shortly, and for those moms that have birthed or were birthed in a way that wasn’t in line with this new science, know that there were many of us at the conference, that could not keep the tears back! Lecture after lecture I grieved the loss of my connections to my daughters. I never saw them at birth, they were born at 9pm and 4pm respectively, and “delivered” to me the next day. Some 12-14 hours later! I never even saw them! I never touched them, I didn’t know they were looking for me! Where did they go? Who had them? What did they do with them? I sat with Barbara Harper on Sunday as we listened to the S. African Neuro Scientist explaining how he incubates the babies on the mothers and their recovery rates are stunning the medical world. We both wept, knowing what we know as mothers is the truth ! It was all along. We got confused and believed wrong evidence, terrified of the responsibility of thwarting the world with our own beliefs, we gave up and gave in. I wonder when we’ll get de-hypnotized and get it that fear is not a state associated with birthing. Fear is associated with a belief we have, based on what we tell ourselves to expect and it’s only real if we believe it! I know for my mothers that I’ve had the privilege to be with during pregnancy and some their birth, there were moments, when what they asked for wasn’t observed, but for the most part, they had their babies their way! A German Midwife that is world famous said to us in her presentation “ Your mid-wife does not need to hold your baby! That’s her choice to steal way your bonding moments! Your midwife, should ensure, it’s your hands, your eyes, your skin your baby is touching! Your baby doesn’t need to get confused at birth about who her mother is!” IN CLOSING: There is new information out there people, don’t be afraid to go after it! You won’t be sorry you did! You won’t need BABY EINSTEIN and all that to help your baby develop, you won’t need to worry about any of it, because the new science and new psychology are blending into what is being called “social psychology” the ability for the individual to adapt and respond to any situation, to reflect quickly and grow from it, rather than spend a lifetime attempting to overcome it! I believe it’s here! I believe we are on the new threshold of letting mothers reclaim their power to birth…and in doing so…they need not fear! Beloved Birthing Days. Kathy Kathy Welter MH., Cht. NLP & DHE Specialists Certified Hypnobirthing Educator WELTER-NICHOLS & ASSOCIATES 604-421-1722 With great thanks to Barbara Harper for bringing this body of growing evidence under one roof! |
