Why Have Natural Childbirth?

By Shelly Girard, B.S., L.M.T., L.M., C.P.M., M.P.H

While on a vacation in Maui recently, my husband and I ate dinner at a Japanese restaurant in Lahaina with a young couple from Washington D.C. As the multi-talented chef sautéed vegetables while juggling spatula and knife, the pair learned that I was a midwife and asked the inevitable question: “Why would anyone want to have a midwife and a ‘natural’ birth instead of going to the hospital with an Obstetrician and have drugs?” The tofu lobbed off of my chopsticks in midair as I drew in a deep breath and asked them if they had the whole evening.

How does one begin to explain to a new generation of childbearing couples the inner fire that flames my commitment to preserving birth as an incredible life transforming process?

One can outline the basics of the history which has shaped the attitudes and practices which prevail at the end of this twentieth century. One can explain how birth, once the province of midwives for the bulk of the population, became the domain of medical doctors who, for geographical and socioeconomic reasons, funneled healthy mothers into hospitals. These low risk mothers, removed from safe, familiar environments and from attendants who understood and supported the normalcy of childbearing, began to replace age old strategies for coping and comfort with fear and uncertainty. With this fear came increased pain and discomfort, leading doctors to begin to administer anesthetics and analgesics.

In their misguided attempt to relieve pain and suffering, these practitioners wrested all control over the birth process from mothers and created dozens of harmful side effects from drugs for their babies. Childbirth became a hotbed of iatrogenic problems whose solutions snowballed into the technological approach to birth prevalent in modern obstetrics.

Certainly such a perspective explains how the natural childbirth movement gained momentum in the 60’s and 70’s, as documentation on the harmful effects of drugs during pregnancy and birth encouraged many women to choose unmedicated deliveries. Yet two decades later we live in the wake of the introduction of the epidural, that magical anesthetic which promises complete pain relief with no harmful side effects. With the availability of such beneficent medications, why then would anyone choose to experience the pain of labor and birth?

First and foremost, an epidural is not proven to be 100% “safe.” According to Penny Simkin, physical therapist and Childbirth Educator, the use of epidural anesthesia increases the chance of Cesarean section 2-3 times in first time mothers. It can slow labor, necessitating the use of pitocin to speed up contractions. This oxytoxic creates unnatural contractions whose intensity more easily creates fetal distress, requiring that the baby be continually monitored with an external or internal monitor (electrodes screwed into the baby’s scalp while in utero).

In the most positive scenario, epidural anesthesia provides complete pain relief, allowing the mother to relax, rest, and progress to complete dilation. The epidural can be permitted to wear off for second stage, allowing the mother to feel contractions and push out her baby. If recovery is incomplete, the mother may not be able to push effectively, and arrested progress, forceps, vacuum extraction and/or C-section may result. According to Suzanne Arms, author of Immaculate Deception II: Birth and Beyond, the chance of C-section is 50% when an epidural is given at two cm of cervical dilation, 33% when given at three cm, and 26% when given at four cm.

This is not to negate the relative merits of epidural anesthesia. When a woman is tense, fearful, or exhausted, has inadequate physical or emotional support, a prolonged labor or excruciating back pain, an epidural can be merciful. It can assist dilation by allowing the mother to relax.

In contrast, women who choose to give birth without pain medication utilize time-honored tools to help deal with labor. Deep abdominal breathing, sounding, walking, squatting, warm baths and showers, cool compresses, massage, reflexology, acupressure and counter-pressure are but a few of the comfort measures which assist mothers in relaxation.

However, the most important “tool” for coping with labor is the empowerment brought by the understanding that childbirth is a healthy, normal process. The more information that can be learned through reading, childbirth education classes, and interaction with supportive peers and/or health professionals, the more confidence a woman gains in herself and her ability to cope.

Labor is challenging, a powerful process marking the miracle of bringing forth a new life and a new being onto this planet. It is a rite of passage, a psycho spiritual training ground for both mother and child. And so, “Why have natural childbirth?” Because it is our birthright; because the capacity to experience giving birth and mothering is one of the greatest gifts God has bestowed on women. Because we can, and when we do, we are changed in some way forever.

Shelly Girard is a Certified Massage Therapist, Licensed Midwife, and Certified Professional Midwife with 30 years of experience in body/mind medicine. She lives in Los Angeles and earned a Masters in Public Health in Maternal-Child Health from U.C.L.A. Visit www.socalbirth.org

For more information on natural childbirth and the Bradley Method® please contact Tara Meskowsky, MA, AAHCC at (727) 320-0005 or He teaches childbirth classes on Monday, Friday and Sunday nights, and limits classes to 4 couples or less.