from unassisted childbirth:
"If we truly wish to experience a painless birth, it helps to know a little about the nature of pain, including its function and cause. Pain is a sign telling us that something is wrong. It doesn't happen indiscriminately. It only occurs when we're doing something we shouldn't be doing. The pain is a message telling us to stop.
In the case of a laboring woman, it is obviously not a message to stop laboring. What then, could the pain be telling us? According to Grantly Dick-Read, author of Childbirth without Fear, fear is the source of pain in labor. No other natural bodily function is painful, he writes, and childbirth should not be the exception.
When a person is afraid, messages are sent to the body telling it there is a danger out there that must be fought or run away from. Blood and oxygen are instantly sent into the muscle structure, enabling the frightened person to strike out or run. But the extra blood and oxygen must come from somewhere, so the body drains it from organs it considers nonessential for "flight or fight." This is why people turn white when they're afraid. The body knows that the arms and legs need that blood and oxygen more than the face does.
Unfortunately, the body considers the uterus a nonessential organ when it comes to flight or fight. According to Dick-Read, the uterus of a frightened woman in labor is literally white. It doesn't have the fuel it needs so it cannot function the way it was designed to, nor can waste products be properly carried away. Consequently, there is pain. So, to eliminate the pain we must eliminate the fear. "
"fear is the path to the dark side" -yoda, jedi master
:)
"If we truly wish to experience a painless birth, it helps to know a little about the nature of pain, including its function and cause. Pain is a sign telling us that something is wrong. It doesn't happen indiscriminately. It only occurs when we're doing something we shouldn't be doing. The pain is a message telling us to stop.
In the case of a laboring woman, it is obviously not a message to stop laboring. What then, could the pain be telling us? According to Grantly Dick-Read, author of Childbirth without Fear, fear is the source of pain in labor. No other natural bodily function is painful, he writes, and childbirth should not be the exception.
When a person is afraid, messages are sent to the body telling it there is a danger out there that must be fought or run away from. Blood and oxygen are instantly sent into the muscle structure, enabling the frightened person to strike out or run. But the extra blood and oxygen must come from somewhere, so the body drains it from organs it considers nonessential for "flight or fight." This is why people turn white when they're afraid. The body knows that the arms and legs need that blood and oxygen more than the face does.
Unfortunately, the body considers the uterus a nonessential organ when it comes to flight or fight. According to Dick-Read, the uterus of a frightened woman in labor is literally white. It doesn't have the fuel it needs so it cannot function the way it was designed to, nor can waste products be properly carried away. Consequently, there is pain. So, to eliminate the pain we must eliminate the fear. "
"fear is the path to the dark side" -yoda, jedi master
:)
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