Jessica Alba explains her experience at the birth of Haven. "It's not like the clock in front of your face and you go out and you wake up and you got a baby. Basically, my husband takes me through sort of a meditation. He'll say, 'You're relaxed, and you're floating on clouds,' while you're going through labour and your contractions,"
Now that I am pregnant with my fourth child, I seem to think ... what the? Breathing and keeping calm is apart of any pregnancy and birth, but actually maintaining that throughout the entire labour is almost impossible. To be honest, if my husband says anymore than 'You're doing great." I would knock him out!
But supposedly this is a practice that has been around since the '80's and is a process that you calm yourself by meditating ... because ... get this ... child birth is not painful, the state of mind you get in is what makes it painful! Bullshit! Childbirth is like the worst stomach cramp in you life, followed by a watermelon passing through your rear end ... sure, that's not painful at all! Surely is was a male that made that up?!?!
I have only had an epidural once and that was when I had my first. I would never do it again as it was not something that I enjoyed and it slowed the labour. But that is a personal choice that I made after trying it. I feel that all these practises that are quite simply fads, that pressure women to feel that they HAVE to have a drug free childbirth. The same as women feel pressured to breast feed, because that is what we are told is 'best for our baby', well guess what ladies, no two people are the same. If one lady requires an epidural or pethidine during the birthing process then so be it! It's not the worst thing in the world for mum or bub! But if you are able to make it through your birth comfortably without using anything more then the gas then kudos to you!
Women are judged throughout their entire pregnancy, everyone criticising what you eat and drink and how hard you work and where you go. It is a hard world out there and for someone like Kate who is constantly in the media, she needs to make this pregnancy and nearing labour seem as effortless as possible, because even when she was having a rough time, she was criticised for that too. I don't see why women feel that they have to have the perfect birth. Parenting isn't about the birth and what you did and didn't do, it is about being a good parent when that child reaches our world.
Thanks ... MCM xxx
Read more at http://global.christianpost.com/news/kate-middleton-hypnobirthing-duchess-considering-hollywood-technique-to-combat-labor-pain-96974/#pUozGlWtfqvhqaZJ.99
I did a bit of research into this one too before I had Dear Boy, and hypnobirthing was just one step too close to kooky la-la for me. Especially with the rainbow relaxation CD you're meant to listen to leading up to the birth etc.
ReplyDeleteBut I think there's something to the idea of mind over matter, and using techniques to take the focus away from the pain, distract yourself essentially. I ended up getting a book and practicing a few different techniques (searching out sounds and concentrating on identifying them; breathing, counting, picturing different patterns etc). Some worked, some didn't. My philosophy was - I had no idea how I was going to handle the birth but if I had a few things up my sleeve, then that couldn't hurt (well not anymore than the actual labour, anyway).
P.S. I've nominated you for a Leibster blogging award http://lilybettandboy.blogspot.com.au/2013/06/leibster-award-giving-and-receiving.html