The Process Matters

Since the dawn of humanity, women have given birth, alone sometimes, but mostly with the help of other women, and without any interventions by medical science. Nevertheless, women have been taught over the last 100 years that every pregnancy and birth situation is potentially a catastrophic illness rather than a natural life process.

From the moment a mother finds out she is pregnant in the United States today, she is lead to believe that she is not knowledgeable enough to have a child on her own. She must seek out experts to tell her how and intervene at every step along the way. This is a phenomenon of the system we rely on as a culture when we learn to trust technology first, instead of ourselves. If we had a better mortality rate than in countries where they do less intervention, this might make sense, but we don’t. In fact, maternal mortality is rising in the United States as it declines elsewhere.

Yes, medical miracles have saved the lives of those that 100 years ago would have died. But the true necessity of intervention during most live births is very, very low. Having a child in a hospital with I.V. drips, drugs, etc. is not “normal.” Our radio show guest, Suzanne Arms, has been an inspiration behind the natural birth movement since 1975. She is an author, filmmaker, speaker, and consultant who, I hope, you will find as inspirational as I do.

From Suzanne: “My purpose is to help shift the paradigm that drives the loneliness, anxiety, addiction, greed, and aggression so prominent in post-modern societies to one that promotes joy, wellbeing, and peace. I work at the beginning of life, where the patterns are set. We must transform how we bring human beings into the world and care for each childbearing woman and mother-baby pair from conception to the first birthday, when they are one biological system and the baby’s developing brain and nervous system are laying down patterns for a lifetime.