Apr 15, 2010 2
In Honor of My Mother
My mother laughed as she told the story of how I was born.
“I walked 10 blocks in New York City to the Women’s Day Hospital, in labor, to deliver you. Oh the nurses were in a tizzy!” My mother said with quite a grin. I asked her why ..
“Well,” she said. “Back then many women were given general anesthesia and when I walked in the emergency unit, POP, you came out! They were in shock because they didn’t know what to do with a natural birth!”
That was 1954. Have things changed any? Oh, and I was also breastfed which wasn’t the “thing” to do then – no not at all.
In the picture above, my mother is carrying me in the shoulder baby carrier (yes! They had them back then!), and my brothers are tugging at her hands and jacket.
Are things different today when it comes to having a baby?
- medications are still available during labor
- formula is still used and popular
- natural birth (without medication) is not the expected way to birth
- fear about childbirth is still captivating the minds of women.
But, we have something today that was present then, but not explored nor accepted in the medical community. And it is mindset. In the 1950′s The American Medical Association declared hypnosis as a viable technique to use with patients, particularly in psychiatry. Through the years it has gained not only attention, but recognition. It is now used as complementary medicine along with progressive relaxation (discovered in the 1930′s), as well as meditation and guided imagery used for pain management in many health areas – cardiology, pediatric medicine, cancer, etc., but not the labor unit.
This is what’s missing in the labor room. We are reliving birthing attitudes of the past. Centuries of pain and old wives tales passed down from generation to generation.
It’s time to breathe new thinking, new mindsets into the childbirth experience. The tools are here now. Education is the key.
So, my mother reminds me of all the potential waiting for women to explore and THAT’S exciting. There is a shift, a movement beginning to bloom, and it’s great to be a part of it.
Thank you mom.
My love,
Lesly
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