There is something which I hold very close to my heart and that is for pregnant women to know that they have choices with regard to childbirth. Birth is one of the most natural processes, yet there is so much fear around it, with women not trusting their bodies, trusting themselves, and I believe that this is because women have become uninformed. I feel women need to realise that they have the power to decide what feels right for them in childbirth, and in everything else. In fact everyone has the power to decide what is best for him or herself, and being informed helps.

As childbirth is naturally highlighting women, this may seem like an article just for women to read, but it is for everyone. Through the decades, things have changed so much and in the ancient times women had a lot more power and influence. In fact, I believe that people used to worship a goddess. Then something happened and a woman's power shifted, leaving her with all her rights and power taken away. Some ten thousand years or so ago the power swung to men and this majorly influenced women and the birthing process. The energies are balancing out now, but it has taken some time and there are still certain processes in place which are indicative of the time when men were only in power.

I am basing this article on an amazing book called "Immaculate Deception II, Myth, Magic and Birth" by Suzanne Arms. From reading this book, I have confirmation that I am not alone in my feelings. I know that there is an awakening happening and that people are starting to question more and to move their minds away from the "norm" (if there is such a thing), but I still feel that there are too many people who give their power to doctors and who place their full trust in only what the doctor says. Doctors are very knowledgeable and need to be respected for their opinion. It is also important to trust your doctor, but there are often many other options contrary to what a doctor believes is the only way. When a doctor tells a woman that she has to have a caesarean because things are not happening fast enough, and then says things which bring up the fears of a mother-to-be, she is more inclined to go with the caesarean because she fears for her baby's life, but the caesarean might not need to happen. My concern is the fear part. The doctor is possibly basing his decision on fear, as is the mother, yet when one is fully informed then there can be empowerment on both parts. We are given many choices on this earth as well as free will and I hope to expand your mind as you read this article. I wish to inform you of some different options; to give you an expanded view next time you need to make a decision regarding the birth of your child, but I also wish to impress upon you that in everything that you do, you can have the power and do have the power to create the most memorable experiences from a variety of choices.

I am going to touch on aspects such as the necessity of the birthing process, the effect of drugs in labour, caesareans and the use of midwifes.

Birth is woman's work, a natural part of a female's sexuality and creativity. There is much we can learn by looking at what birth used to be like traditionally. When pregnant women from tribes were going into labour, they were very supported by the women in their tribe. The men would stay away from women in labour as they were afraid of the power of the birth. These women could call upon the shaman or wise women, if needed, and they could use the natural herbs from the earth to help them, if certain situations arose. A labouring woman could use herbs to either stop the bleeding, to strengthen her body or to make labour easier. Women were taught how to deliver the baby themselves, if everyone was out harvesting. These women knew how to coax their baby out from the womb if the baby did not come easily; they knew the chants for labour to keep the baby in a good position; they knew how to cut the cord and to clean any fluid from the baby's nose or mouth if there was difficulty breathing. These women saw birth as a ritual of life.

A tribal woman in labour would drop into a squatting position, her buttocks on her heels, feet apart, walking if she could in between. She would eventually squat over a piece of moss when the baby was due to be delivered and with a few last grunts and pushes, the baby would slip out to be picked up and placed at the breast to take it's first drink of milk. According to the tribal woman, it was important for the baby to hear the mom's voice first.

Modern scientific research into the effects of the various birthing positions indicates that it is enormously beneficial and highly effective to be upright and moving during labour, squatting, or on hands and knees; to use gravity to help the baby to travel downwards. Labour is made longer and more painful when a woman is lying down or is inactive.

The tight fit through the birth canal is extremely important for a baby's journey into life on earth. The squeezing and pushing motion of the uterus stimulates the baby's entire body, preparing and stimulating the nervous system and the brain for the new world outside the mother's body. This action prepares the baby to be able to breathe on its own. As quoted from the Immaculate Deception II, "It also readies the baby's brain for a huge learning spurt, in which it takes in all the new sensory information from the world it enters the moment it is born, and begins to make the complex series of adjustments that will enable it to survive." It is the first journey of a child's life and it is meant to be awake and aware so that the child becomes a fully active participant in their own life. (Research has shown that caesarean born babies struggle to get going, mentally, but also their physiological systems have a tendency to be more sluggish).

Travelling down the birth canal also stimulates the adrenal glands to produce the hormone that allows the baby's body to do on its own all those things that were done in the womb. This stimulation does not occur in the case of caesarean births and as a result most caesarean-born babies have initial problems in clearing their lungs and getting breathing going.

Birth is tiring but it is vital to both mom and child. "For the mother, the physical sensations of labour create a shift in her consciousness, from an ordinary to a heightened state. The birthing process is important to prepare the mother emotionally to receive and bond with her child." Labour stimulates hormones to be released in the baby as well as in mom. The body releases natural hormones during birth to help to dull the pain, as well as after birth to help with the bonding process between mother and child. As quoted, "Artificially dulling the sensations of labour alters the mother and the baby physiologically, alters their relationship, and alters the way in which the baby perceives the world."

Acceptance of the birthing process, of the contractions, of the pain, can result in fewer complications and lead to a successful natural birth. I feel many women have given up the responsibility for childbirth. We were given this gift of being able to bring a baby into this world with our wonderful bodies, yet that aspect of ourselves is being neglected. I am amazed at how many women I have spoken to who are afraid of the pain of childbirth and therefore opt for a caesarean without a blink of an eye. These women are healthy. I believe that caesareans need only be performed in case of a real emergency, a last resort. The women all those years ago gave birth the natural way, successfully, so why can't women of today? Fear is part of our existence and is important for our survival, but it becomes unhelpful when the ever-present expectation is for something to go wrong. What if this…what if that. We all do this, including myself. I just feel there needs to be a balance between fear and trust. When a woman knows herself, when she is in touch with her body and her needs, then she can distinguish between when things are safe or when there is a real danger and thereby eliminate the majority of the fear. When a woman in labour becomes overwhelmed with fear and the expectation that the labour will never end, these sensations overwhelm her. By focusing on the pain, this will definitely bring suffering and anguish, but breathing into each moment, listening to the body, to what it needs next; having the support of family members and friends, especially at the end, can make labour and birth a completely different experience. A woman can have the opportunity to link with the creativity of her body, and to enjoy what nature entitled her to as a woman. I have been present at two natural births and it is truly a miracle, one which I cannot wait to experience myself. Pain is not the enemy, it is a useful tool and it passes. We can use it to our advantage and embrace the divinity of the process.

I want to bring up the use of drugs during birth. Whenever I have spoken to my husband about not wanting to use any drugs myself when I have the opportunity to go into labour, he has commented that I must never say never because I will never know what I will feel like when I experience the pain. No, I don't know how I will react, but one thing I do know, which greatly influences my feeling about drugs in labour is that whatever I take in, my baby will take in and as their systems are not as developed as ours are, the drugs first of all reach the baby in a higher dose and settle in the liver and the brain. It takes time for the drugs to pass out their system, often weeks and sometimes months and I do not want my baby to start out his or her life being drugged up. When I was helping my sister during her labour, she had instructed beforehand that she didn't want to use any drugs, however, after being in labour for about 14 hours, she decided she couldn't handle it so asked what was "safe" to use, so that the baby wouldn't be affected. The midwife said that she could use Pethidine, as it is known in the UK or Demoral, as it is known in the States and confirmed that it would not harm her baby in any way. When her baby was born, he was not breathing and they had to resuscitate him manually. What we didn't know then is that Pethidine / Demoral is a derivative of morphine and such opiates suppress the basic physiological functioning such as the baby breathing on its own and being able to suckle. These two important functions can in turn affect speech and other related behaviour, such as to how calm or worked up a baby is.

Epidurals have become extremely popular during labour. They are said to replace something called "Twilight Sleep" which was the use of chloroform to knock out a woman in labour, used the middle 1800’s. The use of chloroform allowed Victorian women to give birth 'that primitive, elemental act' without having to deal with any of its raw elements such as emotions, physical sensations, bodily secretions, smells, or the sight of blood. Floating in euphoria as she reclined on her back on her doctor's table, a woman yielded everything, her attention, her effort, her responsibility, and her sense of protection toward her baby to the authority of her physician. A woman who was under twilight sleep would scream, pull faces and show other evidence of pain, yet when she awoke she couldn't remember anything of her labour. Now epidurals are nothing like this, but not to be able to feel my baby come out as s/he is born does not feel right to me. There are also certain side effects / risks of having an epidural and not many women are made aware of these. They are broken into three categories: effects on the mother; effects on the baby; and an increased need for other interventions during the birth.

For the mother, the most common direct complications of having an epidural are an increased risk of needing a caesarean, the lowering of her blood pressure, rise of temperature (which will therefore affect the baby) and an inability of pushing her baby out. Other rare, but life-threatening effects which can manifest are convulsions, breathing paralysis, allergic shock reaction, nerve injury, and spinal headache. For the baby, there can be a decrease of oxygen going to the baby as the mother's blood pressure drops and the baby's heart rate also tends to fluctuate. The increased need for other interventions includes the need to stimulate contractions artificially as they become ineffective. This can create more stress for the baby. Catheterising the woman's bladder also sometimes becomes necessary as well as the need for instruments such as forceps, if the baby gets stuck as it cannot come down on its own. Forceps can sometimes jam certain bones of the baby's head, which impinges on nerve flow, resulting in other complications.

Using a midwife during birth proves to be highly beneficial. As the woman is allowed to progress through the birth in her own time, even in her own environment, the use for intervention is dramatically reduced and the need for drugs and anaesthesia is lowered and not needed in many cases. Even when there is a higher risk of complications during birth, a midwife being there reduces the number of problems and keeps many babies out of intensive care who would otherwise been sent there. Women who have a midwife assisted birth are also less likely to tear vaginally.

Even though I could go on and on with this subject, I am going to end off here now. There is so much information out there about the alternatives in giving birth and it is worthwhile reading this book should you be pregnant or planning to fall pregnant.