The Evolution of Childbirth (part 1)

When the time came for her to give birth, she was taken to surgery where she delivered vaginally with forceps. Heavily drugged, the only real memory she has of this event was the terrible disappointment she felt in that she was unable to see me being born. Her eye glasses were not antiseptically appropriate so they had been taken from her. After they suctioned, weighed and measured and bathed me, she caught a quick glimpse of me already bundled before they took me away to the nursery.

The idea of "rooming in" was unheard of back then. Infants were kept in the nursery, cared for by masked nursing staff and brought to their mothers for 20 minute feedings every four hours. This was usually a bottle fed formula feeding because at this time formula was considered to be more advanced and nutritious than breast milk, and bottle feeding was the trend. Visitors were considered a source of potential infection and were restricted. Mother and child remained in hospital for about a week (for a vaginal birth) at which point they would finally go home to bond as a family.

For many women, their birth experiences had become a clouded memory. Others recounted traumatic experiences and complained of the experience as torturous. My own mother recently re-examined her birth experiences as "barbaric". However, the medical establishment had become well rooted by this point. Certain groups started to develop and speak out on the problems with the medical model of childbirth, advocating for the return of the natural process. Dr. Lamaze developed a model of relaxation and breathing techniques meant to replace the medicated approach, and Doctor Bradley developed a method that included the father as a birth partner and labour coach. However, technology was also advancing.

Lamaze: http://www.lamaze.org/

Bradley Method: http://www.bradleybirth.com/

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