Natural Childbirth, Childbirth Stories and Childbirth History

Childbirth, the mainstay of civilizations, has also been the very thing that took the lives of many women and children. The process of giving birth - even though women are "built for it" - is a grueling one and until the last century, a deadly one. Today, with all of the education and help available, childbirth is probably as safe as it is going to be for both mother and child, and when difficulties arise, then the support systems in place to help both through to a successful end are myriad and effective.

Moving Back To Natural Childbirth

The move back to natural childbirth has been taking place over the past 35 years. Albeit somewhat slow in arriving at this place, today more women are opting for a natural birth assisted by a doula or midwife. The process is much safe than it was in times past, making the option for a home birth or water birth completely safe, provided both mother and baby are in good health and strong. Natural birth is a vaginal birth without any medical interventions, including pain killers, that may inhibit the experience of giving birth a naturally.

During pregnancy, many women create their birth plans and decide on what type of birth they'd like to have. They write out the plan and, barring any unforeseen circumstances, they are usually able to have what they'd like. These days you can read about home births and the wonders of delivering a baby in a hydrobirth or hypnobirth. Some of the more popular childbirth stories are those concerning women who had their babies without any interventions. Their families are with them and everyone is experiencing the birth together. Many of these stories appear on the internet. You can watch childbirth from labor through delivery on a childbirth video or a childbirth movie. Once it was forbidden to film such intimacy, now it's quite common to view a woman giving birth at home, no holds barred.

The History of Childbirth

The history of childbirth is as long as mankind's history, and sadly, fraught with tears and loss. One such tragedy took place on June 17, 1631, when Mumtaz, wife to the Shah of India, died giving birth to her 15^th baby for the Shah. Her life was commemorated by him with the construction of the beautiful mausoleum, the Taj Mahal, in India. The Church, as well as some physicians in the mid-1800s, opposed the idea of relieving pain during childbirth, however, the method of using chloroform during childbirth solidified after Queen Victoria gave birth to Prince Leopold, having had chloroform administered by Dr. John Snow. In 1847, Walter Channing, professor of midwifery and medical jurisprudence at Harvard in the US wrote an important paper about Etherization in Childbirth to end the controversy. And, as they say, the rest is history.

More Than 100 Years - Look At Us Now!

In the year 1900, just over a century ago, one in every six American babies died before the age of one, and mothers were 100 times more likely to die giving birth than they are today. The second leading cause of death in women in that year was childbirth, topped only by tuberculosis. In 1951, Fernand Lamaze a French doctor, introduced his method of teaching a mother and father-to-be the art of breathing and learning to relax in order to give birth without drugs and with minimal pain. This method has become the standard for natural childbirth - the Lamaze Method. More history of childbirth can be seen in childbirth photos and engravings by checking it out on the internet. There are also wonderful books available through various bookstores and internet sites. Great childbirth videos can be found in video movie outlets, on the internet, and in bookstores everywhere.

Indeed, childbirth has a long history, and may it ever be so!