Holistic Therapies during Childbirth - Holistic Pregnancy and Childbirth

Holistic Therapies during Childbirth

The holistic approach to childbirth focuses on providing the mother with the safest and most relaxing environment in which to quickly deliver her baby with a minimum of pain. Where the mother chooses to have her baby will determine the alternatives that will be available to her during childbirth. The most important thing for her is to select an environment that makes her feel safe, comfortable, and fully in control.

Holistic Key: Choose a Safe, Relaxing Birthing Environment.     The increasing demand for holistic approaches to labor and delivery has motivated many hospitals to provide comfortable, more private birth rooms. Should a mother wish to have her baby in a hospital, but still want to have a natural birth, she should arrange for this option with her obstetrician. Options currently available in the U.S. include:

• Free-Standing Birth Centers. Free-standing birth centers (FSBCs) offer a holistic compromise between having a hospital and a home birth. FSBCs often provide a home-like setting in which the mother's friends and relatives may be present during the birth. They are generally staffed by experienced mid-wives trained in prenatal care and birthing. The obstetrician may also agree to be on call during labor. Approximately 15–20% of first-time mothers who choose a FSBC birth need to be transferred to a hospital during labor or after delivery.
• Home Births. The proponents of home births argue that home births are as safe, if not safer than hospital births in terms of interventions, birth injuries, and maternal hemorrhaging. However, it is important that all women consult their obstetrician before choosing this option. Women with hypertension, heart and kidney disease, anemia, diabetes, or epilepsy should only give birth in a hospital. Women who have had previous Cesareans, and first-time mothers over the age of 35 are also usually advised to have a hospital birth.
• Water Births. Water births were pioneered in France by Dr. Michel Odent and have become increasingly popular in the U.S. Women who have experienced water births report that they felt more relaxed during their labor because the weightless feeling of the water eased their pain. Others noted that birthing in water reduced the risk of perineal tearing. Advocates of water birthing claim that it is the least stressful way to give birth for both a mother and her baby because it shortens labor and makes pushing easier.

Holistic Key: Birthing Positions.     The birthing position(s) the mother uses should be determined by what feels comfortable and most suitable for her body. Standing and walking can enhance the dilation of the cervix, and aid the baby's descent through the birth canal. Some women report that they needed fewer pain medications when they remained physically active during labor. Staying in bed during labor tends to impair breathing, compress major blood vessels, reduce circulation, and decrease uterine blood flow. Some women find it helpful to squat during birthings because it also increases the pelvic opening by half to a full centimeter. Other mothers report that they found it helpful to sit in warm water during labor. Each mother should discuss all of these alternatives with her obstetrician or nurse-midwife.

Holistic Key: Vaginal Births.     The holistic method of childbirth stresses that women should plan to have a vaginal birth without an episiotomy, vacuum or forceps extraction, or a C-section. Contrary to popular belief, pregnant women can have a vaginal birth even if they previously had a Cesarean.

Most experts agree that the best way to minimize pain during labor is for the mother to be fully conscious of what is occurring in her body. They recommend that women continue to perform yoga, massage, or other relaxation exercises during labor that gently induce the “relaxation response.” In the end, every mother will need to trust her own body's wisdom. The most successful births are by women who have confidence in themselves and their birthing team.

Medical technology has its place in emergency childbirths, although holistic physicians do not recommend the standard interventions typically used in hospitals, such as pain medications, Cesarean sections, and episiotomies. Currently, approximately 90% of American women have episiotomies. A holistic obstetrician will not recommend this procedure except in cases of severe fetal distress or if the mother is unable to deliver her child without help. According to Alternative Medicine: The Definitive Guide , episiotomies do not, as previously thought, prevent perineal tears or trauma, enhance later sexuality, or benefit the baby. In addition, they are not necessary for deliveries which require the use of forceps or vacuum extractions.

Holistic obstetricians do not recommend the use of forceps to pull the baby through the birth canal because infant deaths have been caused by forceps delivery. Forceps deliveries have also been associated with impairing a baby's vision and causing foot problems. Vacuum extractions, in which the baby is sucked through the canal, are also not practiced because they have recently been associated with decreased oxygen delivery and internal bleeding of the fetus during birth. In addition, they have resulted in leg problems in newborns.

Approximately 25% of all births in the U.S. are performed by Cesarean-section, the surgical operation for delivering a baby by cutting through the mother's abdominal and uterine walls. In some emergencies, a C-section delivery may be the only alternative. But it should only be used as a last resort because it increases the risk of maternal complications, including infections, bleeding, a longer recovery period, and less initial bonding with the newborn baby. According to the Public Citizens Health Research Group, Cesareans are necessary in only 12% of deliveries.