Birth Is An Act Of Love Between Two People

How dare we break through the birth, this magical moment that transcends everything? That is sacrilege and yet it happens all the time.

We are not just talking about the need to bring a child into the world in a respectful way. There are also many other factors that tone down what experts say is so crucial. We also refer to relatives who sometimes pick up a baby before the mother has been able to do so.

There are details that can get in the way of this moment of pure love. Most have to do with medical procedures. Sterile environments and standard procedures where the umbilical cord is cut too quickly and the baby is washed as soon as possible.

There are interesting findings that require us to learn to look at these things in a different way. However, it is established that medical help must always be available during childbirth.

However, we need a new sensitivity, a new perspective in which the female relatives should also be involved in the birth.

We will further develop this concept.

Now we’d like to talk a little bit about someone you might know. Michel Odent is a French obstetrician who is world famous in his field.

• Thanks to him, we started thinking about childbirth in different ways. For example, that we need to make the process more sensitive and tender. Doctor Odent supports the idea that birth is an act of love between two people and should not be violated.

• According to him, we have long exceeded the limits of what is permissible. Nowadays we have supposedly ‘humanized’ childbirth, but in reality we leave the human aspect aside and everything is becoming more and more ‘mechanical’.
• They use synthetic oxytocin, clamps and, moreover, many too often opt for a caesarean section.

All these methods are aimed at guaranteeing the safety of mother and child. This is without a doubt positive. However, we object to other issues:  Women are stressed to give birth to a child while feeling scared and uncomfortable.

The baby itself feels terrified by all the hands that grab it, turn it and wash it without the child knowing where mommy is.

No one should violate this moment.

The now 83-year-old doctor Odent continues to strive to apply ‘the protection paradigm’. This idea is based on the following points:

• The physical and emotional well-being of mother and child comes first.
• The person should feel safe, respected and comfortable. This means that one should be able to choose how one wishes to give birth. Lying down is not always the position women prefer, some also feel safer when they can stand.
• Shaving, initiating labor with oxytocin, and applying anesthesia are choices the mother should be able to make on the advice of her doctor.
• The baby should not be washed immediately. The white covering layer is in fact a natural protection for the skin. It is good if the baby can lie skin to skin with mom before washing.

• dr. Odent is the author of the very first written document on the importance of breastfeeding in the first hours after childbirth.

This is interesting information. According to the paradigm that Dr. Odent defends, there is no need to yell at the mother or repeat the word “squeeze” over and over.

• During childbirth, among other things, the activity of the neocortex (rational thinking) of the woman decreases while the instinctive and emotional functions of the woman are improved. In this situation, verbal commands will only cause stress.

• It is important that you take this into account. Remember what we talked about at the beginning of this article. Childbirth should be considered a delicate act of love.

When the delivery is over, the mother needs peace and quiet. Parents should be given the time to get to know their little one.

Relatives have a whole life left to spend time with the child. The first moments after birth belong only to the parents.

Best wishes to the new family!