...says a Professor of Midwifery.
"A large number of women want to avoid pain. Some just don't fancy the pain [of childbirth]. More women should be prepared to withstand pain. Pain in labour is a purposeful, useful thing, which has quite a number of benefits, such as preparing a mother for the responsibility of nurturing a newborn baby."
Apparently epidurals on demand are bad. The correct person to determine the amount of pain a woman is in is not the woman herself.
"The NHS should abandon routine pain relief and embrace a new "working with pain" approach which would encourage women to use yoga, hypnosis, massage, support from their partners, hydrotherapy and birthing pools as natural ways of alleviating their pain"
All said by a man, who has no idea what actually birthing is like. It's not so appalling for people with easy labours, but what about people who have a terrible time? Induced labours? Who the hell is he to tell people whose pain was severe enough to leave them with PTSD that it's good for them?
It's obviously great to offer the kind of support he's advocating, and to make sure women are properly informed about the risks of a cascade of intervention. But offering those alternative methods instead, instead of as well? How is that supporting women's choices? And why is lessening acute pain only this controversial for birthing women?
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Childbirth
"It's good for women to suffer the pain of a natural birth"
Qally · 12/07/2009 05:51
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