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What Is It
Like To Be Born?
Your Baby's Journey
Birth is indeed an intense experience
not only for you: for the baby, too! It is the climax of a
time of growing and waiting. This new human being is caught up in
a rush of powerful uterine activity, which squeezes it out from
the confines of the tight muscle enveloping it and the cradle of
bone in which it has been rocked, into a separate existence.
Traveling from the depths of the uterus, under the arch of bone
and out through the soft opening folds of the vagina, the baby
passes through a barrage of different kinds of sensory
stimulation. It must be more astonishing and full of surprises
than any mysterious journey ever known to man.
The Baby's Experience
Of Labor
Birth is beginning. Pressure
builds up over the crown of the baby's head where it is directed
through the dilating cervix, which is pulled up over its head like
a turtle neck sweater. Pressure is also directed over the baby's
bottom as the uterus contracts down on it and propels the baby
forward. So the baby is fixed between the uterus gripping its
bottom and the cervix curling progressively over its head. This
pressure causes the baby to roll into a ball, head tucked in and
knees bent up, arms folded over its chest. The upper part of the
head, not yet hard bone all over, is molded so that the brow is
pressed backward.
As the baby is forced downward the crown of the head also
confronts resistance from the pelvic floor muscles, which are
springy and firm and which are also little by little eased over
its head. The passage is narrow but yielding and the baby's whole
body is massaged vigorously with each contraction as it gradually
descends.
Beneath the stretched abdominal skin and the thinned translucent
wall of the uterus itself the baby in the last weeks of pregnancy
has been aware of glowing light whenever bright sun or artificial
light shone on your body. It must be rather like firelight or
the light cast by a red shaded lamp. When the journey to birth
begins the baby is pressed deeper into the cavity of the pelvis,
under arches of bone and a canopy of thick supportive ligaments
and muscles. Perhaps it is a sensation rather like traveling
through a long dark avenue of overhanging trees.
The baby is not just a hunk of flesh or a life-sized doll. He is
a human being fully equipped to feel pain and pleasure, a person
coming to birth. The baby cannot remember or anticipate
in the same way that we can, but he nevertheless feels keenly and
is a fully sentient being. The uterus holds and presses tightly
in on the child not yet born, with steady escalating power. By
the end of the first stage of labor it is embracing the baby
tightly for one or two minutes at a time. Each hug begins gently
and grows tighter and tighter till at the height of the
contraction the baby is being gripped fast for 20 to 30 seconds.
Then the wave of pressure recedes again and the baby floats once
more in it's inner sea: he is in labor along with you.
Newborn Reflexes in
Labor
In some obstetric textbooks the baby is described simply as "a
passenger", and purely in mechanical terms, as two ovoids, the
head and the trunk, the long axes of which are at right angles to
each other and which can take the curve of the pelvic axis
independently. While this is accurate as a description of the
mechanics of fetal descent, it leaves out any mention of what the
baby might be doing during this process and how the reflexes with
which it is born are probably also functioning during labor.
The baby changes its position in response to the power unleashed
in your body, and does this not only because of mechanical forces
which act on it but probably also because it is making active
movements. It is working with you toward birth, your
partner in the struggle, not just a passenger, and can do this
because of inbuilt reflexes. A newborn baby turns his head in the
direction of a touch, moves his head up and down against a firm
surface, curls his toes down when pressure is applied over the top
of the foot, and makes forward stepping movements when tilted
forward with his feet against a firm surface. Two of these actions
probably operate to help the baby onward in its journey. One is
the reflex to move its head up and down against firm resistance,
which means that it actually wriggles its way forward through the
cervix and the fanned-out tissues of the vagina with much the same
action that we make when putting on a new sweater with a rather
tight neck. The other is the stepping movement when the
resistance is offered to the feet, so that in effect the baby
pushes away from the solid wall of the uterus as it tightens
around it.
The Impact of the
Outside World
In the second stage the head has to
take nearly a right-angled bend. The pressure builds up until it
swivels the neck around so that the baby is facing downward ready
to slide out. You can imagine that this provides a very sharp
stimulus to the baby, a message which say unmistakably "Things are
changing. Wake up! It's all systems go!" At last the crown of the
head slides through the vaginal opening and remains there. Perhaps
you reach down with eager hands to stroke the damp warm top of
your baby's head. This is the first greeting.
The head slips out and suddenly the baby encounters space and air.
The shoulders and chest slide forward, followed by the whole body.
There is a gasp and air rushes into the lungs, inflating them for
the fist time. The damp inner surfaces of the lungs, previously
clinging together, open up with the first cry with which the baby
meets outside life.
Air, space, the baby's own limbs moving in an unfamiliar medium,
weight, strange sounds, lights, hands picking the baby
up, turning it over - all at once a myriad of new sensations
assail the newborn. Not only must lungs fill with air and start
to function rhythmically, but his circulation must find new
pathways.
Labor as a Stimulus
The
process of being born can be seen to involve stimulation and
awakening for which the baby is ready and which prepares it for
life. Looked at from this point of view, muscles hold and embrace
the baby, triggering powerful sensations, then soften again in a
rhythmic pattern. The space between contractions is like the
gentle tide between two waves. Inevitably the next wave comes and
again the muscles tighten firmly around the child.
Though labor is undoubtedly traumatic for some babies, others
look extraordinarily peaceful and contented after delivery. It may
feel to you as if you are swimming in a stormy sea when you reach
the end of the first stage of labor. You may be anxious that these
massive squeezings of the great muscle of the uterus are causing
your baby hardship. Yet in spite of the relentless onslaught of
contractions as full dilation approaches, the baby who is pressed
through the cervix and down the birth canal in this way responds
more vigorously to life than most babies do who are merely lifted
out through an abdominal incision. The 9 inch (23 cm) journey
squeezes out fluid and mucous from its nose and mouth so that the
baby born vaginally has less mucus in its respiratory tract than
one delivered by cesarean section and is better prepared for the
great new activity of breathing.
Welcoming your baby
Have you thought about how you want
to welcome your baby into the world? Just as attention has now
been drawn to the mother's experience of birth, so we must
focus on the baby's needs and learn how to help him feel welcome.
For him this is not just a matter of safe or speedy delivery, a
question of making sure that the baby has enough oxygen or is not
traumatized by delivery, but one of greeting the baby with
consideration and gentleness.
Most babies cry at the shock of birth and this first cry ensures
that a rush of air enters the lungs. But if they go on
crying they are communicating that they need something. The crying
of abandonment and stress is quite different from the healthy
crying of the newborn. Yet people often take persistent crying for
granted and even smile indulgently and say, "She's got a fine pair
of lungs!" The newborn baby continues to cry because of
insensitivity to her needs and the lack of a sufficiently caring
environment. If the setting for birth is managed and, above all,
if the attitudes of those assisting are different, so that the
baby is treated with respect, the child will become quiet, will
open her eyes, will reach out with her hands, and start to
discover herself. But if this is to happen the birth room must be
calm and hushed, the lights dimmed and those handling the baby
must do so slowly, carefully, and lovingly. This is gentle
birth.
CREATING A CARING
ENVIRONMENT
Gentle birth need not start only as
the baby is born. In the way that labor is conducted and in the
whole atmosphere of the birth room, an environment of peace and
serenity can be created. Though we are concerned with what is done
to the baby after delivery, a mother and baby are so
close and in such a subtle and yet intense relationship that
everything done to you during labor must affect the way
in which you are able to respond to your newborn baby. If you are
treated as if your body is merely the container from which a baby
is removed, or as an irresponsible child who has to be given
orders, you will find it very difficult to be in harmony with the
forces which are bringing the baby to birth, with your own body in
its work of birthing and also with the baby. A caring environment
for the newborn starts with a caring environment for you, a
respect for your rhythms, patience to wait and watch and loving
support.
Dimming the lights
It is irritating for you to labor under bright lights, just as it
is for the baby to confront brilliant fluorescent light at
delivery. For a gentle birth all unnecessary lighting is switched
off so that the room is softly illuminated. Instead of lying flat
on your back or with your legs suspended in lithotomy stirrups you
need to be in a position you find comfortable and in which you can
be an active birthgiver. Many women like to be sitting up,
crouching, or kneeling so that they can catch the first glimpse of
the baby's head and can put their fingers down to touch it even
before it has started to emerge through the vagina. We know now
that an upright position has many advantages for the mother in
terms of mechanical function. If you are well raised you are also
in a splendid position for greeting your baby.
Physical contact
It is because birth is a peak
experience that arms reach out to take and hold the baby and draw
it close. It is not just that this small, wrinkled, vulnerable
baby is yours and that therefore you decide to take it in your
arms (though unfortunately this is just how it is for some women
in a loveless, uncaring environment); if the right atmosphere
exists you are totally enveloped in a rush of intense feeling.
The baby is drawn into the warm circle of love between the parents
and becomes part of it. This is what it is for not only a baby to
be born but also a family.
In nonviolent birth the baby is handled gently and slowly
without haste. There are no rough, quick movements. He or she is
delivered up onto your tummy or over your thigh. If you ask
beforehand it is often possible to do this yourself and the
midwife or doctor will remind you to reach out and receive your
baby.
It's wonderful to lovingly and gently massage your baby until he
or she stops crying and becomes calm. Wherever gentle birth is
done today it is usually the mother and father who holds and
caress their baby. You do not have to learn how to massage your
newborn. The way you explore and stroke it is spontaneous and
right. But this is only possible if the baby is naked and in skin
contact with you. Babies are often bundled up in wrappings in case
they lose heat. It is true that new babies quickly become chilled
unless they are in a warm atmosphere and are held close. Research
now taking place shows that the baby, even the low birth weight
baby, keeps warmer when in flesh to flesh contact with his mother
and nestling against her breast than the baby who is wrapped up
and put in a bassinet. So ask a helper to slip your gown down over
your shoulders or to take it right off before delivery. A warmed
blanket can easily be thrown over you and your baby. Mothers often
feel chilled and shaky after delivery and appreciate the warmth
themselves.
If your baby is handed to you bundled up in a cloth, unwrap
the covers and cuddle it close. Talk to your baby. He will
respond to the sound of your voice. The baby knows you, the sound
of your voice, your scent. The baby's whole world revolves
around you and he or she will know a loving Father if his or her
earthly parents hold these little ones with the kind of love that
reveals safety and security with the greatest of respect!
Submitted by Susan Oshel, CPM
Parts of this article were extracted from an unknown book 20 years
ago. If anyone recognizes the source, please let us know so
we can give credit where credit is due!
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