Have you read "Birth Without Violence?"

[AmieV]

I am only about a third of the way through but the beginning is a bit...much. I don't doubt that birth is very traumatic for babies and especially the way things used to be done...but referring to the womb as a "prison?" and the description of the contractions being just excruciating. Made me really sad for every member of the human race.

Do you really think it's like that? My babies didn't come out screaming, and they seemed pretty mellow after the birth. It just seems a little intense and overly negative.

Also, I as I said I haven't gotten that far..but he mentions that women being able to birth without pain is some major advance, and we should be seeking the same for baby...he's not advocating totally medicated births, is he?

[sophmama]

Is it a pro-cesearean book??

[pamamidwife]

I don't believe that birth would be traumatic or painful for babies. There is some theories and study that the mother's release of stress hormones and endorphins also affects her baby - to create its own stress relieving mechanisms. What would be the benefit of pain to the baby? To the mother is one thing - the intense sensations cause her to retreat to a safe place for security of herself and her baby.

While I can appreciate that LeBoyer wanted us to look at how babies are treated during birth and immediately after, his attitudes are misogynist at best. Just like Bradley and Lamaze.

[rmzbm]

NO! NOT pro section, not at all! I have & love this book. I understand what everyone is saying about it, BUT it really helped me see my sections through my babies eyes a bit better.

[cheeseRjedi]

I thought it was totally harsh and stopped reading it. I kept thinking I should at least get to the 2nd part but it was too unbearable to read at 10 wks pg.

[mamabadger]

Normal birth isn't supposed to be traumatic for the baby, and most babies realy are "mellow" after birth if they're treated appropriately. I think birth, at the time Leboyer wrote the book, was traumatic to babies, because it usually involved immediate cord clamping, being held upside-down and slapped, being handled roughly and separated from the parents immediately.

I appreciate Leboyer's efforts to change this, but I agree with Pamamidwife that he was far more doctor-centred in his thinking than either infant- or mother-centred. An example is one of his proposed solutions, the so-called Leboyer bath, which is supposed to soothe the newborn. It was supposed to be performed by medical staff while the new parents looked on.