Ina May Gaskin said:
“I quickly learned that it is inexcusable behaviour to frighten or bother a labouring female. I also learned how easy it is to unintentionally cause complications in birth in this way.”
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Womens’ experiences of birth vary greatly - it ranges from powerful, life-changing and spiritual, to frightening, excruciatingly painful and traumatic. Why is this? How can the physiological process of birth work brilliantly well in one setting, and stall or fail completely in another? Why is it that even the women who opt for a natural birth and prepare for this birth experience often end up with a c-section due to 'failure to progress'? We look at a variety of obvious and practical factors that are too often overlooked in a birth setting.
Can you prepare for the best birth possible? Let's find out.
Hello, I am Cozette Laubser
Paramana Doula, Childbirth Educator and Programme Director for BabyGym Institute International.
My Doula journey started with Michel Odent and Liliana Lammers at their Doula Course in Highgate London in 2018 and this proved to be a life-altering experience. Before this journey, I wasn't aware that doula courses were offered in South Africa. Nor that birthing with a midwife was an option. Homebirth was a foreign word. This limited view of the local birth world was after working in the 'baby and parenting industry' for more than 10 years.An insatiable interest in birth prompted me to study Childbirt
h Education from Childbirth International and I qualified to present antenatal classes in February 2019. I learnt I was expecting our son, Ulrich, that same February. I gave birth to Ulrich at home in December 2019 and I gave birth to our second little boy, Jurgen, at home in March 2022. Although I am particularly fond of homebirth, I believe every birth unfolds in its own time and its own way. Every family, when guided with timely, evidence-based information, is in the best position to choose what is right for them.Society undervalues our innate biology. The design works marvellously well. Unfortunately, modern lifestyle and 'protocol-shaped birth culture' do not always agree with our innate biology. I am particularly drawn to educating and communicating about birth so that birthing women and their partners understand and celebrate the brilliance of the mother and baby as a birthing duo.
Birth offers a once-off opportunity to start life well.
