She has to carry the anxiety of analyzing when she should go back to the hospital, and then has to be transported when her contractions are peaking. Once that she has sufficiently progressed to be admitted, she will be poked and prodded and asked to sign administrative paperwork; this is the last thing anyone in great discomfort wishes to go through.
Women, especially first time mothers, become fearful of their ability to make it through the rest of labor when they don’t have adequate support in the first phase (begins with onset of contractions and ends with “crowning”). These feelings of fear and loss of control manifest as tension in her body, causing the woman in labor to have more pain and more fear—a self perpetuating cycle.
In addition, the baby feels every bit of that negative energy. In fact the baby feels everything the mother does; if the mother is calm and unafraid, the newborn will also be at more peace. As I learned from my sister’s prenatal hypno-birthing classes, hypno-babies are reputed for being most calm newborns; they actually cry less and smile more. From an Ayurvedic perspective, this makes complete sense.
In ayurveda, and all holistic healing modalities, we acknowledge that we internalize the energy around us. Since everything in the universe reduces to energy, every happening in the universe is a transfer of energy. In any given situation, we are taking in the energy of what we hear, see, smell, feel, and eat. During labor, of course, the woman is a conduit, focusing all of the energy she is surrounded with on birthing. This underscores the importance of all the different forms of energy present at a birthing. Lighting, aromas, noises, people, props all affect the mother’s experience and, in turn, the baby’s.
It is no surprise, given current hospital standards, that most women in the hospital setting opt for epidural pain control—they are terrified. Sadly, anesthesia increases the risk of labor complications for both the mother and baby. In addition, the sensory loss makes it virtually impossible for the woman to use the perineal and birth canal muscles to actively and safely push the baby through the birth canal. Instead of this being the most beautiful moment of a woman’s life, we remove her from the experience. I’ve spoken to many mothers who can barely remember the first moments with the baby (before it is whisked away to the neonatal unit) because they were too drugged. Again, there are women that would prefer anesthesia, however, hospitals could easily support a woman desiring natural birth instead of encouraging medication. In addition, women should be provided with the risks and benefits of anesthesia well before labor, so they can make informed decisions.
