[ozmidwifery] Wise words

[Mary Murphy]

"We must attempt to tell the whole truth about birth, the truth that includes transformation, mastery, satisfaction, personal power, and the difference between pain and suffering."� Cheri Van Hoover The Art of Midwifery Even when a woman is feeling a little "pushy," she may be fully dilated but not really ready to actively push. In our well-meaning attempt to tell a woman when we think she is at the pushing stage of her labor, we encourage her to push way too soon. The consequence is that when a woman begins pushing before a strong and irresistible urge is present, she uses her energy to accomplish a task that her body would do more effectively on its own if she was listening to her body's cues rather than her birth attendant. Maternal exhaustion, a swollen cervix, fetal distress, and sometimes a transport for vacuum extraction or a cesarean section often follow. � Lois Wilson, Midwifery Today Issue 55