Language matters

Birthing women are in such a vulnerable state that the words they hear and the language used around them can trigger an emotional response such as fear or hope.

And as I’ve discussed in previous blogs (read about it here), these emotional responses can trigger the release of flight or fight hormones which have a direct impact on the progress of labour.

Birth over the generations - An interview with my Grandmother

‘I can remember watching in horror as women's wrists were strapped to the side of the metal delivery frame, so that "the patient would not contaminate the sterile field", prior to an operative vaginal delivery, which we were summoned to observe. Forceps rotations and other manipulations were the hallmark of the skilful obstetrician, the highest compliment for whom was "he is great with his hands".

Epidurals - A look at Australia's statistics & options for active birth positions

It’s one of the first things that comes to mind for most people when they think or speak about child birth – the pain. So it goes without saying that many people go into their births expecting that they will need or that they are going to opt for pain relief, regardless of how their actual birth transpires.