Hi James,
I was very concerned about some of the things C.C. recommended in her letter to you for a woman giving birth, post-collapse. I am a strong believer in natural childbirth. After my first birth at a hospital with a doctor I swore never again! I had my next three babies with midwives, two of the births being at home. I read every book out there over the years on natural childbirth, including several of the ones the above writer listed. I even trained to be a doula (woman who aids a labouring and post birth woman). Two things the writer advised are not just foolish but down right dangerous in a home-birth and post collapse situation.
First is her suggestion that a woman should “catch” her own baby. Anyone who has attended a number of natural births will tell you that many women who are in the last stages of birth and actually pushing go into an almost trance like state, only really noisy! Often times they are concentrating so hard on just getting that baby out that they cant even really hear what people are saying around them. To then expect the woman to reach down and help guide the baby out is ridiculous. I did in fact help to “catch” my third baby, but with the midwife helping guide my hands, and only after she had checked to see that my daughter didn’t have a cord wrapped around her neck and that her mouth and nose were already clear. Also a birthing woman cannot ascertain if the baby has a cord wrapped around its neck or is in distress. That is what a midwife, or birth attendant would do. Not only is the labouring woman a little busy at the moment, she also is in a very bad position to see the baby clearly. And last but not least if a woman does have the wherewithal to grab the slippery baby and pull it up to her chest she could accidentally tear the umbilical cord if it is short or wrapped around the baby causing blood loss to both mother and child.
Also most babies need to have their mouth and nose cleared and checked before the mother immediately starts nursing as the writer suggested. There is obviously lots of fluids happening during birth and if a mother were to try nursing before the babies nose and mouth were cleared really bad things can happen.
The second suggestions of allowing the placenta to stay attached to the baby via the umbilical cord is downright dangerous to a newborn and totally unnecessary. Those who practice it probably feel that they are being more back to nature or something. Where they ever got that idea is beyond me. I have had goats, rabbits, and dairy cows and watched births more times than I can count. Every mother animal who gives birth rapidly severs the umbilical cord from the birth leftovers by urgent licking and gentle biting until it is detached. If the mother animal doesn’t eat the placenta herself then she will move her newborn(s) as far from it as possible for two reasons. One is that the smell of the placenta draws predators, but second and most important in our case is that the placenta is the perfect place for breeding bacteria. To keep such a thing close to a newborn with a weak or non-existent immune system is begging for infection. And considering that post collapse we will not have access to neo-natal units, antibiotics, or doctors the risk is too great to chance. The first and foremost goal of anyone helping a woman to give birth is to reduce the chance of infection to mother and child. People need to remember that childbirth was the number one killer of women due to post birth infections! The cord should be cut and clamped as soon as it stops pulsating and then when the placenta is delivered it should be checked over carefully by the birth attendant to make sure some is still not in the womb. Then is should be disposed of as hygienically as possible. Preferably by burying it by a tree or some other large plant that could use it for good. – C.W.
JWR Replies: Thanks for those comments. I should add that one of the books that C.C. recommended, Spiritual Midwifery, while entertaining to read, has some dated information. It was written by a hippie from The Farm in the 1970s. In this book contractions are euphemistically called “rushes.”