"One cannot actively help a woman give birth. The goal is to avoid disturbing her unnecessarily." – Michel Odent

Undisturbed birth.

What a rarity these days. People are so often manipulated by the distorted images of birth that saturate our media culture. It's disturbing to me on so many levels. I've been present at many different kinds of birth experiences, but have seen only a few where the mother has been allowed even a small window of undisturbed birth. Michel Odent wisely says "don't wake the mother." That's not just an immediate post partum thought as it is often portrayed. Birth is an altered state. From what I have seen, that is how it was designed to happen. Birthing mothers should be allowed to "go somewhere far away" - deep within, and feel safe and protected. To me, that is one of the most significant rolesof the doula. Sure, we know when it's time to change positions, get into water, change the sounds from the throat to the belly - we can hold, rub, squeeze, smile, hold hands, run interference, get drinks, food - whatever is needed in the moment. But what we should really be doing is guarding that space. Taking the journey with mama, meeting her where she is, while being there to hold unnecessary and unwanted disruption at bay.

The handful of mothers I've been with in an undisturbed birth do not birth in fear. They don't scream for drugs - they may even on occasion have an actual pain-free birth experience. And then there is the baby, the often overlooked star of the show. Just as a woman's body knows how to give birth safely, the baby, when undisturbed, knows how to come into the world. One undisturbed motherbaby miracle.

Recently amid hospital chaos - mom, dad, unborn baby and I retreated to the privacy of the bathroom. For a short time, mama was truly undisturbed. Because of this, she went somewhere deep. And a profound thing happened, something that went way beyond the birth of her baby, or "getting through" labor. Something that I am still processing in my own mind. Something that I will never forget. Soon after, a peaceful baby was born - alert and calm - not screaming but gently learning to use his lungs. So different than most hospital births. I know that it was due to the hour or so of pure, primal undisturbed birthing energy. And after the birth, when the nurses were chatting in the background, our wonderful ob/gyn stopped them and asked for some reverence. This simply does not happen in the hospital. I believe it came from the undisturbed birth energy still surrounding us. I could have kissed her.

It becomes increasingly apparent to me, that we have to change how we protect birth, whether at home or in hospital, whether we are a midwife, ob/gyn, friend, doula or partner. We need to remember the way birth was designed to happen and to protect that above all else.