The phrase 'you only live once' usually serves to justify the enjoyment of every moment of life, it is also the title of a movie and a song. It is true, but it is even more so that life consists of several days, weeks, months and years (with regrettable exceptions), and sometimes we have the opportunity to correct mistakes; we also have it to learn continuously.
But you know? ONE IS ONLY BORN ONCE, and it is something that I have been repeating constantly for 11 and a half years, when my first birth was 'stolen' from me under a series of (unnecessary) hospital protocols. As if that were not enough, the way we are born can determine our life in a certain way, and there is even more, because if the baby and its mother are separated during the first hour after birth, physiological processes as natural as necessary are being interrupted.
A lot has been written about Michel Odent, there are even those who have had the immense luck of seeing him in person, because at 85 he continues to spread his knowledge about physiological delivery. His is the phrase "To change the world you must change the way you are born". Mr. Odent is the French obstetrician, who founded the Primal Health Research Center; He has more than 10 books to his credit, among which are "Cesarean Section" or "The baby is a mammal."
About 13 years ago he published an article called The First Hour Following Birth: Don't Wake the Mother! ("The first hour of life: leave mother alone"). The writing continues to be fully topical, not only because it continues to be cited with certain periodicity, but because it is still necessary to remember that births are humanized - or, as he says, 'they become mammalian'; So what baby and mom need each other, at that very important and sensitive moment in a person's life. And this, in addition to being a basic recommendation, is evidence proven by Science.
Let no one interrupt the creation of the bond between mother and baby
A birth is something very important for the whole familyThis is true, although we often forget the rights of the baby; And we may not even be aware that the fact itself is decisive in the development of the capacity to love. You see, oxytocin is a hormone that has to do with love, one of its functions is to stimulate contractions of the uterus during labor. It is subsequently absorbed by the baby's digestive tract through breast milk, where it is also present, in fact its levels rise when the mother is about to breastfeed.
Let's go back to that time after childbirth, Nature is so wise that she thinks of everything, and everything would be perfect if nobody separated those two beings who have loved each other before they met. If no intervention by medical personnel is NECESSARY, the newborn must stay with his mother, there is no benefit in wanting to change the natural course of things. There is nothing more important than letting them be together, since the little creature has been in the womb for a long time, and is destined to seek the body that will protect and nurture it.
No interruption: a newborn does not need a full bath (for example); but it is also that the mother is programmed to receive it immediately, otherwise there may be situations of disconnection with respect to the child, or of difficulty in responding to their needs. It is not time for anyone else, later yes, but in that first hour the two of them will know how to cope, and they will build a necessary bond. The recommendation is valid even when a cesarean birth occurs, the baby can be on the mother immediately after the operation, and there are already many experiences that demonstrate this.
And now you may wonder How can a mother be sure that she will not be separated from her newborn baby? The first thing is to find out about the real possibilities you have for your delivery, the sooner the better, do not wait until the 35th week of pregnancy. Do you have a Children's friendly hospital nearby? Do you know what a Birth Plan? Who do you have to ask? Many questions and no answers, at the moment. As you inform yourself, you will stop feeling insecure, and you will realize that you have more decision-making power about your pregnancy and delivery than you think.
Do not have any doubts, ask the gynecologist or gynecologist you visit for tests, ask your friends, learn to ask for second opinions, make it clear to you that the protagonist is you. There is also the midwife who will monitor the pregnancy, associations such as EPEN, verified information that you can access through the Internet, the possibility of contacting a doula to accompany the processes, ...
It is very important that we become aware of the importance of needs respected during labor, and the hours that follow.
Image - Matteo bagnoli
You are right about what was said. But it is still being done and many mothers and babies pay the consequences. I know cases where a mother did not recognize her son as hers and another case that marks her as crazy and in the end she committed suicide. Obstetric violence is brutal.
Yes Lucia, unfortunately obstetric violence is the order of the day, and many of us have been victims. Thank you very much for commenting.