MOONDRAGON'S ARTICLES
BIRTH COMPARISONS
WOMAN'S WAY VS OBSTETRIC WAY
From The Homebirth Information Page
WOMAN'S WAY OF BIRTH OBSTETRIC WAY OF BIRTH Cultural Definition of Birth Social event. Normal part of women's lives. Birth is work by the woman and her family and kin. The woman is a person passing through a major life transition. Potentially pathological process. Illness. Birth is work of doctors/nurses/midwives and other experts. The woman is a patient. The Setting For Birth Home or other familiar surroundings. Informal system of care. In a woman's home or nearby. With other women of neighborhood and family. Continuity of care. Woman free to change position and move about. Hospital, territory alien to the woman. Bureaucratic, hierarchical system of care. May be distant from woman's home. Woman is separated from those close to her. Discontinuity of care, e.g. shift changes/woman is moved from one room or one ward to another. Woman may not be free to change position and move about. Caregivers: The Support They Give & The Conduct of Labor Older and more experienced women who are themselves mothers. See birth as holistic process. Shared decision-making between caregivers and woman giving birth. No class distinction between caregivers and woman giving birth. Equal relationship Information shared. Personal caring - longer, more frequent, and in-depth prenatal visits. Often strong emotional support. Verbal and non-verbal encouragement. Familiar language and imagery used. Empathy. Cultural awareness because they are part of the same culture. Awareness of spiritual significance of birth. Believes in integrity of birth, uses technology if appropriate and proven. Young and older women who have often not themselves had babies, under direction of male obstetricians. Trained to focus on medical aspects of birth. Professional care that is authoritarian. Often class distinction between obstetricians and patients. Dominant-subordinate relationship. Information about health, disease, and degree of risk kept secret. Care depersonalized. Little emotional support. Lack of communication. Use of medical language. Threatening and often punitive behaviour, e.g. commanding, scolding, warning. Little cultural awareness of rituals, beliefs, social behavior, values. Spiritual aspects of birth ignored or treated as embarrassing. Values technology, often without proof that it improves birth outcomes. Techniques Used Skills to preserve the physiological progress of labor. Usually intervention-free. Comfort skill, e.g. massage, hot and cold compresses, holding. Few resources to handle complicated obstructed labor. No skills to preserve the physiological progress of labor. Obstetric intervention. Drugs for pain relief. Skills and resources to handle complicated and obstructed labor, e.g. intravenous fluids, oxytocin stimulation, surgery.
RELATED LINKS
MoonDragon's Articles Index
MoonDragon's Pregnancy Information & Survival Tips
MoonDragon's Pregnancy & Birth Index
For a full list of available products from Mountain Rose Herbs, click on banner below:
HELPFUL PRODUCTS & FURTHER EDUCATION
Prescription for Nutritional Healing: The A-To-Z Guide To Supplements
-- by Phyllis A. Balch, James F. Balch - 2nd Edition
Prescription for Nutritional Healing: The A-To-Z Guide To Supplements
-- by Phyllis A. Balch, James F. Balch - 4th Edition
Prescription for Herbal Healing: The A-To-Z Reference To Common Disorders
-- by Phyllis A. Balch
The Complete Guide to Natural Healing
If you see a suggested Amazon product "not there" as indicated by an orange box with the Amazon logo, this only means the specific product link has been changed by Amazon.com. Use the "click here" icon on the orange box and it will bring you to Amazon.com and you can do a search for a specific product using keywords and a new list of available products and prices will show. Their product and resource links are constantly changing and being upgraded. Many times there are more than one link to a specific product. Prices will vary between product distributors so it pays to shop around and do price comparisons.
Educational materials and health products are available through Amazon.com. Use the search box provided below to search for a particular item.
HERBS, OILS, & SUPPLIES
MoonDragon's Health & Wellness: Manufacturers & Distributors
![]()
Mountain Rose Bulk Herbs
Mountain Rose Aromatherapy Oils
![]()
Click Here To Visit Herbal Remedies Product Page
A Source For Medicinal & Ritual Herbs & Supplies
Aphrodisiacs Aromatherapy Bath & Body Care Bulk Herbs By The Pound Capsules, Tablets & Extracts Chinese Herbals Electronics Extracts First Aid Products Food Products, Mixes, Seeds, Snacks & More! Hair Care Products & Supplies Herbs & Oils, Kilo & Ton Hydroponics & Gardening Kava Products Kitchen & Housewares Mushrooms Musical Instruments Oral Care & Dental Products PC & IT - Computer Supplies & Assessories Skin Care, Cosmetics, & Gift Sets Smokes, Seeds, Cacti Spices, Salts, Sweeteners, & Seasonings Sports, Toys & Games Sweets, Candy, Chips & Snacks Stimulants Sedatives Teas & Coffees
Shaman Shop Home Page
MoonDragon's Nutrition Information Index
MoonDragon's Health & Wellness: Nutrition Basics Index
MoonDragon's Health & Wellness: Therapy Index
MoonDragon's Nutrition Therapy Index
MoonDragon's Alternative Health Information Index
MoonDragon's Aromatherapy Information Index
MoonDragon's Health & Wellness Index
MoonDragon's ObGyn Information Index by Subject Order
MoonDragon's ObGyn Information Index by Alphabetical Order
MoonDragon's Main Indexlisting
MoonDragon's Home Page