Ina May Gaskin

Many of our problems in US maternity care stem from the fact that we leave no room for recognizing when nature is smarter than we are.

A society that places a low value on its mothers and the process of birth will suffer an array of negative repercussions for doing so. Good beginnings make a positive difference in the world, so it is worth our while to provide the best possible care for mothers and babies throughout this extraordinarily influential part of life.

The way a culture treats women in birth is a good indicator of how well women and their contributions to society are valued and honored.

When we as a society begin to value mothers as the givers and supporters of life, then we will see social change in ways that matter.

Why do we, then, continue to treat women as if their emotions and comfort, and the postures they might want to assume while in labor, are against the rules?

Pregnant _x000D_ and birthing mothers are elemental forces, in the same sense that _x000D_ gravity, thunderstorms, earthquakes, and hurricanes are elemental _x000D_ forces. In order to understand the laws of their energy flow, you have _x000D_ to love and respect them for their magnificence at the same time that _x000D_ you study them with the accuracy of a true scientist.

Simply put, when there is no home birth in a society, or when home birth is driven completely underground, essential knowledge of women’s capacities in birth is lost to the people of that society—to professional caregivers, as well as to the women of childbearing age themselves.