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.
Ina May GaskinRead
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?
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote questions societal norms that disregard women's comfort and emotions during childbirth.
Ina May Gaskin's quote highlights the ongoing societal tendency to ignore the emotional and physical needs of women in labor. It challenges the prevailing attitudes that prioritize strict rules over the individual experiences of women, advocating for a more compassionate and understanding approach to childbirth that respects women's autonomy and feelings.
Themes
WomenLaborComfortEmotionsSociety
In practice
Example use cases
During a panel discussion on maternal health, this quote can be brought up to emphasize the importance of women's comfort during childbirth.
More from Ina May Gaskin
All quotes →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.
Ina May GaskinRead
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.
Ina May GaskinRead
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.
Ina May GaskinRead
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.
Ina May GaskinRead
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.
Ina May GaskinRead
Similar quotes
The bond with a true dog is as lasting as the ties of this earth will ever be.
Konrad LorenzRead
The woman was silent, her eyes on the floor. Shimamura had come to a point where he knew he was only parading his masculine shamelessness, and yet it seemed likely enough that the woman was familiar with the failing and need not be shocked by it. He looked at her. Perhaps it was the rich lashes of the downcast eyes that made her face seem warm and sensuous. She shook her head very slightly, and again a faint blush spread over her face.
Yasunari KawabataRead
The monstrosity of sexual intercourse outside marriage is that those who indulge in it are trying to isolate one kind of union (the sexual) from all the other kinds of union which were intended to go along with it and make up the total union.
C. S. LewisRead
I believe in the institution of marriage, and I intend to keep trying till I get it right.
Richard PryorRead
My parents had this incredibly vital relationship with an audience, like muscle with blood. This was the main competition I had for my parents' attention: an audience.
Carrie FisherRead
A house does not need a wife any more than it needs a husband.
Charlotte Perkins GilmanRead