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Birth Nuggets - Sphincters, Privacy and Normal Birth

Evelyn Ojeda-Fox, B.A.Ed, CD(DONA), NCTMB, LMT

Birth is an internal process that is easily disturbed by unnecessary interventions. According to midwife Ina May Gaskin, “sphincters are shy”.

A woman’s dilated cervix can easily close in the presence of disruptive people or actions (cervical reversal). In a normal birth, vaginal exams and other handlings of the perineum during labor are interventions that can interfere with the natural birthing process.

At any other time in our lives, our vagina is considered "private". During birth a woman is told to lay back, open her legs and allow her body to be explored by strangers. A laboring woman loses her dignity, privacy and trust in herself in the hands of the people that she has hired to assist her in this sacred moment.

Gloria Lemay, Canadian birth attendant and birth activist, writes: “Why avoid that eight-centimeter dilation check? First, because it is excruciating for the mother. Second, because it disturbs a delicate point in the birth where the body is doing many fine adjustments to prepare to expel the baby and the woman is accessing the very primitive part of her ancient brain. Third, because it eliminates the performance anxiety/disappointment atmosphere that can muddy the primip (woman having her first baby) birth waters. Birth attendants must extend their patience beyond their known limits in order to be with this delicate time between dilating and pushing.”

Why Should We Be Concerned?

• Vaginal exams are the traditional clinical method to evaluate progress in labor. According to Freedman's Curve (a 1955 study of 500 women), a woman should dilate 1 cm per hour after she has reached 4 centimeters of dilation. When women don’t perform to this standard, some birth attendants become frustrated and push for drugs such as Pitocin and other augmentation methods to speed labor to progress “normally” initiating the cascade of interventions.
• A woman may become discouraged by multiple exams and mindless comments such as, “you are only __cm”. Labor then can stall giving way to interventions that often end in cesarean.
• Vaginal exams increase the risk of infection by bringing bacteria towards the cervix, even when done carefully and especially after the release of the membranes.
• Vaginal exams are not a reliable way to predict when labor will begin. Labor normally begins when the baby is ready and a wonderful cocktail of hormones begin to release.
• Vaginal exams are particularly painful during contractions and disrupt a woman’s concentration.
• Perineal massage during labor, besides being intrusive and invasive, according to research does not protect the perineum. http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/322/7297/1277
• There is a higher incidence of perineal tears with the hands-on approach to perineal care during the pushing stage of labor than with the hands-off approach. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12092017
• Some practitioners routinely do a stripping of the membranes, with or WITHOUT the woman’s permission. Using their fingers they separate the bag of waters from the cervix. The thought behind this is that it will stimulate the production of prostaglandins to help labor begin and irritate the cervix causing it to contract. This is a painful procedure, can leave you spotting or bleeding and has not proven to be effective for everyone. It could start the cascade of interventions.
• Informed consent means that you need to have all the information to accept or refuse treatment. Do not open your legs unless you understand why and agree with the reason. If you don’t agree, ask for the research.

How To Have A Gentle Birth And Protect The Perineum:

• Hire a midwife who trusts the birth process and will support and encourage you to listen to your body.
• Review your birth plan with your midwife at every prenatal visit during your last trimester. (You are not being "difficult". It's your body, your baby.)
• Reprogram your mind by immersing yourself in images of normal gentle birth.
• Prepare your perineal muscles and tissues during your pregnancy by having a healthy diet and regular exercise. Read more.
• Walking, squatting, pelvic rocks, tailor sitting, kegels and swimming are useful exercises to strengthen the pelvic floor.
• Gentle perineal massage during the last weeks of pregnancy could help a first time mom get acquainted with different sensations in the perineum.
• Try different positions to birth your baby. Stay vertical. Listen to your body!
• Labor down/Breathe the Baby Down, this is the opposite of directed pushing or purple pushing which can harm your baby by depriving him/her of oxygen.
• While laboring down, you can support your own perineum to help you stay in control of your body.
• Instead of vaginal exams, the most accurate way to judge progress of normal labor is by noticing the changes in the mother’s behavior. For that you need a birth attendant willing to be present and compassionate.
• Visualize: "I am stretching beautifully," "There's lots of room for the baby to come through," "I’m doing this nice and easy", “I’m getting huge.”
• Vocalize deep sounds by chanting, moaning, grunting. A loose jaw = a loose perineum.
• Apply warm compresses everywhere on the woman's body so there is less focus on that one spot (the perineum). The woman relaxes, the midwife relaxes. -Naoli Vinaver, CPM, Mexico
• Refuse an episiotomy.
• Avoid an epidural.
• Hire a doula to be your advocate in the implementation of your birth wishes.
• In conclusion: Stay. Away. From. My. Vagina!

Resources

Creating Your Birth Plan: The Definitive Guide to a Safe and Empowering Birth by Marsden Wagner

The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth by Henci Goer

Pushed: The Painful Truth About Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care by Jennifer Block

The Business of Being Born DVD produced by Ricki Lake

Evelyn Ojeda-Fox

The Peaceful Birth Project was born when my husband George and I were living in Michigan. I felt heartbroken by the shocking number of cesareans and the devastation many mothers suffered in silence. Witnessing their pain, the separation of mothers and babies because of hospital routines and paternalistic doctors, postpartum depression, and mothers emotionally exhausted after a hospital birth having to work so hard to have their basic human needs honored made me deeply ponder my role in the birthing community. I was moved by the courage and wisdom of so many women and felt called to nurture higher consciousness in the birthing environment. My inspiration came from the homebirth community and my own memories of birthing my daughters. Each homebirth I was invited to strengthened my trust in the mystery of birth and the power of women. I am deeply grateful to be able to support women who want to birth in their power and in so doing, preventing and transforming birth trauma.