In my last post, I talked about the Hormonal Blueprint of labor. This “blueprint”, if you will, guides the body into it’s natural, normal labor and birthing process. And then in turn, sets us up with a nice “cocktail” of hormones that get us to bond with our baby, to feed and care for it. It also causes us to feel fiercely protective of our young, which you will see in animals in the wild very clearly. This is all the work of nature and her design to keep these little babies alive. The main hormone responsible for this feeling of love and protection is the hormone Oxyticin. I mentioned it in my previous post, and it is called by some the “hormone of love”.
We human females produce this hormone when we have an orgasm, when we are cuddling with our partners, even when we have coffee and long talks with our best friends. This is the “feel good” hormone, and it is directly responsible for our ability to mother and feel “attached” to people.
Oxyticin is released during labor and intensifies uterine contractions, and a huge surge of it is also released just after the baby is born. This has a dual purpose…first continuing the contractions to expel the placenta, as well as getting us to touch and hold the baby. Once the baby begins suckling on the breast, (which a baby will do within the first hour of life, if un-medicated during birth) more oxytocin is released. This helps us to feel connected and bonded with our baby, which is invaluable to our first weeks of motherhood.
Natural birth itself is also reported to leave mothers feeling like better parents as they leave the birth experience feeling empowered. This sense of accomplishment creates more self-esteem, which in turn helps the mother to feel better about her choices when parenting her baby.
Comments 1
This post hits home!
During my first birth, after a slippery rope of events, mostly due lack of proper education on my part, I gave birth after an epidural and hours of pit. I feel I never bonded properly with my daughter and we still struggle to this day. Fortunatly, I was able to breastfeed and babywhere her into toddlerhood – without that, I don’t know where we’d be.
During my second pregnancy, I got my hands on everything I possibly could about natural childbirth, hired a doula and took charge. The end result was a beautiful waterbirth. It was the most empowering experience I’ve ever had in my life. Lila’s birth trumps any day I have ever had in my life – including my wedding. I was eurphoric for days and the feeling of complete contentment lives on in our relationship today. What a difference natural birth makes!
So many women get sucked into believing that birth is a medical procedure, when it doesn’t have to be, and miss out on a journey of a lifetime. This blog is a testiment that it doesn’t have to be that way – birth is normal! Great work, Beth!
Posted 10 Aug 2009 at 10:40 pm ¶Post a Comment