Opciones para un parto suave: Guía para tomar decisiones informadas acerca de centros de alumbramiento, asistentes al parto, parto en el agua, parto en casa, y parto en el hospital
300
Opciones para un parto suave: Guía para tomar decisiones informadas acerca de centros de alumbramiento, asistentes al parto, parto en el agua, parto en casa, y parto en el hospital
300eBook
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Overview
Opciones para un parto suave aporta un nuevo modelo de maternidad que reduce la necesidad de intervención de alta tecnología y se enfoca en cambio en la preparación y la buena salud de la madre y el bebé. Incluye más de 50 fotografías en blanco y negro, de Suzanne Arms, que captan el gozo e intensidad del nacimiento.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781620552087 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Inner Traditions/Bear & Company |
| Publication date: | 06/01/1996 |
| Sold by: | SIMON & SCHUSTER |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 300 |
| File size: | 7 MB |
| Language: | Spanish |
About the Author
Barbara Harper's passion for natural birth led to the founding in 1988 of Global Maternal/Child Health Association, a nonprofit organization dedicated to education and research about natural childbirth. She lectures worldwide on maternity care reform and water birth and is the author of Gentle Birth Choices. She lives outside of Portland, Oregon.
Suzanne lives near Durango in SW Colorado and works with the help of volunteer interns from across North America.
Read an Excerpt
Chapter 1
Gentle Beginnings
Human birth is the most miraculous, transformational, and mysterious event of our lives. It is also an experience that is shared by every single member of the human race. The birth experience indelibly imprints itself in the lives of both the mother who is giving birth and the baby who is being born.
A gentle birth begins by focusing on the mother’s experience and by bringing together a woman’s emotional dimensions and her physical and spiritual needs. A gentle birth respects the mother’s pivotal role, acknowledging that she knows how to birth her child in her own time and in her own way, trusting her instincts and intuition. In turn, when a mother gives birth gently, she and everyone present acknowledge that the baby is a conscious participant in his or her own birth. The experience empowers the birthing woman, welcomes the newborn child into a peaceful and loving environment, and bonds the family. The goal of a gentle birth is to reclaim the wonder and joy that are inherent in the beginning of a new life.
Gentle births occur throughout the world: in homes, where births have traditionally been natural and without intervention; in birthing centers, which are becoming more popular as women demand greater freedom in giving birth; and in some hospitals that are responding to the needs and desires of today’s families. Women worldwide are seeking more natural, family-centered ways to birth their children and experience this passage into motherhood as life affirming, without the suffering and trauma that have been traditionally associated with labor and delivery.
Ingredients for a Gentle Birth
Before describing the important elements of gentle birth, I want to point out that these are merely suggestions. Gentle birth is not a method or a set of rules that must be followed. Rather, it is an approach to birth that incorporates a woman’s own values and beliefs. Every birth is a powerful experience--sometimes painful, always transformational. Each birth is as unique as the woman giving birth and the baby being born. There is no illustrated owner’s manual.
Many women’s early social conditioning that makes them believe they are unable to give birth normally must be replaced with a newfound understanding of the philosophy of and the ideas behind gentle birth. When women realize that their bodies know how to give birth and that their babies know how to be born, they gain confidence. Only then is gentle birth a possibility.
A gentle birth takes place when a woman is supported by the people she chooses to be with during this most intimate time. She needs to be loved and nurtured by those around her so she can feel comfortable and secure enough to follow her natural instincts. A birthing woman must be trusted so she in turn can trust herself, her body, her partner, her baby, and this process of giving birth. Her intuition must be respected. During a natural gentle birth, a woman feels and senses the power of the birth and uses this energy to transform every part of her own being. A gentle birth is not rushed. The baby emerges at its own pace and in its own time, received into the hands of those who love and recognize it for the divine gift that it is.
Some of the most important ingredients for a natural gentle birth are described on the following pages. Each woman has individual needs and preferences, so again, use these elements only as guidelines.
Preparation
The education that best prepares a woman for a gentle birth is one that empowers her through information and a belief in her ability to give birth naturally. The original childbirth educators were mothers who labored in front of their children and included them in the folk medicine of the day. Pregnant women asked their mothers about a pain or an ache, and the mothers responded by saying, “Oh, I had that with all three of you.” For the daughter to experience her mother giving birth is worth a whole course in childbirth education. In sharing her mother’s labor and giving birth, she learns about the essence of this miracle firsthand.
Today childbirth educators have taken over the job of mothers whose memories of birth were obliterated with drugs, unconsciousness, and the medical treatments of the day. There are many styles of education and preparation for birth. One of the most important components for all methods of childbirth preparation is a healthy attitude. Women pay attention to their bodies throughout their pregnancy by eating healthful foods, avoiding stress, sticking to a physical exercise program, being cautious about exposing themselves to harmful chemicals or toxins, and maintaining a positive emotional outlook. While preparing for a gentle birth, it’s important to keep an open mind as to how the birth will actually proceed. Flexibility is essential, because in some cases medical intervention may be necessary.
I recommend that a woman look into her attitudes, ideas, and beliefs about birth. This may include exploring her feelings about her sexuality, her relationship with the baby’s father, and her relationships with her parents. A woman who is comfortable with her sexuality will feel less inhibited sexually during the birth. A woman who has examined her own birth will not be likely to repeat the pattern of that birth in the one she is preparing for. A woman who has a good sense of herself will not be easily swayed away from what she knows to be right for herself. A woman who is at peace with her partner and her family members will find comfort in and draw strength from those bonds and will want to include those people in the birthing experience.
Table of Contents
ContenidoPrólogo del Dr. Robbie E. Davis-Floyd
Agradecimientos
Introducción
I
Un Comienzo apacible
Ingredientes necesarios para un parto suave
2
La Medicalización del parto
Nuestro legado al nacimiento
De la partera al médico
La promesa de la ciencia
Alivio del dolor: la era del "sueño crepuscular"
Parto en el hospital al alcance de todos
Explicación e los procedimientos de diagnóstico
Los resultados de la intervención médica
3
Desmantelamiento de los mitos médicos
Mito: el hospital es el lugar más seguro para tener un bebé
Mito: el cuidado de maternidad debe ser administrado sóolo por un médico
Mito: el monitor fetal electrónico salva la vida del bebé
Mito: una cesárea, siempre cesáreas
Mito: el parto debe ser estéril
Mito: las drogas para el dolor no lastiman al bebé
Mito: la episitomía se cura antes que una rasgadura
Mito: es mejor no comer ni beber durante la labor
Mito: la familia y amigos interfieren durante el parto
Mito: el bebénecesita estar en observación en la sala de cunas
Mito: si se tienen más de treinta y cinco años el parto será más difícil
Mito: Los bebés varones deben ser circuncidados
4
Una revolución pacífica
Parto sin miedo
Parto sin dolor
Parto sin violencia
El renacimiento el parto
Parto sin reglas
Voces de protesta: los consumidores quieren cambios
5
La partería en América: una tradición que vuelve
El tipo de cuidado maternal de la partera
Preparación para la partería: educación versus experiencia
Las parteras se enfrentan al sistema
La partería en el futuro
6
Parto en el agua
¿Por qué parto en el agua?
Historia del parto en el agua
Más allá del baño de Leboyer
Tinas para la labor en Francia
El parto en el agua llega a América
La onda de California
El parto en el agua en todo el mundo
Cuestiones que todo el mundo se pregunta acerca del parto en el agua
Trabajos en el agua
7
La conexión mente-cuerpo
La respuesta mental/corporal
Escuchar al cuerpo
Escuchar al bebé
Visualización para tener un parto apacible
El poder de la oración
La sexualidad del parto
La nueva versión de la preparación al parto
Mente, cuerpo y espíritu unidos
8
Opciones para un parto suave
Planea tu parto
Los consumidores crean las opciones
Salud para todas las mujeres y niños en el año 2000
Apéndice A: Preguntas dirigidas al doctor
Apéndice B: Pregundas a la partera
Apéndice C: Ejemplo de plan de parto en el hospital
Apéndice D: Hidroterapia para la labor y el parto
Apéndice E: Ejemplo de carta para el hospital
Apéndice F: Guía de recursos
Apéndice G: Índice de servicios maternales
Notas
What People are Saying About This
"Exactly the sort of guide that pregnant women have needed to help them sort throught the myriad number of choices and options."