18/09/2020
“Trauma shocks the brain, stuns the mind and freezes the body” Peter A. Levine Ph.D.
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"Before this century, newborns found themselves in the hands of women: mothers, grandmothers, aunts, and midwives, but in the 20th century, infants collided head-on with physicians, typically male physicians. In the collision, infant senses, emotions, and cognitions were usually ignored. Doctors eventually gave serious attention to the pain of mothers but not to the pain of infants. Pediatricians and obstetricians created painful routines which continue today."
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Excerpt from "Babies Don't Feel Pain: A Century of Denial in Medicine" by David B. Chamberlain, Ph.D.
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This had me wondering how protocols are in place to create routines that are dependable, familiar, comfortable. For whom though?
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Trauma occurs when the focus of the protocol is solely on the routine and not on the person receiving it. Our world is awash with trauma. We need to start paying attention to how we can turn this tide around.
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Prenatal and perinatal psychology studies the health from conception to 2 years of age. It is a field that is growing and the findings are already astounding.
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Everything that occurs during conception, pregnancy, birth and early childhood affects who we are and our health as well as the foundation for future generations!
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I have often said we can heal our world in one generation by changing how we care for pregnant people and how we birth our babies!
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We need to step up and create a change whereby pregnant people and newborns are given the respect and the attention they deserve.
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In our current birthing climate we are backsliding. We are losing the foothold we fought so hard to achieve! Hard earned rights are being denied.
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Protocols are being put into place that do not serve birthing families. Protocols that cause caregivers to follow procedures instead of people.
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Raise your hand if you are ready to take a stand to protect human rights in childbirth 🖐🏻
