The belly is getting enormous! I like it, though. It'll be weird when it's gone and there's just a jiggly stretched out wad of skin in its place. Nice mental image, eh? Okay, I know this will sound like I'm being naive to you mommas who have BTDT, but I am getting EXCITED about the whole birth experience. I've been reading Ina May's Guide to Childbirth and it is totally getting me pumped up and ready for this thing. I especially enjoyed the chapter about the mind-body connection and how labor can stall out and even regress simply because of our thoughts and state of mind.

She compares elimination (peeing/pooping) with giving birth, since they both require relaxation and the opening of sphincters. (Side note: I must be a child of the 80's/90's because I can't say or read the word "sphincter" without thinking of Wayne's World.) "Asphintersayswhat?" ....... Anyway, it makes complete sense. Many people are physically unable to urinate in the presence of others. Doing #2 requires even more privacy and some have trouble doing their business away from their own bathrooms or when there is something stressful going on in their lives.

When I took a 2 week trip to China as a senior in highschool, I can remember being constipated for the entire first week....maybe even week and a half! As much as I wanted to "go", my body just wouldn't. I was not the only person on the trip to have that problem.

So, it stands to reason that in order for a woman to be physically able to open the birth sphincter (the cervix), she must feel free from inhibitions and completely comfortable in her environment. The presence of an unwelcome guest can be extremely detrimental to her progress in labor. The presence of a negative thought or emotion can also be detrimental. Ina May also points to nature in her explanation of the mind-body connection during birth. Gazelles and other animals in nature are known to be able to reverse their labor progress and "retract" their young back into their womb if they sense the sudden presence of a predator. It is a fight or flight response and Ina May proposes that we humans also have this ingrained in our psyche. She also told a story of a laboring woman who was given a rough and unsympathetic vaginal check by a male doctor with a cold and indifferent attitude. Prior to the examination, the woman was dilated to 7 cm and after......4 cm!

Most modern doctors do not acknowledge the existence of this phenomenon, which is a shame. Many medical interventions could be avoided if the laboring woman's comfort and state of mind were taken into account during labor and birth.

Labels: belly pics