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From the Townsend Letter
July 2008

Aiming for Natural Childbirth
by Vivienne Bradshaw-Black

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It might be interesting to examine the title, "Aiming for Natural Childbirth," in a dictionary definition form:

natural - of nature, spontaneous, not disguised or altered, [Latin: related to *nature].
nature - innate qualities, physical power causing, by reproduction, all material phenomena. [Latin: related to *natal]
natal - of or from one's birth. [Latin: natalis]

Putting all the above together, without mincing words, natural childbirth is the inherent outcome of sex, conception, and pregnancy without interference. Childbirth is a natural life experience and not a sickness. However, in all cultures, the process of reproduction has its "highs" and "lows" from sterility, ectopic pregnancies,1 abortions,2 still births, death of mother and baby from situations like placenta praevia,3 tragedies caused by drugs, anaesthetics, medical malpractice, problems like post-natal infections and depression, and a host of problems outside the scope of article limits to almost pain-free births of much loved "perfect" children with no apparent problems, along with abundant emotional, physical, and financial support.

There are no perfect societies, people, or parents, and therefore, there is no such thing as perfect natural childbirth.4 While some people come very close to it, the majority fall far short. Fortunately, one of the hormones actively involved in birth, oxytocin, is also thought to be responsible for the diminished ability to remember pain intensity after birth. Oxytocin is made from amino acids, and it is important not to be protein-deficient or dehydrated because protein assimilation is water-dependent. Protein deficiency and dehydration could be a contributing factor in why some women have a lower pain threshold in labor.

Within this context, the nearest any of us can get to natural childbirth is to look realistically at our individual situations and then prepare well before conception for the best possible outcome. By this, I mean stock-taking of both potential parents on an emotional and physical basis and correcting anything within the limits of personal control. Where potential for pre-conception preparation has already passed, individual assessment can be done from where you are right now, and course corrections can be made. There are well-known factors associated with virtually all health problems, including those associated with conception, pregnancy, and birth. Almost all come into three broad categories on a physical level as seen below:

Re-hydration, detoxification, and nutrition are the three most important aspects of physical care for any baby, via its potential parents, before conception if possible. Considering why one is planning on having children, along with communicating and agreeing about principles of caring for them, are equally important but different aspects of parenthood not covered in this article.

Adequate pure water and unrefined sea salt6 are essential for health, whether pregnant or not. Humans consist of over 70% water, and without water and electrolytes (ionic salts that give cells energy potential), we cannot be healthy or have enough energy for normal living. This fluid is necessary for metabolism, growth and repair, energy, efficient digestion, brain activity, and maintenance of pregnancy.

One of the early symptoms of dehydration in pregnancy is early morning sickness. One of the latter symptoms of dehydration is raised blood pressure and edema of the ankles, fingers, and face, as the body clings onto every ounce of water for detoxification purposes during the night. Fatigue and peri-naval pain in later pregnancy can also be symptoms of dehydration as the main meridian points around the naval are susceptible to "bio-electrical thirst." Hiccups in the baby in the womb can also be a sign of this.
In water shortage, the body has a priority water-rationing system,7 and maternal digestion is given priority because only the stomach can tolerate hydrochloric acid. And, if the stomach contents were to be released into the duodenum without enough watery bicarbonates to alkalize the acid liquid, ulceration would result. Therefore, fluid is even taken from the blood, raising the blood pressure, in order to keep the digestive tract undamaged. This in turn gives rise to heartburn and even vomiting, if necessary, rather than to intestinal "burn-out." These symptoms should be taken as a very serious warning that dehydration is urgently in need of correction. Diuretic drugs given to reduce fluid retention in ankles and fingers work against natural physiology and can escalate potential problems in pregnancy and birth.

The process of labor has a bio-electrical aspect that is negatively affected if water supply is inadequate. All cells are like tiny batteries, and we know what happens when a car battery runs dry. In cases of apparently uneventful and efficient first stage labor, it is often confusingly interrupted by a vaginal examination when full cervical dilation is suspected and checks are done as routine when the mother gets the impulse to "push" or to preclude a cervical lip caused by laboring in a position other than upright, causing uneven pressure on the cervix by the descending baby's head.

For apparently unexplained reasons, contractions become very slow or even stop, and the mother ends up with a Ventouse, forceps, or Caesarean delivery. The unexplained complications, along with natural fatigue of first-stage labor, can add fear, panic, and release of hormones not conducive to labor, which will increase the pain and potential for further complications. Laboring upright can reduce the almost "neurotic exhortations" to add to the natural pushing of the second stage of labor. This learned "encouragement" of extra pushing is rarely questioned by students during orthodox training. It is not necessary and can be potentially dangerous especially in a severely dehydrated person. There is no place in natural childbirth for impatience, providing all is well with mother and baby.

What would cause a vaginal examination to stop or slow down labor and bring about potential problems that were not evident in the first stage? Interference with the delicately precise nervous and electrical impulses controlling the cervix and uterus could be prevented by four simple steps:

  • a state of hydration maintained during pregnancy and labor
  • attention to pH/sugar balance during labor
  • laboring upright (even if upon knees in a cushion bed where labor has prevented sleep)
  • avoidance of vaginal examination unless there is a very clear call for one

This is a sound area of consideration for all those who want to get as close as possible to natural childbirth. Where a vaginal examination during labor is deemed essential, being in a state of hydration and laboring upright will diminish the intensity of potential interference.

Dehydration occurs where the following exists:

(1) too little water intake
(2) excessive water output
(3) inefficient cellular water uptake

Inefficient uptake is commonly caused by toxicity, with heavy metal toxicity from amalgam dental fillings being a chief culprit but not the only one. Replacement of amalgams to ensure no further intake of heavy metals and a detoxification course to diminish the amount already absorbed is a very wise course of action, and if the detoxification is done carefully using herbs, nutrition, and homeopathic remedies especially (amalgam nosode and personally tailored nosodes according to individual toxin history), this can even benefit the growing fetus. The more the heavy metal load is diminished, the greater potential for rehydration and efficient uptake of nutrition from food, supplements, and herbs, beneficial to both mother and baby.

Amalgam replacement must be done properly, especially if the removal of amalgams is done during pregnancy (not the first three months) or breast-feeding, because there will be potential for a small influx during actual removal even with a proper strict dental protocol. After amalgam replacement, there is no further continuous intake of heavy metals, and this is obviously of far greater benefit than a small potential blip during removal. White fillings, which do not contain fluoride8 (another toxic material), should be considered rather than gold, as this is still a metal containing other mixed metals that cause problems and generate electrical currents. The mouth should not contain metals or the electrical currents those metals generate. Exposure to radiation, for instance, in the use of mobile phones, can enhance leakage from amalgam fillings (or sleeping over a negative radiation source), and this should be a point of consideration especially for those who are pregnant or who miscarry for unidentified reasons.

Be wary of any treatments during the first three months of pregnancy, including ultrasound scans, which are merely presumed to be safe.

Chorionic Gonadotrophin (CG) is a hormone made by the placenta. This maintains progesterone levels to allow pregnancy to continue. CG is also a tumor marker because the only other cells that produce this hormone are certain cancer cells. Ultrasound has been used to destroy cancer cells, and because the placenta initially also acts like a "tumor growth" whilst embedding in the uterine wall, ultrasound could have devastating effects upon pregnancy in the first three months. Cancer cells are also immature, and immature cells of the developing baby could also be negatively affected by ultrasound. I do not know of any data logging those who miscarry after early ultrasound, and where this has happened, it is not usually attributed to the actual cause. However, some scientists9 are calling for proof that ultrasound scans are safe and also calling for measures in standardization of ultrasound intensity and length of scan, whereas others are retracting research facilities where ultrasound safety is brought to light as questionable.

Nutritional deficiencies have to be considered, along with dehydration and essential minerals, vitamins, amino acids, and fatty acids that cannot be synthesized within the body should be of adequate intake levels from dietary sources.10 A natural dilution in iron status is normal during pregnancy and breast-feeding, and attempts to boost this to an artificial non-pregnant status should be avoided.

Where dehydration and toxicity have been established from childhood (that is, in most of us!), amalgam removal and a long-term detoxification protocol will give the best potential for uptake of nutrition. Certain "foods" take from our nutrient profile to process those nutrients and get rid of them. In this way, these are not only empty foods but "negative nutrients." Refined sugar is a chief among negative nutrients, but refined foods in general are not healthy and neither are foods containing chemicals, additives especially excitotoxins, preservatives, flavorings, colorings, and ingredients hiding hormones, steroids, and water toxins. Also, industrial grade sodium chloride6 is detrimental to health along with chlorine, fluoride, heavy metals, and other toxins, such as the multiple hormones (which are not removed water-processing plants) in tap water.

A diet based on pure water,11 unrefined sea salt,6 and unrefined foods, which include all the essential amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals, with a healthy appetite is the best health insurance for the breast-feeding mother and baby. It is a big mistake to think that chips, cake, and chocolate are forbidden foods. The big mistake is to make them with the wrong ingredients. Chips should be made with organic potatoes and coconut or olive oil, because these oils do not become carcinogenic when heated like most other oils and not cooked in an aluminium pan.

Cake, in moderation, when made with the right ingredients including, for example, organic dairy-free chocolate, is healthy and delicious. The problems with chocolate are the chemicals used in cocoa production, pasteurized milk, artificial flavorings, and white sugar. Unpasteurized whole goat's milk is ideal for drinking and adding to recipes. Unpasteurized organic creams, yoghurts, and cheeses are full of enzymes that are needed for their digestion and can be added to melted dark chocolate to make scrumptious cake or flapjack toppings. Microwaved foods are dead and treated like "sludge" to be eliminated by the body. Finding a supermarket selling foods with healthy ingredients, indeed, would be like finding Aladdin's Cave, but, sadly, even most health stores sell products with processed fats, sugar, flour, and additives in most products, even if they are originally organic. Irradiation of organic produce is also something to be aware of in imported foods.

The first few hours of life for a breast-fed baby ensures adequate intake of colostrums, which contains perfectly tailored nutrients to start the baby's digestive tract and get immune system working. Giving dextrose, water, or animal milk to babies because the "mother's milk isn't yet in" is one of the most ignorant follies against our infants, (ignorant, because of lack of knowledge, not bad motives). A great benefit parents can pass to their children is to feed them properly.12

Breast-feeding requires a greater maternal intake of water and nutrition than normal, and complications caused by dehydration and malnutrition can be avoided. The brain is over 80% water. Depression can be caused by a severe case of simple dehydration, and it is particularly important to address this in a temporarily hormonally-unstable and vulnerable new mother.

Colic12 of the newborn, if understood and corrected early, will also alleviate much parental suffering and sleeplessness as well as suffering for the baby. The two main culprits of colic in newborn, breast-feeding babies are amalgam and cow's milk via breast milk. This problem is compounded if the mother is dehydrated. A later complication is added with vaccination.13

  • Aiming for natural childbirth is actively aiming to give your offspring and yourselves the best possible outcome in adding to your family. Have confidence in yourselves as parents and gather family support. Prepare well ahead of time if possible and seek counsel from experts and experienced parents.
  • Being realistic and informed are two advantages needed to ensure that you aim as accurately as possible without any sting in the tail for doing so. Research from multiple sources and be aware of how to interpret research findings.14
  • Most prospective parents do not realize that they are responsible for their own choices in childbirth, because, in general, we are conditioned by cultures controlled by economics via fear and conformity. However, parents still make the choices even if they are choices by default.
  • Avoid routine procedures and don't anticipate problems, but do become informed about avenues you would choose to use if you were in the position of needing them well before any possibility of being at that stage. Thankfully, experts are available as parental information and support sources, but such experts are not meant to usurp individual and parental authority. Choose carers who will respect your wishes and work with you.

© V Bradshaw-Black 1996

Vivienne Bradshaw-Black
viv@ichc.co.uk
44 8450533143

Notes
1. A pregnancy in which the fertilized ovum implants outside of the uterine wall, usually in the Fallopian tube (also called tubal pregnancy)
2. The premature ending of a pregnancy before the baby is able to survive due to spontaneous causes (miscarriage or spontaneous abortion) or deliberately induced (abortion)
3. Where the placenta is low-lying in the uterus and in its worst severity can cause life-threatening bleeding for mother and baby and prevent vaginal birth. However, where this is suspected, ultrasound scanning in later pregnancy can identify this problem and an elective Caesarian section can be performed.
4. For those who want a Biblical perspective, the problems of childbirth (like male chauvinism) were seen as a curse, a result of the original sin (Gen 3:16), which was removed in Christ (Gal 3:13, 1Tim 2:15).
5. Brain-mediated harmony refers to the hypothalamic output in cycles per second and its effects on the endocrine system, etc.
6. Bradshaw-Black V. Unrefined sea salt vs. industrial grade sodium chloride.
TLDP. February/March 2004.
7. Batmanghelidj F. Available at: http://www.watercure.com. Accessed February 28, 2008.
8. Bradshaw-Black V. Fluoride.
In Touch (with Kinesiology) Magazine. Winter 2003;15.
9. Uhlig, R. Ultrasound scans may harm unborn babies. Available at:
http://www.compleatmother.com/ultrasound_danger.htm and
http://www.emfacts.com/weblog/?p=534. Accessed February 28, 2008.
10. Bradshaw-Black V. Diet & nutrition principles … essential amino acids, essential fatty acids, vitamin C, etc.
TLDP. December 2002;233.
11. Bradshaw-Black V. Dehydration just lack of water?
12. Bradshaw-Black V. Infant feeding.
TLDP. January 2002; 222.
13. Vaccination Information Internet Resources. Available at:
http://www.holisticmed.com/www/vaccine.html
http://www.clovelly.org.uk/documents/caseagainst.html
http://www.whale.to/v/hadwen.html
Bradshaw-Black V. Detoxification.
TLDP. June 2000;203.
14. Bradshaw-Black V. From
Adverse Radiation and Its Effects on Health:

Be diligent to get information from various sources and don't rely on research carried out only by those with vested interests. Research has a purpose and whoever pays the researcher will want them to fulfill a specified purpose. For instance, a company might pay researchers to prove that ..... (whatever). The researchers will do just that and not look at the research commission from any other angle. Other companies with opposite interests might employ the same researchers to prove the contrary ..... (opposite to whatever). The researchers will then look at the commission from this opposite angle and no other. This is why there are so many seemingly contradictory pieces of research, not only about adverse radiation but also other health topics such as mercury fillings, soy products, vitamins, etc. Those who manufacture amalgam fillings will fund research to prove that there are no health risks from mercury in amalgams. They will certainly not fund research to prove the opposite, but those who have suffered from mercury toxicity or have no vested interest in the manufacture of amalgam might well fund, carry out, or even stumble across research to prove that mercury from amalgams is toxic.

To avoid total confusion over the implications of quoted research papers, it is very important to understand the premise upon which research is based. We also need to be unbiased and consider all aspects of a topic realising that, invariably, there are other factors involved also. Understanding the most accurate interpretation from research requires a compilation of all information from all angles of a topic along with knowledge of who funds what. It is important to be able to "read between the lines," appreciate that available money is in the hands of the "big," and keep things in balance.


 

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