Women’s bodies are pretty amazing, here are 5 things you didn’t know about the womb and birth…

There is nothing anatomically in the body which says that birth has to be painful

Every muscle in your body has the ability to stretch, move, pull. Your uterus does all of these things and is essentially a bag of muscles. Birth is a physiological process; why would the bag of muscles that make up the uterus be any different than any other muscle group in our body? Why would it be made painful in order to function/contract? 

They don’t.

There is nothing anatomically within our biology that says that birth is supposed to be painful, now I know we believe that, it’s deeply embedded within our culture because we’ve been taught it since we were children, we’ve all seen the movies/TV programmes or heard horror stories off people so women/birthing people go into birth with fear + anxiety about the pain. In your biology + physiology there is nothing about your uterus or birthing muscles that make birth have to be painful. They are designed to function and exert themselves effectively with strength + power just like any other muscle group within the body.

When you flex your arm , this is a contraction, does it hurt? You can feel the tightness, you know it’s there – if you did reps at the gym what you’re actually doing is contractions exactly what your uterus does in labour only with your bicep – it’s voluntary. When you’re in the gym doing reps, you are building strength, it is exactly the same but your uterus is doing this involuntary, without your control. Every contraction is a rep or a muscle contraction.

So what causes the pain? 

This, my friend is the fear-tension-pain cycle. When you experience fear or anxiety your muscles tighten + cause tension. You then experience pain or discomfort when a contraction comes, this creates fear, we then anticipate pain + brace for the next contraction, and so the cycle continues…

If birthing in the hospital, we are constantly analysing how labour feels, If birthing in the hospital we may have midwives or doctors coming in and asking us to rate our pain, keeping our focus on it, reinforcing the negative feedback loop cycle.

So how do we overcome this cycle?

Before heading into pregnancy or birth we must understand physiology, understand birth, know our options + seek support the support you deserve from a doula or birth-worker.

Disclaimer

It is very common for women/birthing people to experience pain and/oir discomfort during childbirth and this is most people’s experience. In writing this blog it is not my intention to deny anyones experience, or reality. I am not naive to the fact that childbirth is one of the most powerful journeys you can physically go on.

Throughout my time as a doula working and learning from many medical professionals and childbirth educators, I have come to learn through their teachings that there is nothing anatomically within the body that states birth ‘has to’ be painful, although interestingly it is the most common experience. 

There are very low statistical studies + research that have gone into childbirth, pregnancy + natural physiological birth however, from attending birth and working closely and learning from others who have been attending birth for over 50+ years, it is coming to light that the uterus works similarly to every other muscle group in the body and that the pain we experience during birth is intrinsically connected to the brain, the environment we’re in, the position of both birthing person + baby and their overall physical + mental health. 

If you’d like to know/read more about childbirth, I would invite you to research from leading experts such as – Ina May Gaskin, Kemi Johnson, Michel Odent, Sara Wickham where you can find loads of information, evidence + facts that I speak of in this blog + through my work everyday. 

There are also many podcasts too which you may be interested in by amazing professionals such as: Birthing Instincts and The Midwives Cauldron.

References available at the end of the article.

Period pain has been normalised within our society but to experience period pain is not normal

Again, within our society we have been taught that period pain is normal. Period pain is so common, but it is not normal. There is nothing anatomically within your body that says that periods must be painful. When we experience pain within our body it is our bodies way of communicating with us, something is going on that needs our attention. It is not happening to you, it is happening for you. Our body is deeply connected to our mind and it wants to communicate with you.

We have all experienced stiff shoulders before and there is an understanding that this can be from stress or tension. As womb owners, our pelvis, hips + uterus is a place where we store trauma + so when we experience pain around our bleed it is our bodies way of saying– “Hey something is going on here”.

So often we see women or womb owners experiencing pain as we have not grown up in a culture and society that allows us to process pain/trauma in a safe and efficient way causing us to store it within the body. We are then taught to go to the doctors to get prescribed medication to treat the symptom rather than asking or supporting us to find out why the pain began in the first place. This can then trigger the body to communicate ‘louder’ to be heard. 

If a woman is experiencing pain she may go the doctors, be prescribed the contraceptive pill + potentially pain relief. This will help for a while but pain may return or another symptom may arise, and so back to the doctors they go, to be given another form of medication. This cycle then repeats and repeats. The body will continue to communicate until it is heard. It is very common and I see/hear all the time how the treatment of period pain over years cascaded onto a diagnosis of preeclampsia + endometriosis. We must go to the root + heal from that place.

Due dates are an estimation ONLY 3% of babies are born on their due date

This one speaks for itself! Due dates are calculated all around the world differently and essentially in the UK, we use a practice which was based on a study carried out by a male doctor involving only 100 French women over a century ago.

Due dates are an estimation and within the birthing world there are being decisions made over whether to end pregnancies or not based on a study which has basically non if any legitimate scientific back up.

Everybody is different, every body is different + every baby is different, to use a one rule fits all is very problematic and is causing trauma within the birth world. There are also so many myths held around going “over” your due date which is causing major issues.

Your baby comes when it is ready, not when your doctor says it should be.

The colour of your menstrual blood can indicate your overall health

You can use your menstruation as a map for what is going on with your body, SO incredible!! Your blood can and does vary from month to month is colour + thickness which is why it is such an amazing tool to use, to know yourself and listen to your body!

Deep Red

Healthy + is a good sign of ease

Dark Red

May be a sign of old blood, small amounts are normal at the beginning + end of your menstruation and may be slightly thicker

Brown

may be a sign of old blood, liver stagnation or overall tiredness

Light Pink

may be a sign of anaemia or lack of oestrogen 

Grey + Orange

May be a sign of a bacterial infection

If you are ever concerned, reach out to health-care practitioner.

1 in 3 babies are born with the cord wrapped around their neck. For the majority this is NOT a medical emergency

Big stories we’ve been taught are holding about cords! It is really common for baby to be born with its cord wrapped around its neck, it is called nuchal cord. There has been a lot of conditioning around this one that it means imminent danger. 

The cord is full of something called Whartons Jelly – a gelatinous substance that cushions the blood vessels within the umbilical cord – this jelly helps to keep the blood vessels safe so that the oxygenated blood is flowing sufficiently to keep baby healthy – EVEN when it’s wrapped around babies neck, chest, foot, arm – even when its wrapped round multiple times. We must remember that baby at this point is not breathing with its own lungs in utero – it passively receives oxygen through the placenta. When your baby is born someone present will unwind the cord from baby and they will take their first breath.

Article and artwork by Bec Wallis of @becwallisbirthkeeper. Bec is a registered doula with Doula UK. Click here to find her profile.

Support Bec and follow her on Instagram.

References

http://activebirthpools.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/A-Landmark-in-the-History-of-Birthing-Pools-by-Michel-Odent-MD-.pdf

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/eclinm/article/PIIS2589-5370(20)30063-8/fulltext)