In its most basic sense, unassisted childbirth means giving birth at home without the aid of doctors or midwives. However, for many women who choose this route, unassisted childbirth, or UC, implies much more.
What is Unassisted Childbirth?
Is UC Safe?
One of the greatest myths perpetuated by the medical system is that hospitals are the safest place to give birth. Stories abound of women dying in childbirth before the advent of modern hospitals. And yet, few people realize that women were not dying due to the fact that childbirth…
Why Choose UC?
Many women who support home birth have asked me why I and other unassisted birthers object to having a midwife at our births “just in case.” Modern physics has proven that the very act of observing something changes it.
Is UC Legal?
It is a little known fact that the majority of babies in the world are born “unassisted” – i.e. without a paid, trained, licensed attendant. Of course, most of those births are occurring in third-world countries where medical services are limited or unavailable. In more developed countries, unassisted childbirth (UC) is rare, but its numbers are on the rise.
How do I get pain relief?
There are many natural ways of dealing with pain that do not involve drugs. Many women find that immersing themselves in water during labor can greatly relieve, if not eliminate pain. Other women find sex and/or masturbation very helpful. And others find that affirmations, prayers, or visualizations work best for them.
Unassisted childbirth in the 1950’s
When I gave birth to my first child unassisted in 1978, I assumed I was one of the few women in the Western world who had actually chosen to give birth this way. In fact, fourteen years would pass before I would realize that the unassisted childbirth movement was alive and well in this country and had been since the 1950’s.
The joys of catching your own baby
Several years ago I came across an article in a major newspaper in which the author stated that women were physiologically incapable of delivering their own babies. Unfortunately I can’t quote from it directly, as I tossed it in the trash (after whipping off letters to both the author and the editor – neither of whom ever responded).
Unassisted pregnancy: every woman is her own best caregiver
Prepare to be amazed: I had an unassisted conception. My husband and I closed the bedroom door, took off our clothes, and conceived a child without any help from anyone! David got an erection without drugs of any sort, and actually proceeded to impregnate me without consulting a manual.
An Unassisted Childbirth Advocate Speaks About Midwives
My first indication that I was not going to be welcomed into “The Sister-hood” came in 1993. My book, Unassisted Childbirth, was about to be published and I decided to call a midwife whose book I had found particularly inspiring. As I gushed to her about how much I had learned from her book …