3 Persistent Myths surrounding Birth

Hardly any other everyday topic is as mythical as the birth of us humans. Although we often experience them around us or even ourselves, it still seems that there is a lot of half-knowledge that can fuel fears and insecurities. In my many years of work as a midwife, I have repeatedly come across 3 particularly stubborn myths and would now like to put them a little more into the light of truth. Let's start with the umbilical cord. How many times have I heard this sentence: “You gave birth in the car or alone at home and it went so fast that you couldn’t make it to the clinic etc.? But who cut the umbilical cord?" It's fascinating to me and it seems like this occupies a big place around birth. But it doesn't do this in a well-thought-out way, little is questioned. To put it bluntly, nobody MUST cut the umbilical cord. It can also fall off on its own, this is called lotus birth and is a common practice all over the world. But of course, there are nuances in handling the cord clapping, between the immediate unplugging during a cesarean section or Rhesus-negative mothers (for which there are no evidence-based studies that satisfy me as a professional midwife) and a lotus birth, you will find the right way with your child. And I encourage you to treat it in an enlightened and reflective manner. The early cutting of the umbilical cord is the induced and premature separation of the child from the placenta and thus from its mother's body. It pains me to see bulging, blood-filled umbilical cords cut while the physiological process cries out to continue transporting oxygenated blood from the placenta to the child. So the correct question, aimed at the well-being of the child, should be: “How long did you leave the umbilical cord on? Could it pulse out?" I sincerely hope that a paradigm shift will finally happen and obstetricians will emphasize the benefits of venting the umbilical cord. If you would like to learn more about it, then please watch my YouTube video on the topic “Umbilical cord, lotus birth and placenta” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LAPemC2k1Y or you can also find it here in my Blog.

Another very persistent myth is the one surrounding the opening of the cervix in relation to the length of labor. 1 centimeter per hour. This is, sorry, total crap! What are we - machines and all the same? The answer is clear. You have to forgive, but these assumptions and practices in hospitals around the world have profound consequences: Women put themselves under enormous pressure, compare themselves, think they may be doing something wrong, no longer listen to their instincts, and do not give themselves and their child the necessary space and the necessary individual time to go through the birth. And yet this is so infinitely important and just as we are all different and unique, so are our births. Those deserve patience, space, restraint, and allowance. Unfortunately, today's practice is very different. The "1 centimeter per hour rule" leads to completely unnecessary interventions such as inducing contractions, cervical dilation, epidurals, or cesarean sections*. It's about "having children as quickly as possible" and anyone who doesn't fit into the time window will be "pushed into". Many hospitals are commercial enterprises that would lose money if the birth went normally (without any intervention). Not a good deal. And so today it is common that completely normal births slide down a downward spiral of interventions and consequences due to time pressure and finally end in an emergency cesarean section. Very often homemade. I have had to observe this more often than I would have liked, and I still feel concerned today because I was unable to protect the women and children. But what does this do to you? With your partner? Just knowing that this could be waiting for you in the clinic can lead to stress and of course, this is not conducive to opening that "shy" sphincter, our cervix. I want you to understand that every birth is different. Every cervix behaves differently and in the individual phases of the birth it can also happen that there is a standstill and in the next phase of the birth, it opens super quickly from half open to open, etc.

Take your time, inform yourself. Find out which place of birth suits your wishes best. Which clinic has patience, has a low rate of caesareans, makes few interventions. Write a birth plan, meet with the birthing team, or at least some midwives and doctors there. It is your right to feel comfortable, to feel safe. If you don't, don't go there. Follow your belly feeling. Literally. And maybe you also see a home birth or birth center birth as an option. There are also affiliated midwives, i.e. midwives who accompany you to a specific clinic and are only responsible for you. If you would like to learn more about this topic, please arrange a call with me. You can find information about this here: https://www.yourmidwifehour.com/avenues-of-support-offerings

And now we come to the third big myth, the umbilical cord and umbilical cord wrappings. This is a very, very big topic, I think. It is filled with fear and is even given as a reason for cesarean section.* First of all, I would like you to watch the video of a water birth from a friend of mine, please: https://vimeo.com/335961713/recommended?fbclid=IwAR0n4zUflOvn8DUVxv0Rdl1_vOouy0jxh61KfQDAZwXNX1RapDxN5INWqO4

As you can see very nicely here, Amaia's umbilical cord was wrapped several times around her neck and chest. I myself had my "record" as a midwife when I had to unwrap the umbilical cord 3 times for a boy who was born in a bathtub at home. My son Laya had his umbilical cord around his neck once and it was also very, very short. My last water birth in Mexico was with the umbilical cord wrapped. I had the umbilical cord around my neck, and my brothers too. You'll notice... It's something very normal and no wonder, because as babies we still have a lot of space at the beginning and we love to turn, move and play with our umbilical cord. Some umbilical cords are pretty long, and even short cords are not uncommon to be wrapped around. Now I come back to my favorite sentence: Nature is not stupid. Why would nature incorporate something so dangerous into the birthing process? It doesn't make any sense to me. Now there are a few things that I would like to explain: The vessels of the umbilical cord are surrounded by what is known as Warton's jelly, a gelatinous connective tissue (you can see it great in the video). This protects the blood vessels from compression. You have to understand that the baby is not yet breathing in the womb, so it cannot be strangled. The trachea is not used to breathe air in and out, but the baby trains this process with amniotic fluid, which it still has in its lungs until birth. When the head of the baby is born and its thorax in a very tight spot, the amnion fluid is squeezed out of the baby´s nose and mouth, so to speak, and when the little one is born completely (sometimes even with the head birth), it takes its first breath. We assume that it has already been received by the midwife, mother, father, doctor, etc., and could be "untangled" if necessary. As already mentioned, the child does not breathe until it is born. What I must point out, however, are very rare cases in which the umbilical cord could squeeze blood vessels in the neck. But it's important to understand that this is rare.

Nowadays, parents are often told that a cesarean section had to be performed because the child had the umbilical cord around its neck and therefore the birth had not taken place beforehand. I consider that a very rare possibility in most cases and not the absolute reason. Especially since it can often simply be pushed onto the umbilical cord and then one no longer has to look for other reasons for the surgical termination of the birth. This often leaves out a process of reflection by those involved. What also worries me is the fact that even umbilical cord entanglements are now indicated in ultrasound examinations, which of course can lead to uncertainty and unnecessary stress. As I said, it's a common and normal thing and you shouldn't let it bother you.

Thank you so much for reading this and for going into a more informed process around birth. If you would like to learn more about me and my work, please take a look around my homepage and reserve a free introductory meeting with me. I'm happy for you! yourmidwifehour@gmail.com

*I wouldn't deny that epidurals and cesareans are a real blessing in some cases.

*Again pointing out that there can be complications from entanglement of the umbilical cord, but these are far less common than previously thought.