The article explores the transformative experience of labor and birth, emphasizing its profound emotional and physiological changes. The author, a nurse-midwife, contrasts common horror stories about labor with her own positive experiences, highlighting the unique altered state of women during birth. The physiological changes, induced by hormones like oxytocin and dopamine, create a sensation akin to mystical experiences. The presence of loving and supportive attendants allows women to navigate this powerful journey, fostering a sense of empowerment and connection, ultimately revealing valuable life lessons from the labor process.
People don't believe it when I mention how much I loved labor and delivery. They think I'm talking about my career as a nurse-midwife helping others, not my own experiences.
Uncomplicated labor and birth are so unique I called it 'The Labor Planet.' Even women about to go into labor, who don't know it yet, have a different, ephemeral look about them.
In fact, it was physiological. Super-charged levels of oxytocin promote labor contractions and birth, as well as bonding and lactation after. Dopamine is also at high levels during birth.
When safely supported by caring attendants during uncomplicated birth, women can move into this altered state. They tend to turn inward, becoming quieter, focused, and integrated in mind and body.
#birth-experience #labor-and-delivery #emotional-journey #empowerment-in-childbirth #physiological-changes
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