Mothering Magazine has a wonderful web site that is chock full of information. One of my favorite sections is the ask the expert Q & A. And one of my personal favorite “experts” is Dr. Michel Odent MD, An Obstetrician from France who has been a water birth proponant and prolific author. His recent The Farmer and the Obstetrician is an excellent analysis of the current birth mess.
In this Q & A he answers quite a few questions that have been posed by families.
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Quote:
How would you define “normal” birth?
“The term ‘normal’ is useless when applied to birth. In ‘normal’ there is a cultural connotation. A birth can be considered normal in Rome, but not in Santa Fe. It is only in retrospect that a birth can be qualified ‘normal’ (the same about ‘natural’). What we need today is to qualify an attitude. That is why I suggested the concept of ‘biodynamic attitude in childbirth’. A biodynamic attitude (in farming, in childbirth, etc.) is based on a good understanding of the physiological processes. In other words it means: working with the laws of Nature.”
Jenny Hatch