Three New Unassisted Childbirth News Stories!
From India:
Women of Courage
From The UK:
Junior Pregnancy and Baby Magazine
iParenting:
iParenting: Unassisted Births
Jenny Hatch

Text from the India Article:

Reba Daniel

ONCE in a blue moon, somebody among us excite our minds by proving that the will of an individual is mightier than the collective conscience of society.

For 30-year-old Reba Daniel, the healthy girl child she delivered 23 days ago bears testimony to such a deed.

Reba, a media professional-turned-baker, gave birth to a healthy baby at her house in the city without any medical assistance. ‘Free Birth’, she says, is as good an idea as freedom!

Braving the warnings of her relatives and friends, who joined together in ridiculing the folly of her Utopian concept, Reba and her husband Paul Thomas welcomed the new ray hope in their life with smiles in the early hours on February 12.

Paul had to act as the ‘midhusband’ since the search of the couple for a midwife to help Reba deliver a child was not fruitful.

“We were about to give up the idea when we couldn’t find a midwife. At that time, I chanced upon the concept of Free Birth on Internet. The website of Laura Shanley, a Californian mother, was indeed an encyclopaedia,” said Reba.

The website had a number of Free Birth stories, which boosted our morale. The idea of Free Birth is slowly gaining momentum and is being practised by hundreds of women across the world, said Reba.

Reba had consulted doctors during the early months of pregnancy. “But, I insisted that no medicine should be prescribed. I took some Ayurvedic medicines. A special diet comprising fruits and vegetables was followed during the pregnancy period. I used to practise Yoga and meditation that gave me the mental strength,” she said.

According to her, as long as the body is toxic-free, the chance for a safe delivery is very high.

After birth, Reba didn’t cut the umbilical chord of the child. “The child should benefit from the blood flow from the placentas. I cut the umbilical chord after two days. My request to young couple is that you should at least delay the cutting of the umbilical chord for some hours,” she said.

The very next day of the delivery, Reba began to do cooking and other household works.The out-of-the-box ideas don’t end here.

“We have decided not to give any vaccination to our daughter. She is healthy now and we are sure that she will acquire the necessary immunity without vaccination,” said Reba.

She said the unusually bold concept was made practical with the whole-hearted support of her husband. “Paul understood me thoroughly. On the eve of the delivery, he was spending hours searching Internet to learn the chemistry of a delivery,” said Reba.

There was another reason that shaped the decision of the couple – the tragic death of Reba’s mother, weeks before the delivery. She died as a result of an infection acquired from a private hospital in Kochi where her father had been undergoing treatment. “How can we say that hospitals are safe?,” asked Reba.

Paul Thomas is the creative director of Kriya Studio, Vellayambalam. Reba had worked as creative writer and content manager in some software companies. She is running a small-scale cake-making unit at home now.