The riddle of the extreme ends of the birth experience: Birthing consciousness and its fragility (original) (raw)
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Birth and death are both fundamental human experiences. The end of life has been a major topic in philosophical, psychological and sociological debates. Meanwhile, the beginning of life seems to be ignored in discussions around existential meanings and spirituality. Recently a growing number of empirical studies are emerging that focus more on birth as lived experience, revealing existential and spiritual issues around childbirth. In this article, we bring together insights from different discipline perspectives, such as philosophy, spirituality studies and midwifery, to open the dialogue for studying meaning making and spirituality at the start of life. In order to bring these insights into relief, end of life literature is used as a comparative perspective. This existential and spiritual analysis on start of life reveals the need to focus more on an embodied and relational spirituality in and around birth. In this age of fast past technological and medical innovation research from multi-perspectives needs to be done to explore existential and spiritual understandings at the start of life.
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In 2010, Taffy Brodesser-Akner published an article entitled, "How Childbirth Caused my PTSD," on Salon.com. Much to my surprise, her claims that she was seriously traumatized by childbirth encountered strong resistance and disbelief. In trying to understand the source of this resistance, I discovered a type of violence, which I refer to as "metaphysical violence," that is often overlooked, yet prevalent, in what many people in the United States understand as normal childbirth practices and protocols. In this essay, I will use MarĂa Lugones'sPilgramages/Peregrinajes to offer a detailed account of what constitutes metaphysical violence, how it functions, and why it is so damaging to at least 9% of post-partum women who meet the criteria for PTSD and the 18% of post-partum women who show some sign of the disorder. Then, I will offer suggestions for how we can help women who may be victims of metaphysical violence during birth avoid some of the trauma it so often induces.
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A woman's childbearing experience is deeply influenced by the culture of her society. Some of the significant historical events taking place in 20th century America and associated cultural perceptions of women and childbirth are explored. An examination of the long-term personal impact of childbirth on women reveals the importance of the attitudes of caregiving staff and the degree of emotional support they provide.
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Aim: the aim of this paper is to identify the core attributes of the experience of labour and birth. Methods: a literature search was conducted using a variety of online databases for the years 1990-2005. A thematic analysis of a random sample of 62 of these papers identified the main characteristics of the experience of childbirth. There are multiple methodological challenges in researching the experience of labour and birth, and in developing the existing complexity of evidence. Results: despite agreement across disciplines regarding the significance of the childbirth experience, there is little consensus on a conceptual definition. Four main attributes of the experience were described as individual, complex, process and life event. Through this concept analysis, the experiences of labour and birth is defined as an individual life event, incorporating interrelated subjective psychological and physiological processes, influenced by social, environmental, organisational and policy contexts. Conclusions: identification of the core attributes of the labour and birth experience may provide a framework for future consideration and investigation including further analysis of related concepts such as 'support' and 'control'. Implications for practice: practitioners and researchers have already identified the diversity and complexity of women's experiences during labour and birth. The importance of the identified attributes also requires organisational and policy development within the context of a cultural environment that acknowledges this diversity.