A commentary on natural childbirth.

Abstract

VARIOUS aspects of the rooming-in program from the point of view of the mother, the nurse, and the pediatrician have been emphasized. The obstetricians are no less enthusiastic. Thoms, Jackson and others have shown, after 18 months9 experience with mothers in a rooming-in unit, that physically these patients recover as well if not better than those patients not so fortunate as to enjoy an arrangement of this type. Psychologically the advantages are more obvious. The rooming-in mothers have a mental attitude and a morale rarely seen in those mothers who experience the conventional type of hospitalization. That a beneficial mother-child relationship is established in this unit is, we believe, undeniable. Accepting this as the basic philosophy of rooming-in, it is natural that the obstetrician would come to consider his own role in the furtherance of its establishment. If it is true that the foundations of mental health are laid in infancy and since infancy begins at birth, it seems reasonable to suppose that childbirth itself should be an emotionally satisfactory experience for the mother if an adequate mother-child relationship is to be established. We may question whether childbirth is emotionally satisfactory for most mothers today. Consider for a moment the course of many pregnancies and labors, particularly in urban areas, today. The woman begins her pregnancy with doubts and fears, many of them founded in ignorance and superstitution, and acquires misinformation from her relatives and friends which contributes to her original anxieties. Despite the reassurance which she receives from her medical attendant as to her physical safety, in his preoccupation with the satisfaction of her somatic needs he may overlook the deep-seated anxieties with which she began her pregnancy and which usually increase as the pregnancy advances.