Undone by fear? Deluded by trust?

Abstract

Normal birth is on the ‘endangered list’ in much of the developed world, and if we do not critically examine our beliefs about birth and understand where these beliefs have come from and how they shape us and the care we provide for women, we will not be able to facilitate normal birth and help turn this juggernaut of intervention around. We cannot talk about normal birth unless we talk about fear and trust, for they are at the heart of what is happening to birth, and we cannot talk about women’s fear unless we firstly talk about our own. Fear is a great gift but trust is an even greater one, and by reducing fear we make space for trust. By learning not to manufacture fear, we are able to respond appropriately when fear is real and this protects us and the women we care for. By learning to trust in a responsive way – not a blind way – we learn to be truly alive and help to create amazing possibilities with women. When we allow fear to ‘undo’ us or become ‘deluded’ by trust, we rob women and ourselves of the chance to live life fully, safely and with meaning—and a life without meaning is no life at all.