Natural Childbirth Movement

The natural childbirth movement in the United States has roots in the 1930s and gained momentum in the 1960s and 1970s. It emerged in response to the common use of drugs and invasive medical procedures during childbirth. Early resistance to medicalized childbirth was waged by doctors concerned about maternal and infant health. By the 1970s, birth had become political. Feminists struggled for control over their bodies, and hippies sought a return to nature. Since then, the natural childbirth movement has continued to grow, and some of its principles have been incorporated into mainstream medicine.

Before the 19th century, women labored at home with midwives or other women. The ascendancy of obstetrics brought increased intervention including Twilight Sleep, drugs that inhibited consciousness. Twilight Sleep was introduced in the 1900s with the consent of upper-class feminists and was widely administered by the 1930s. Also popular by that time were forceps, episiotomies, and restraint straps. By 1950, 88% of American women, and almost all those living in urban areas, gave birth in hospitals.

Physicians became interested in natural childbirth with evidence that such medical procedures increased complications, and women were growing dissatisfied with the modern birth experience. In the 1940s, British obstetrician Grantly Dick-Read introduced childbirth preparation designed to alleviate fear and labor pain without drugs. In the 1950s, French physician Fernand Lamaze presented breathing techniques and exercises. By 1960, Elisabeth Bing and Marjorie Karmel had founded the American Society for Psychoprophylaxis in Obstetrics (ASPO) to promote his method. Dr. Robert Bradley developed an active role for husbands in the 1960s, and anthropologist Sheila Kitzinger became a vocal promoter of natural childbirth.

The natural childbirth movement took a distinctively political turn in the 1960s and 1970s. Feminists described the health care system as a patriarchal institution that reproduced male physicians' dominant position over laboring women. For some, such as Adrienne Rich, taking control of childbirth was a step toward women controlling their own lives. Meanwhile, the growing hippie movement rejected technological birthing. Ina May Gaskin started the Farm Midwifery Center on a 1,000-acre commune in Tennessee. She has trained midwives and promoted natural childbirth there for more than 25 years. In recent years, more conservative women have advocated home birth, as have some doctors, including Mayer Eisenstein, founder of Homefirst Health Services in Chicago.

While legal and medical resistance to the natural childbirth movement remains, more women are choosing home birth, midwives, or birthing centers. Some hospitals have changed rigid rules and provide women [Page 1017]with more natural birthing options. There are also numerous organizations, meet-up groups, books, and magazines dedicated to natural childbirth.