4. Conclusion
There is much more that could be said about prenatal care, labor, and childbirth. I could go on for many more pages about all the complications of labor and delivery that are possible if a woman does not take care of herself during pregnancy.
Even if a woman has taken proper care of herself during pregnancy, it is still not over. She has to be very cautious who she selects to help at the birth. She needs to decide whether to have a homebirth or a hospital birth. She needs to have confidence in herself, faith that all will go well, and courage to accomplish the feat of birth instead of fear.
For example, if a woman gives birth in a hospital she is at the hands of the medical personnel there—she has, in a sense, given the responsibility of her child's birth to them. Much unnecessary medical intervention such as shaving of pubic hair, giving enemas prior to delivery, giving episiotomies, strapping the woman down during labor, drugging, forceps deliveries, Caesarean sections, etc., may occur in hospitals—and those oftentimes for the convenience of the hospital staffs. All of these actions are enervating and harmful at a time when a woman needs to be at her best.
Providing the mother is in good health (normal), she will enjoy the actual childbirth experience and always remember it as a positive, enlightening experience. Giving birth in one's own home encourages this as the mother is surrounded by loving friends rather than by strangers. The baby will therefore enter a warm, loving world instead of the cold, antiseptic world of a hospital. No bright lights, masked strangers, spanks on the buttocks, chemicals in the eyes, premature cutting of he umbilical cords, etc., will occur in the home. The father can share the first days of the baby's life with him/her and the mother. The mother will be with the child and be able to nurse the baby when he/she is hungry rather than by the clock. The mother will have more opportunity to sleep and relax after the birth as there are no rigid schedules as in the hospital. Also, there will be no displaced siblings as they will share the baby's first days also.
So you see, not only does the mother need to take care of her health, she needs to make the correct decisions regarding the coming event. She needs to be aware of the importance of proper preparation to prevent undue stress at the last minutes.