so in ina may gaskin's guide to childbirth (a book i think should be REQUIRED READING for all pregnant ladies), she talked a lot about grantly dick-read's book, childbirth without fear. i happened to stumble across that book in a used book store while waiting for a baby-wearing class to start. i bought it, and it has really been an eye-opener. apparently he was like the original dude to rediscover, way back at the beginning of the 20th century, that we can and should be giving birth naturally in almost all cases. he pioneered the idea of the fear-tension-pain cycle--if you fear giving birth, you will tense up, and it's this tension that causes pain in a process that would otherwise be painless, as it is natural and normal. this alone is a pretty amazing idea that has been very helpful to me in neutralizing any fears or worries i have about natural birth. but the part i read yesterday on the capabilities and design of the uterus really astonished me, and i just had to share it with you guys. so here it is.
"in an experiment in 1902, when the uterus of a rabbit was separated from all its extrinsic nerves, the young arrived by spontaneous birth. as early as 1904 it was confirmed that the uterine muscle has the power of rhythmic contraction irrespective of nerve supply...experimental work in that same year demonstrated the capability of the the uterus of a woman to contract even when separated from the body...these observations apply without exception to the pregnant uterus."
HOLY. CRAP. so the uterus can contract and birth the baby ON ITS OWN, entirely without any help from me. the human body really does know what it's doing, and has every capability of doing it. i just have to get out of the way and let it do its job.
he then goes on to talk about how the most important parts of our bodies are the parts with the most pain receptors, as those are the parts whose injuries are most important for us to know about and resolve. so your forearm, for instance, would not register as much pain from a wound as would your throat.
"the uterus is poorly supplied with nerves that register pain (nociceptors)...the intestines and the internal organs, in particular the uterus, are not affected by external cold or heat and the abdominal wall has to be severely injured or ripped open before they can be damaged..."
so because the uterus is so well protected, it was not necessary for it to have loads of pain receptors, as the probability of it being injured is very low.
"...but they are well supplied with pain receptors that record excessive tension or laceration of the tissues. no other nociceptors have been demonstrated within the abdomen--the intestines and the uterus can be burned, cauterized, handled, and moved without any sensation of discomfort to the patient, but if either of these structures is stretched or torn, considerable pain and shock result."
"all nociceptors are specific, that is to say, they react to only one form of pain stimulation. it follows thus that the only pain stimulus that the uterus can record is excessive tension or actual tearing of tissues...the pain of labor, whether referred or otherwise, must result from one, or both, of these specific stimuli. so we must ask ourselves: does nature intend that childbirth should be accompanied by laceration and injurious tension? if it does, why has not this important structure adapted itself to its function, according to the law of professor julius wolfe, which was, in short: "structure is adapted to function"? if nature does not intend this laceration and injury, then those pain-receivers are there to respond only to stimuli other than normal. we must inquire: against what is the uterus protecting itself by giving pain sensations in carrying out a perfectly natural function? the physiological perfection of the human body knows no greater paradox than pain in normal parturition."
"the biological purpose of pain interpretation is protective, and it results in muscular activity to the end that the individual may either defend himself or escape from impending danger...there are, however, pains from which we cannot escape so easily, arising from the internal organs and known as visceral pains. the uterus...[is] visceral, and therefore in this discussion we are primarily concerned with visceral pain. it must be borne in mind, also, that we are not concerned with disease but with healthy women carrying out a normal and natural function."
"there is no physiological function in the body that gives rise to pain in the normal course of health."
he then discusses how all over our body we have muscle groups designed with a give-and-take relationship. for instance, if we contract our biceps and relax our triceps simultaneously, there is no pain. however, if we contract both simultaneously, pain results. in the uterus, there are multiple muscle groups in play as well. some of which are meant to contract during labor, others meant to relax. if we tense up, this causes all the uterine muscles to contract at the same time, hindering their ability to perform their natural function correctly, resulting in pain.
i know that was a lot of reading, but i found it quite fascinating and extremely beneficial, so i hope you enjoyed it.
No comments:
Post a Comment