The medical view of pregnancy and childbirth has permeated our culture so that we have forgotten how our ancestors were born, thanks to which our species has survived for thousands of years. With the intention, presumably, to protect mothers and babies from misfortune and death, modern western obstetrics has forgotten Mother Nature, whose complex and elegant systems of birth are disturbed by obstetric interventions, although we are aware our inability to understand or control these elemental forces. The medical interference in pregnancy and childbirth is well documented, and its negative consequences have been well studied. However, the medical management of birth-the time between the birth of the baby and delivery of the placenta-is, for me, the most insidious. At the time that Mother Nature has provided awe and ecstasy, we make shots, we examined the baby, umbilical cord clamping and throw it. Instead of body heat and skin to skin, we separated the baby from his mother and put her clothes. When the weather should be detained in the eternal moment of first contact, as mother and son learn to love, we hurry to remove the placenta and clean to go “next.” The medical management of childbirth in the last decade’s taken a step further with the popularization of the “active management of birth” (see below) carries some risks for mother and baby. Although many of the interventions aimed at reducing the risk of maternal postpartum hemorrhage (PPH), which can be a serious matter, it seems that, as with the active management of labor, can actually bring many of the problems that supposedly wants to avoid. Active management also creates specific problems for the mother and baby. In particular, the baby is deprived of half the blood volume that would be sent. This extra blood that should flow into the lungs, which begin to function at this time, and other vital organs, is discarded with the placenta, with possible consequences such as respiratory problems and anemia, especially when it comes to vulnerable babies. The drugs used in the active management are documented risks to the mother, including death, and we know its long-term effects for the baby, especially given its importance, since they apply at a critical period for brain development. The hormones in birth As mammals we are, because we have mammary glands that produce milk for our babies, we share almost every type of birth with other mammals. We share the complex orchestration of hormones of childbirth, which occur in the depths of our mammalian brain to help us and ultimately ensure the survival of our offspring. At birth, they help themselves three hormonal systems of mammals, each of which plays an important role in the delivery. The hormone oxytocin causes the uterine contractions of childbirth, while helping us to launch our instinctive maternal behavior. Endorphins, the body’s natural opiates, produce an altered state of consciousness and helps us to transform the pain and the hormones adrenaline and noradrenaline (epinephrine and norepinephrine, also known as catecholamines or CAs), responsible for our fight or flight reflex, We provide the peak power we need to push and give birth to our babies during delivery, or second stage of labor.

Original Source of A natural approach to childbirth