Unassisted Birth Gains Popularity in Europe

The type of birth known as freebirth, or unassisted birth is quickly gaining popularity in Europe according to Reuters. Unassisted birth is exactly what its name implies: completely natural birth with no assistance from doctors, nurses, or modern pharmacology.

In the United States and Great Britain free birth is only legal if the pregnant woman is not assisted by an untrained person such as a friend or partner. Freebirthers have some unconventional views regarding pregnancy and delivery; these views do however share some things in common with the growing trends of home birthing and use of midwives.

According to Reuters, Veronika Robinson, an Australian advocate of the method, said: "Birthing uses the same hormones as lovemaking -- so why would you want anyone poking and prodding you, observing you and putting you under a spotlight?" Ms. Robinson also stated that medical establishments in western countries had been: " taking something that's natural and making it into a disease. Now with free birthing women are taking their power back".

Proponents of unassisted birth, such as Laura Shanley, an author on the subject, feel that birth is only dangerous when the factors of poverty, intervention, and fear are present. Shanley believes that provided living conditions are reasonable and sanitary, as they are in most western nations, that natural birth is safe provided the mother is not being subjected to unwanted intervention from the medical community and does not fear labor and delivery.

Shanley reportedly told Reuters "As I began to understand how fear affects the body, and that birth is not inherently dangerous provided we don't trigger the fight-flight response and shut down labor, then to me it was natural to want to just trust myself. It didn't make sense to me that something that ensures the continuation of the race would be a dangerous and scary event."