Nature's Simple Plan for Birth*

For nine months, the baby is bound to his mother by the umbilical cord, totally dependent on her for all his needs. What has been played out by nature for centuries then repeats itself. At the right time, heralded by a rush of oxytocin hormones, mother's uterine muscles start contracting at regular intervals. Her baby is now getting ready to leave the protected sanctuary of her womb and emerge into this world....

She feels pain, an integral part of this process and a natural stimulant for further relase of hormones and contractions - all towards helping her baby to be born. She is strong amidst the pain; her body knows how to react; she moves in ways so as to help her baby move further down the birth canal. Nature's narcotics, the powerful Endorphins hormones, transport her to another world. Time stops for her...... her senses shut down to the outside world. But she is surrounded by her loved ones who provide her the strength and confidence to give birth as nature has intended. As the cycle of birth continues, the mother's inner wisdom transcends all other sciences for a moment, and she knows - it is time to welcome her baby into this world... "Come forth without fear, my baby!"

Nature's Simple Plan for Birth is now in its final stage - catecholamines (stress hormones) give the mother and baby the extra energy for the final stretch. These hormones help in ensuring baby is wide-eyed, alert and ready to nurse immediately after birth. As nature's orchestra reaches its crescendo, mother finds a new vigor to push and the baby responds, as if on cue and emerges for the first time. High levels of maternal endorphins, oxytocins and stress hormones act in concert to promote the separation of the placenta, lower the risk of post-partum bleeding and to help mother be ready and eager to respond to and nurse her baby immediately after birth. After birth happens, as mother puts her baby to her breast, he instinctively seeks out its warmth and smell... the pain, sweat, tears and fears now fade into distant memory, replaced by the magical mystery of the moment......

We are passionate about encouraging and celebrating a woman's ability to give birth normally and free from routine medical interventions. We believe that nature's simple plan for birth, perfected over centuries, is the best way for a woman to have a healthy and fulfilling childbirth provided she is not high-risk. We conduct prenatal and postnatal classes for expectant mothers and their partners with an emphasis on facilitating normal birth. In our Healthy Mother programs, we advocate and support WHO guidelines, and Lamaze International's Six Care Practices that protect Nature's Simple Plan for Birth.

* phrase adapted from Lamaze International