Pregnancy and Childbirth Issues

Pregnancy and Childbirth Issues

Childbirth educators always advise pregnant women to avoid the "Valsalva Maneuver," which means holding one's breath while straining. It puts great pressure on the uterus and the pelvic floor.

Unfortunately, this maneuver is impossible to avoid when using a conventional toilet. This is why expectant mothers find daily elimination such an uncomfortable and frustrating experience. Constipation during pregnancy is considered "normal" because most doctors are unaware of the abnormal design of the modern toilet.

Besides improving elimination, squatting also helps in other ways during pregnancy:

• Preventing hemorrhoids, which affect up to 50% of pregnant women (according to aHealthyMe.com)
• Avoiding the build-up of toxins in the colon, to give the growing embryo a cleaner, healthier environment.
• Developing the flexibility needed for giving birth in the most advantageous and natural posture. Squatting fully opens the birth canal, maximizes the power of the abdominal muscles, and helps protect the pelvic floor from injury.

A study published in 1969 in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of the British Commonwealth found that squatting increases the available area in the birth canal by 20 to 30%. The sitting toilet has made women incapable of prolonged squatting, which would promote a quicker and more comfortable labor and delivery. It would also reduce the need for medical interventions such as forceps, vacuum extractors, epidurals and episiotomies.

The most drastic form of medical intervention is the cesarean section. 30.2% of US births in 2005 were by C-section. This alarming statistic indicates that women are losing the ability to give birth naturally. The modern toilet has alienated women from the birthing posture they were designed to use.

The conventional delivery positions – recumbent and semi-sitting – close the birth canal by 20 to 30%. The baby is used as a "wedge" to force the birth canal open. Obstetricians, unaware of what is causing the obstruction, resort to drugs and elaborate appliances to "extract" the fetus. Their crude and forceful procedures increase the risk of injury to mother and baby.

Almost all hospital delivery rooms prohibit the use of the squatting position, so women are forced to use the Valsalva Maneuver. They hold their breath and push with all their might – oblivious to the fact that the birth canal is partially closed. This maneuver puts enormous strain on the pelvic floor.

A common result is damage to the pudendal nerve, which connects the pelvis to the spinal cord. Nerve damage can lead to bladder incontinence and hormonal imbalance, due to the breakdown in communication between the brain and the pelvis. Post-partum depression is one symptom of hormonal imbalance.

Giving birth in the squatting position does not require the Valsalva Maneuver. Besides fully opening the birth canal, the posture naturally compresses the abdominal cavity to push the baby along, without great exertion or holding of breath.

The full squatting posture also minimizes the risk of pelvic hernias, often caused by straining during delivery. The bladder, the uterus, or the intestines can be dislodged from their proper place and pushed into the vagina. These hernias are extremely common in the western world. But in the developing world, where squatting is used, women are "relatively unaffected by pelvic floor problems."

Human beings should be able to give birth as easily as any other animal. This is the case for over two-thirds of the world's women, since they use the same posture they have used all their lives for bodily functions.

By rediscovering how the body was designed to function, women can greatly reduce the stress of pregnancy and childbirth. Having a baby will never be effortless, but it can become a much safer, easier and more joyful experience.