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. 2011 Winter;20(1):8-13.
doi: 10.1891/1058-1243.20.1.8.

Waiting to inhale: how to unhurry the moment of birth

Mary Esther Malloy

Waiting to inhale: how to unhurry the moment of birth

Mary Esther Malloy. J Perinat Educ. 2011 Winter.

Abstract

A doula and expectant mother's view of birth is forever changed when she sees a midwife simply place a newly born child below her mother at the moment of birth. The pause that the mother experiences in this moment as she studies, touches, and claims her child prompts the author to reflect in this guest editorial on ways we might be disturbing the natural sequence of birth as we deliver babies directly to their mothers' chests.

Keywords: birth satisfaction; doulas; midwifery care; natural birth; normal birth.

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Figures

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Laura pushes on all fours as her husband and midwife prepare to catch the baby.
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Riley is born into her father’s and midwife’s hands.
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The author, Mary Esther, and her newborn daughter greet each other.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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