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. 2023 Jul 1;32(3):149-161.
doi: 10.1891/JPE-2022-0007.

Not Just Mechanical Birthing Bodies: Birthing Consciousness and Birth Reflexes

Orli Dahan, Michel Odent

Not Just Mechanical Birthing Bodies: Birthing Consciousness and Birth Reflexes

Orli Dahan et al. J Perinat Educ. .

Abstract

There are two concepts of neuroendocrine reflexes associated with the expulsion of the fetus through the birth canal during the second stage of birth: the Ferguson reflex and the fetus ejection reflex. These concepts are often confused with one another and treated synonymously, thus interchangeable. However, the two not only refer to different phenomena, but they also represent the birthing woman differently. The Ferguson reflex treats the birthing woman as simply a biomechanical body. In contrast, the fetus ejection reflex does not ignore women's conscious states during birth and recognizes what is currently a well-known empirical fact: The event of birth is a complex biophysical process affected by many mental, social, and environmental factors. In that, it has a connection to the phenomenon of birthing consciousness, which is the positive altered state sometimes experienced during a physiological and undisturbed childbirth. We argue that birthing consciousness and the fetus ejection reflex, made possible by reduced cortical control, are extremely helpful in promoting physiological human childbirth. Therefore, treating a woman giving birth as a biomechanical body is not only erroneous but can also lead to medical mismanagement of the second stage of physiological childbirth with associated mental and physiological consequences.

Keywords: Ferguson reflex; birth management; birthing consciousness; fetus ejection reflex; physiological childbirth.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no relevant financial interest or affiliations with any commercial interests related to the subjects discussed within this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. The factors that constitute birthing consciousness and promote physiological childbirth.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.. The difference between the reflexes in terms of acknowledging or ignoring birthing women’s consciousness.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.. The consequences of ignoring environmental and psychological factors in modern birth arena.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.. Timeline of birth reflexes and birthing consciousness.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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