51. Maternal Mammalian Ecstasy: The Ancient Hormonal Blueprint for Optimal Birth and Bonding - Sarah Buckley

Through untold eons mammals have evolved a beautiful birth-giving physiology based around a complex cascade of hormones that are released during labor. We give both mother and baby the best chance at a peaceful, ecstatic birth and postpartum period when we remember and respect this ancient dance.

IN THE INTRO:

Complex parenting topics: sleep, immunity, birth

IN THE INTERVIEW:

Sarah’s mainstream doctor grandfather and how she got interested in natural birth
The exquisitely designed ancestral/mammalian hormonal blueprint of labor
The impact of (unnatural, external) stress on a laboring woman and how it disrupts the optimal hormonal flow
Creating optimal conditions for birthing and for bonding
The hormonal consequences of bypassing the natural physiological onset of labor (such as by induction or scheduled C-section)
How feeling unsafe (at a subconscious, limbic system level) disrupts the flow of birth
The irony of how we treat animals in labor v how we treat human women in labor
The ecstatic, altered state of mind we enter into during labor
What first time mothers need to know but are often not told
Fear and mystery in birth
The body is designed to transcend the (natural, intrinsic) stress and pain of labor and they play a critical role in bonding
The role of vocalization in labor
Newborns need placental blood: cord clamping and how our cultural beliefs around that have changed over time
What “No hatting, no patting, no chatting” means for the postpartum period
Ancestral family sleep and motherbaby biological regulation: the many reasons that co-sleeping is best for babies and the science that backs it up
The fascinating phenomenon of some birth attendants being able to smell the moment before the baby is born