A birth educator has sparked an important (and overdue) conversation on TikTok after she shared a clip revealing what really counts as a 'natural birth'.
Posting a video for her 131.3k followers, Amanda Gorman (who goes by the username @findingyourvillage and also hosts a birthing podcast) said: "What is considered a 'natural birth'?" before going on to state that "Every birth is natural!"
Listing off the different types of birth – that all count as a 'natural birth' despite preexisting stigma – Gorman added, "With or without epidural" and "Caesarean section."
In the caption, she humorously added: "I have never heard of a person that was born of unnatural causes..."
Her POV was welcomed by her followers, who took to the comments section to agree. "This!!!" said one follower, with another person commenting, "Preach!"
But, one person wasn't so sure about Gorman's definition of 'natural birth', and wrote: "Doesn’t natur[al] mean existing in or caused by nature; not made or caused by humankind?" To which the birth expert replied, "There has never been a baby born in an artificial way. All babies are born 'naturally' from a human, who grew them in their body."
So, what actually is a 'natural birth'?
"When the term 'natural birth' is used, it infers that people who give birth in a different way are giving birth 'unnaturally'," Gorman told Cosmopolitan UK, when we reached out for a chat. "That just isn’t true, there is no way for a baby to be born unnaturally or artificially, so in my opinion: all birth is natural!"
The expert went on, "It doesn’t matter how you give birth, who assists you or doesn’t assist you. You have grown a whole human with your body and then released them from your body via birth. That is amazing and should be revered."
Why is there a stigma around not having a 'natural birth'?
Speaking from her experience as a birthing educator, Gorman explained that she's noticed the stigma surrounding 'natural birth' has created a "birth experience hierarchy."
She continued, "I've also observed that people have different definitions for the term 'natural birth'. When some say 'natural birth' they are referring to a vaginal birth as opposed to a caesarean birth, while others are referring to a pain-medication-free birth as opposed to a vaginal birth with an epidural."
The issue, Gorman points out, is that the term encourages new parents to somewhat look down on others depending on the type of birth they had. "The rhetoric created by this term is that 'natural birth' is more challenging, that it takes more work and sacrifice and it even goes so far as to infer that the person who gave birth 'naturally' cares for their baby more," she explained. "I believe none of this to be true and I find the stigma to be damaging."
How does the stigma around 'natural birth' impact parents?
Pregnancy and giving birth can be an incredibly stressful – yet exciting – time, that is often made worse by the stigma around having a 'natural birth'. "This stigma can create stress during pregnancy and can wreak havoc on a parent's mental health in the postnatal period," Gorman tells us. "To give birth is to surrender to the realm of the unknown. Someone could spend hours planning their birth, learning about different positions for labour and pain coping mechanisms, but then develop preeclampsia and require a caesarean section for their baby to be born meaning all of the plans they had change in an instant."
In fact, this stigma "frames giving birth as a contest" the expert adds. "That mentality creates a comparison trap and invites a concept that getting an epidural or having a cesarean section is 'giving up' or taking the 'easy way out'," she points out. "This can be demoralising for people who choose these options before going into labour and for those whose birth did not go according to plan. This can impact a parent’s experience during postpartum as well when they reflect back on their birth story and lament that they weren’t 'strong enough' or they 'gave up' or were 'weak'."
What needs to change when it comes to our idea of 'natural birth'?
"Giving birth is a transformational moment in someone's life and it bookmarks the beginning of their parenting journey," Gorman says. "If this moment is tarnished with the idea that they gave birth in an 'unnatural way' they could feel like a failure as a parent right from the start." It's because of this that the expert decided to highlight the issue on her platform. "Anyone who gives birth is a warrior in my eyes and I want everyone preparing to give birth to feel like that too."
This article is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice or diagnosis. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
