Until you support women at birth Sal, you just wouldn't understandYou need to try to relax the perineum - and come on, how many of us do because we don't get told, or we are so scared of tearing, the 'ring of fire' etc if you haven't had an epidural. Fear of birth and pain is an absolute epidemic and psychological blocks are a big problem - I have seen many of them first hand in births where there has been past sexual abuse, generally feeling 'unsafe' and fear of 'tools'. It is possible to be so tense and fearful that you tighten up in places you never thought possible and nor-adrenaline kicks in and the whole process stops or as observed by midwives and doulas, even goes backwards. My teacher has been studying it for years, based on books written on the topic by further experts on the psychology of birth and the way it's changing.
If for a moment you can think with an open mind for a second and take into account the experience of many, many midwives who trust in a womans body to stretch (and know how to help naturally), they are the keepers of normal birth and have NEVER had to perform an episiotomy or perhaps once in their life you will be open to new things and realise the system is less than ideal, infact hideous compared to countries like NZ, Holland, Europe... rather than have blind faith in the medical system. How come a country so well, healthy and abundant has such poor ratings in the outcomes for birth reports? We are well down the list. You can be happy with a great outcome in terms of baby being safe, but who goes into birth wanting their OWN body to be cut, forced and pulled about? Thats not our idea of a peaceful, beautiful birth perhaps romantacised about prior to. Look at it from a textbook perspective if you may but I'm sorry, thats not the way real-life is.
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