In a message dated 11/4/99 2:46:50 PM Central Standard Time, Jalana writes:

<< Why is it that in my neck of the woods,(Vancouver Canada) and around the
 world this has taken off like wild fire, >>

I think the answer to this question is the same as the answer to our problems
with birth (in the U.S.) - we are afraid of natural processes because they
are highly variable, and they don't allow us to feel that we are in control.
We like being in control (as opposed to trusting God, nature, or being
fatalistic) and we like using technology.  I liked math as a kid, because
there was always a one right answer.  My early parenting months were (in
addition to being blissful) frustrating because there didn't seem to be an
answer book for me to check myself against.  "Instincts?  I don't have any,
just tell me the right thing to do and I'll do it."   It was in Henci Goer's
book (Obstetric Myth vs. Research Realities) that I read about work done by
(I think) Robbie Davis Floyd who said, basically, that all cultures create
rituals to deal with major life events.  The rituals reflect the underlying
values of the culture - and in the U.S. that means we create technological
rituals that involve strict timekeeping.  (Please forgive me if I've mangled
this explanation, it has been years since I read it and the book is out on
loan).  Ezzo (and many hospital based childbirth classes) promise to make a
natural, dynamic, awesome "you had to be there" experience like parenting
(birth) into something safe, predictable, manageable, and mainstream.  The
blue-suited CPA in me understood this all very well, the hippie earth mother
is still assimilating :-D

Elaine Ziska
Jackson, MS

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