An underlying question for the whole issue of babies in the nursery for
their first night outside is the womb is -- why are the moms so exhausted?
Nobody has to tell me that labor is hard work -- but I think labor and
delivery practices make it much more exhausting, including that labor is
slowed down because the mother is (often) in a strange place, with
strangers around her, she's scared, she's disempowered as the "patient" in
a medical setting, perhaps her labor was induced or her waters were broken,
she was in the lithotomy position, perhaps she got an epidural which slowed
down the labor and made it take longer, she wasn't allowed to eat or drink,
she has residual drugs in her body making her sleepy, etc. etc. etc.  And
then if the baby was taken away from her right away she didn't get the
"high" that is supposed to counteract some of the pain from the delivery.
Perhaps, just perhaps, if women gave birth in comfortable, familiar
surroundings, with friends and family and a midwife there to encourage her
as she delivers her own baby, and got to be in whatever position was most
comfortable and to progress at her own speed, and got to stay with her baby
. . . . . perhaps she wouldn't be so stressed out that first night.  Just a
thought.


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Katherine A. Dettwyler, Ph.D.                         email:
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Anthropology Department                               phone: (409) 845-5256
Texas A&M University                                    fax: (409) 845-4070
College Station, TX  77843-4352
http://www.prairienet.org/laleche/dettwyler.html