Overload
Childbirth
Category: Illness or disabilities
Type
Involuntary
Introduction and description
Childbirth is not an illness, strictly speaking, it is an event and defined as “the culmination of a human pregnancy or gestation period with the birth of one or more newborn infants from a woman's uterus”.
But, if you would like to find out why such an extraordinarily large number of women have spiritual experiences during childbirth, then please read on.
The process of normal human childbirth is categorized in three stages of labour:
- the shortening and dilation of the cervix
- descent and birth of the infant
- and birth of the placenta
An extraordinarily large number of women have spiritual experiences during childbirth ranging from ‘unity and ecstasy’, past lives, past perceptions, out of body, near death, out of time, hallucinations and visions to simple improved perception.
Background
A very informal study that I undertook of friends and acquaintances showed that 2 out of every 3 women had had something. Given the very very high prevalence of the phenomenon, it is extraordinary that no one has done a systematic study, as they did for near death experiences, but as far as I can ascertain [looking at the Pubmed site] they haven’t. The only study that I could find is mentioned in the observations.
How it works
It may help here to read the more general description of How spiritual experience works
There are a number of mechanisms by which spiritual experience could be obtained during childbirth. Some of the anaesthetics and gases used can be a cause, some of the other pharmaceuticals can also be a cause, but from the observations I gathered the three main causes are, emotional overload, extreme pain and hypoxia.
Extreme pain
Because humans are bipedal with an erect stance and have, in relation to the size of the pelvis, the biggest head of any mammalian species, human fetuses and human female pelvises are adapted to make birth possible. Despite this, labour is always accompanied by excruciating pain, made worse if the specific sequence of manoevres required to get the baby’s large bony head and shoulders to pass through the bony ring of the pelvis fails. The human body has a chemical response to pain, by releasing endorphins but until they do, the pain stays
Emotional overload
Childbirth can be an intense event and strong emotions, both positive and negative, can be brought to the surface.
Emotional trauma doesn’t still the senses, it can flood the senses. And any extremely high level of emotion, has the effect of completely confusing the Will, which has no armoury of learnt function it can use to handle the event. Spiritual experiences are often a result of the first birth, second births are less likely to produce experiences because we have learnt.
This level of Emotion defeats any form of rational thinking. Highly charged emotions totally interrupt any form of logical thinking.
Hypoxia
Childbirth is an inherently dangerous and risky activity, subject to many complications. Every year, more than half a million women die in pregnancy or childbirth. The "natural" mortality rate of childbirth—where nothing is done to avert maternal death—has been estimated as being 1,500 deaths per 100,000 births. Modern medicine has greatly alleviated the risk of childbirth in modern Western countries. In countries such as the United States or Sweden, the current maternal mortality rate is around 10 deaths per 100,000 births. This contrasts, however, with a figure of 900 per 100,000 live births in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Haemorrhage, or heavy blood loss, is still the leading cause of death of birthing mothers in the world today, especially in the developing world.
Heavy blood loss leads to what is called hypovolemic shock. Hypovolemic shock is simply Shock caused by blood loss. The blood loss alone is often enough to cause hypoxia, however, the shock itself exacerbates the problem. As the blood carries oxygen and nutrients around the body, reduced flow hinders the delivery of these components to the tissues, and can stop the tissues from functioning properly. Shock can have a variety of effects, all with similar outcomes, but all relate to a problem with the body's circulatory system. For example, shock may lead to cardiac arrest (the heart stopping).
In logical terms, however, hypoxia is the ultimate threat to the Will. And the Will responds by shutting down non essential systems – parts of Memory, advanced Reasoning and so on. Eventually it gives up and the Composer takes over.
Related observations
Healing observations
- 'I've Changed My Mind', Mindfulness-Based Childbirth and Parenting (MBCP) for pregnant women with a high level of fear of childbirth and their partners: study protocol of the quasi-experimental controlled trial 023453
- An ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants in Trinidad 021423
- Benefits of moderate beer consumption at different stages of life of women 017884
- Culpepper's Complete Herbal on Mugwort 012748
- Dance labour reduces pain 013367
- Dr Natasha Campbell-McBride - Food is the Best Medicine 027894
- Dr Ralph Spintge – Music therapy for pain, insomnia, stress and hypertension 022271
- Eno, Brian - Neroli 021933
- Ficino, Marsilio - Commentary on Plato’s Timaeus - And music therapy 015985
- Homeopathy for Collective Diseases - AIDs, Malaria, Trauma, Vaccines and Toxins - The quest for a collective simillimum 012621
- Mrs Grieve on Cannabis 016792
- Mrs Grieve on Milk Thistle 017231
- Mrs Grieve on Raspberries 005545
- Mrs Grieve on the Holy Thistle 017216
- Mudras - Fountain rim mudra - Lower belt meridian 016849
- Pain after Childbirth 006674
- Phytochemistry, pharmacology and medicinal properties of Carthamus tinctorius L. 020854
- Professor Alexander Erskine - A Hypnotist’s Case Book – Birth control using hypnosis 029281
- Review on Labisia pumila (Kacip Fatimah): bioactive phytochemicals and skin collagen synthesis promoting herb 020457
- Richard Rudgely on medical uses 010487
- Stockham, Alice Bunker - Karezza - The skilful boatman 013819
- Tito Vignoli - Carmen 003683
Hallucination
- Acute onset of steroid psychosis with very low dose of prednisolone in Sheehan's syndrome. 017715
- Addictive psychosis from bromocriptine 005259
- Childbirth, hallucinations and ergotism 006804
- Clinical course of illness in women with early onset puerperal psychosis: a 12-year follow-up study 017916
- Food dyes and genotoxicity - Food manufacturing companies 014505
- Methergine 019520
- Misoprostol 019539
- Mother's psychosis after birth 005258
- Mrs Grieve on Cannabis 016792
- Mrs. Mason of Sussex, England has a caesarean under local anaesthetic 023422
- Syntocinon 020164
- Two new Mums with hallucinations 005231
Wisdom, Inspiration, Divine love & Bliss
- Childbirth and bleeding 005218
- Eno, Brian - Neroli 021933
- Gurdjieff - Beelzebub's tales to his grandson - Schools and Caesarian section 012925
- Jayne Smith and her near death experience 011245
- Pam Williams from Swansea 012613
- Stockham, Alice Bunker - Karezza - The skilful boatman 013819
Out of time
- Atrophic uterus produces out of body 007072
- Aware during her NDE, that her newborn infant would die 021177
- Caesarian section 005214
- Childbirth 000502
- Childbirth and bleeding 005218
- Childbirth experience 01 000043
- Childbirth experience 02 000044
- Childbirth experience 03 000045
- Childbirth experience 06 000048
- Dr Robert Crookall - More Astral projections – Mrs Green, of Esher has an OBE 023753
- Dr Robert Crookall - More Astral projections – Mrs M. Maries has an NDE 023759
- Dr Robert Crookall - More Astral projections – Mrs Nora L. Shakespeare has an OBE 023725
- Dr Robert Crookall - More Astral projections – Mrs R. Ramsden, of Strood has an OBE 023730
- Dr Robert Crookall - More Astral projections – Mrs T. Rowbotham has an OBE 023750
- Hannah and her multiple NDEs and OBEs 021110
- Jayne Smith and her near death experience 011245
- Mrs L. Opfolter-Hull’s grandmother OBE where she of floated up towards the most beautiful choir she had ever heard, during her baby's birth 023404
- Pam Williams from Swansea 012613
- Rosalind Heywood - The Infinite Hive - She split soon after the birth of her baby 023054
- Scottish out of body 004086
- Several women have talked about experiences that occurred during difficult childbirths 021176
- Study into childbirth dissociation experiences 000042
- Toronto architect and haemorrhaging 011247
- Woolger, Dr Roger - Other Lives, Past selves – Eliza and the baby with the deformed heart 022068
Enlightenment
In time
- Addictive psychosis from bromocriptine 005259
- Childbirth experience 04 000046
- Dr Robert Crookall - More Astral projections – Mrs M. Maries has an NDE 023759
- Hannah and her multiple NDEs and OBEs 021110
- Homeopathy for Collective Diseases - AIDs, Malaria, Trauma, Vaccines and Toxins - The quest for a collective simillimum 012621
- Mother's psychosis after birth 005258
- Toronto architect and haemorrhaging 011247
- Twenty cases suggestive of reincarnation – Dr Ian Stevenson – 25 William George Jr 025419
- Woolger, Dr Roger - Other Lives, Past selves – Eliza and the baby with the deformed heart 022068
Dying
- Doris 002512
- Woolger, Dr Roger - Other Lives, Past selves – Eliza and the baby with the deformed heart 022068
Environmental Influence
- Hack Tuke, Daniel – Sickness - Miscarriage and protracted childbirth induced by powerful emotions – Fear and Anxiety 026141
- Tito Vignoli - Carmen 003683