Lamaze technique

Last updated

The Lamaze technique, also known as the psychoprophylactic method or simply Lamaze, began as a prepared childbirth technique. As an alternative to medical intervention during childbirth, it was popularized in the 1950s by French obstetrician Fernand Lamaze and based on his observations in the Soviet Union. The goal of Lamaze is to build a mother's confidence in her ability to give birth, through classes that help pregnant women understand how to cope with pain in ways that both facilitate labor and promote comfort, including relaxation techniques, movement, and massage. [1]

Contents

There is a training and certification program available to practitioners, leading to the Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator (LCCE) designation. [2]

Dr. Fernand Lamaze preparing pregnant women to childbirth . Lamaze preparation accouchement juin 1953.jpg
Dr. Fernand Lamaze preparing pregnant women to childbirth .

History

Dr. Lamaze was influenced by childbirth practices in the Soviet Union, which involved breathing and relaxation techniques under the supervision of a "monitrice", or midwife. The Lamaze method gained popularity in the United States after Marjorie Karmel wrote about her experiences in her 1959 book Thank You, Dr. Lamaze, as well as Elisabeth Bing's book Six Practical Lessons for an Easier Childbirth (1960). Both Karmel and Bing would later found the American Society for Psychoprophylaxis in Obstetrics in 1960, later renamed to Lamaze International. [4]

Criticism

Lamaze himself has been criticized for being over-disciplinary and anti-feminist. Natural childbirth activist Sheila Kitzinger's description of the methods he deployed while working in a Paris clinic during the 1950s expresses concern regarding "the disciplinary nature" of Lamaze's approach to childbirth. According to Kitzinger, Lamaze consistently ranked the women's performance in childbirth from "excellent" to "complete failure" on the basis of their "restlessness and screams". Those who "failed" were, he thought, "themselves responsible because they harbored doubts or had not practiced sufficiently", and "intellectual" women who "asked too many questions" were considered by Lamaze to be the most "certain to fail". [5]

The Lamaze technique has also been criticized for being ineffective. [6] [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Childbirth</span> Expulsion of a fetus from the pregnant mothers uterus

Childbirth, also known as labour, parturition and delivery, is the completion of pregnancy where one or more babies exits the internal environment of the mother via vaginal delivery or caesarean section. In 2019, there were about 140.11 million human births globally. In the developed countries, most deliveries occur in hospitals, while in the developing countries most are home births.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radcliffe College</span> Womens college in Cambridge, Massachusetts (1878–1999)

Radcliffe College was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and functioned as the female coordinate institution for the all-male Harvard College. Considered founded in 1879, it was one of the Seven Sisters colleges and held the popular reputation of having an intellectual, literary, and independent-minded female student body.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Twilight sleep</span> Amnesic and analgesic state induced by morphine and scopolamine

Twilight sleep is an amnesic state characterized by insensitivity to pain without loss of consciousness, induced by an injection of morphine and scopolamine, with the purpose of pain management during childbirth. The obstetric method originated in Germany and gained large popularity in New York City in the early 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harvard Radcliffe Institute</span> Division of Harvard University

The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University, also known as the Harvard Radcliffe Institute, is an institute of Harvard University that fosters interdisciplinary research across the humanities, sciences, social sciences, arts, and professions. It is the successor institution to the former Radcliffe College, originally a women's college connected with Harvard.

Natural childbirth is childbirth without routine medical interventions, particularly anesthesia. Natural childbirth arose in opposition to the techno-medical model of childbirth that has recently gained popularity in industrialized societies. Natural childbirth attempts to minimize medical intervention, particularly the use of anesthetic medications and surgical interventions such as episiotomies, forceps and ventouse deliveries and caesarean sections. Natural childbirth may occur during a physician or midwife attended hospital birth, a midwife attended homebirth, or an unassisted birth. The term "natural childbirth" was coined by obstetrician Grantly Dick-Read upon publication of his book Natural Childbirth in the 1930s, which was followed by the 1942 Childbirth Without Fear.

A relaxation technique is any method, process, procedure, or activity that helps a person to relax; attain a state of increased calmness; or otherwise reduce levels of pain, anxiety, stress or anger. Relaxation techniques are often employed as one element of a wider stress management program and can decrease muscle tension, lower blood pressure, and slow heart and breath rates, among other health benefits.

Fernand Lamaze was a French obstetrician, most famous as the popularizer of psychoprophylaxis, a method of childbirth preparation and pain management that bears his name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schlesinger Library</span> Research library at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University

The Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America is a research library at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University. According to Nancy F. Cott, the Carl and Lily Pforzheimer Foundation Director, it is "the largest and most significant repository of documents covering women's lives and activities in the United States".

The Bradley method of natural childbirth is a method of natural childbirth developed in 1947 by Robert A. Bradley, M.D. (1917–1998) and popularized by his book Husband-Coached Childbirth, first published in 1965. The Bradley method emphasizes that birth is a natural process: mothers are encouraged to trust their body and focus on diet and exercise throughout pregnancy; and it teaches couples to manage labor through deep breathing and the support of a partner or labor coach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sheila Kitzinger</span> British midwife, anthropologist and activist (1929–2015)

Sheila Helena Elizabeth Kitzinger MBE was a British natural childbirth activist and author on childbirth and pregnancy. She wrote more than 20 books and had a worldwide reputation as a passionate and committed advocate for change.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fran Hosken</span>

Fran P. Hosken was an American designer, writer, feminist, and social activist. She founded the Women's International Network in 1975, and published a quarterly journal on women's health issues that became known, in particular, for its research into female genital mutilation (FGM).

Dorothy Dunbar Bromley was an American journalist and early writer on birth control and women's issues.

The Boston Association for Childbirth Education (BACE) was established in 1953 by students of Jean Whiffen. BACE was one of the first American organizations focused on natural childbirth and maternal-based obstetrical care, and in 1962, it sponsored the first breastfeeding support group in New England.

Elisabeth Dorothea Bing was a German physical therapist, co-founder of Lamaze International, and proponent of natural childbirth. She trained as a physical therapist in England after fleeing Nazi Germany due to her Jewish ancestry. Her hospital work there made her interested in natural childbirth, and she taught it to parents in the United States after she moved there in 1949. To promote natural childbirth methods, she co-founded the American Society for Psychoprophylaxis in Obstetrics, made several TV appearances and radio broadcasts, and wrote several books on the subject. She became known as the "mother" of the Lamaze method in the United States.

Lamaze International, formerly the American Society for Psychoprophylaxis in Obstetrics or ASPO, is an organization dedicated to promoting the Lamaze technique of natural childbirth. It was co-founded in 1960 by Elisabeth Bing and Marjorie Karmel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pain management during childbirth</span>

Pain management during childbirth is the treatment or prevention of pain that a woman may experience during labor and delivery. The amount of pain a woman feels during labor depends partly on the size and position of her baby, the size of her pelvis, her emotions, the strength of the contractions, and her outlook. Tension increases pain during labor. Virtually all women worry about how they will cope with the pain of labor and delivery. Childbirth is different for each woman and predicting the amount of pain experienced during birth and delivery can not be certain.

Yolanda Bako is an American feminist and activist against domestic violence.

Elisabeth Owen Burger (1923–2013) was an American economist who served as a consultant for a variety of state, national, and international organizations, and was involved in a variety of women's political events and organizations. She was the daughter of labor activists Pauline Newman and Frieda S. Miller, and wife of Sir Arthur David Kemp Owen and, later, Chester Burger.

Cesina Borges Adães Bermudes (1908-2001) was a Portuguese obstetrician who introduced the concept of “painless childbirth” to Portugal. She was also a prominent feminist and an opponent of the Estado Novo authoritarian regime, for which she was imprisoned for three months.

Birthing classes are classes to help parents to prepare for the birth of a baby and the first cares of a newborn, and a birth plan is a document created by a pregnant woman detailing her decisions and expectations regarding her labor and childbirth.

References

Notes

  1. "Childbirth education: Get ready for labor and delivery - Mayo Clinic". Mayo Clinic . 2019-04-29. Archived from the original on 2019-04-29. Retrieved 2022-12-23.
  2. "Certification Exam". Lamaze International Certifying Exam. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
  3. La Revue des travailleuses : bulletin confédéral des femmes CGT-FSM (1953-06-01). "La belle histoire du docteur Lamaze". Gallica (in French). Confédération générale du travail. p. 17. Retrieved 2023-04-18.
  4. "Elisabeth Bing, 'Mother of Lamaze,' Dies at 100". New York Times. 17 May 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  5. Jones, Jane Clare (February 2012). "Idealized and Industrialized Labor: Anatomy of a Feminist Controversy". Hypatia . 27 (1): 99–117. doi:10.1111/j.1527-2001.2011.01217.x. S2CID   145291619. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  6. Paula A. Michaels (March 2014). Lamaze: An International History. Oxford University Press. pp. 87–. ISBN   978-0-19-973864-9.
  7. Jacqueline H. Wolf (7 January 2011). Deliver Me from Pain: Anesthesia and Birth in America. JHU Press. pp. 157–. ISBN   978-1-4214-0323-6.