The birth of a concept that leads to a trial
The initial inspiration for the concept for this 2-year trial … to grow a skilled birthing population for ALL births … originated during a historical childbirth trend that ran from 1950s-mid1970s led in New Zealand by Grantly Dick-Read’s work that formed one rationale for the development of Parent’s Centre and in the United States and Canada based on Lamaze and The Bradley Method and in the US/Canada focused on Lamaze and The Bradley Method.
Here are some historic elements of that trend.
New Zealand
- 1950s-70s – Grantly Dick-Read, Lamaze, and Bradley evolved the first universal skills-methods taught and used in New Zealand and the United States/Canada.
- 1950s-70s – That generation of birth advocates focused on skills as being the pathway toward 3 goals:
- Natural birth
- Pain-free labour
- Less medical care
- 1950s-70s – Skills were promoted as an antidote to the standardizing practices in the delivery of maternity services.
- By late 1970s – Unfortunately, not enough women had achieved those goals. This left the new generation of birth advocates looking for others solutions and more choices although Brant’s study in 1961 at National Women’s showed remarkably positive experiences.
United States/Canada
- 1960s-late 1970s – Lamaze was taught in every hospital in the US. The Bradley Method was more exclusive. The goals of these methods were the same three as Grantly Dick-Read’s
- 1960s-late 1970s – Compared to previous generations of birthing women, the sheer volume of skilled families that birth professionals saw pushed along a massive change in the US from the very restrictive ‘evidence-based’ trend of that time to another more positive one. It was obvious to everyone that skilled birthing families birthed better, fathers were more involved and engaged and birth professionals more inspired and enthused. However, like New Zealand, not enough women achieved those specific three goals.
- 1972 onward – Birthing Better (The Pink Kit) began to develop as a focused effort by hundreds of ordinary fathers and mothers and the Founder and Director of Common Knowledge Trust.
- Late 1970s-mid1980s –The next generation of birth advocates sadly dismissed the immense value of skills because they did not achieve the three goals. Birth advocates were so focused on those three goals, they missed the forest for the trees. They turned their exclusive attention to another pathway to those goals … to promote ‘choices’ via Birth Plans and dismissed skills. This occurred in New Zealand, US, Canada and elsewhere.
- 1970s-today – Childbirth education shifted from classes teaching skills to ‘information … the pros and cons of medical interventions’ that would help women make choices.
- Mid1980s – Used in every type of birth, Birthing Better skills were fully developed as the choice-based childbirth trend became the norm.
- 1980s – Natural birth advocates and homebirth midwives were not able to accept these two concepts:
- Skills are essential for all families and every birth, not just for the above three goals.
- Skills and choices should go hand-in-hand with a strong emphasis on using skills to ‘do’ the activity of birth because choices are much more complex.
- Mid1980s onwards – US birth professionals began to see fewer and fewer skilled families and more Birth Plans. Birth Plans didn’t often unfold as hoped to achieve a natural birth and more women were ‘choosing’ increased medical care.
- 1980s onwards – Natural birth advocates and home birth midwives worked nationally and increasingly internationally to institutionalize ‘choice’ and codify a place for autonomous midwifery. New Zealand birth advocates and home birth midwives created our present midwifery partnership that went well and beyond the hopes of these two groups internationally.
New Zealand
- Mid1990s – Birthing Better skills arrived in New Zealand and were put into Common Knowledge Trust in 1996 via the Companies Office and then moved to The Charities Commission in 2006. The Founder/Director as worked to grow a skilled birthing population within the midwifery partnership.
- 1996 – Wintergreen gave a presentation at the NZCOM conference.
- 2000 – The first commercial edition of ‘The Pink Kit’ (now known as Birthing Better) became available.
- 2000 – Andrea Vincent, a Nelson midwife veteran of 20 years, began to work alongside Common Knowledge Trust to bring balance into her partnership autonomous practice. She began to collect statistics.
- 2000-2008 Common Knowledge Trust made efforts to involve other midwives in doing a trial unsuccessfully. The Midwifery Partnership was still relatively new and the philosophical foundation of respecting Women’s choices was still a driver.
- 2008-2013 – Wintergreen left New Zealand and returned via encouragement from Andrea. She felt her profession would now be open to the concept … to grow a skilled birthing population for all births and bring forward a more balanced partnership where skills and choices are both the normal and natural approach to birth by families in New Zealand society.
- 2013-2107 – Wintergreen and Andrea worked on streamlining a protocol that would be easy to incorporate into every autonomous practice.
- 2018 – The trial is now open for participation.
This trial is designed to …
- bring skills and choice together with a clear emphasis on skills because the Brant study does not focus on whether women’s choices produced those three goals. His study was all about the skills women used. Andrea’s statistics mirror Brant’s study success but with an expanded model that includes skills for all families and every birth.
- focus on the empowerment of using skills to ‘do’ the activity of birthing a baby rather than just a specific ‘outcome’. Brant’s study shows that birth professionals were impressed by skilled birthing women regardless of their outcome.
- to elevate every birth because every mother and father can use skills to birth their baby in the embrace of our midwifery partnership.
New Zealand is ideally set up to present a strong, balanced partnership that could become a global model.