...Around the turn of the century, many of the early
feminists believed the pain and problems in labor were a
direct result of the commonly held belief that the female
body was inherently inferior to that of the male. They heard
about Indian women who were giving birth painlessly and
easily and believed that with the proper mindset, they could
do the same. Childbirth, then, became a way for women to
prove to themselves and others that women were strong and
capable of determining their own fates. Elizabeth Cady
Stanton wrote: "My girlhood was spent mostly in the open
air. I early imbibed the idea that a girl is just as good as
a boy, and I carried it out. I would walk five miles before
breakfast, or ride 10 on horseback ... I wore my clothing
sensibly. ... I never compressed my body. ... When my first
four children were born, I suffered very little. I then made
up my mind that it was totally unnecessary for me to suffer
at all; so I dressed lightly, walked every day ... And took
proper care of myself. I walked three miles. The child was
born without a particle of pain."
-Laura Kaplan Shanley, Love is the Heart of Labor, Midwifery
Today Issue 31
Reprinted from Midwifery Today E-News (Vol 2 Issue 24 June 14, 2000)
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