Natural Childbirth
There's no one true and concise definition of the term, natural childbirth, but there is the agreement that the minimal use of traditional medical intervention is the basis of the term.
There are varying degrees of natural childbirth, some of which are initiated by choice alone while others incorporate guided assistance to one degree or another. The assistance may be the result of the mother's wish or it could be the result of concerns for safety that arose during prenatal screenings of both mother and baby.
Throughout most of human history, natural childbirth has been the norm. Women gave birth at home, sometimes alone but sometimes with the help of a family member, midwife, and sometimes even with the help of a local physician. The options for controlling pain and circumventing any emergency medical issues were severely limited, however, leaving almost all babies born by natural childbirth methods.
Natural childbirth became a bit antiquated during the early 1900s, when hospital care became more available to the general American population. With the hospitals came drugs to reduce the pain and the suggestion of a higher degree of safety. There were extremes, however, including the complete sedation of a mother, leaving her unconscious during delivery and unable to assist. Babies born to unconscious mothers had to be forcibly delivered with forceps, which sometimes harmed the baby and left the mother badly, and painfully, bruised.
When choosing natural childbirth today, women have the choice of going entirely au naturel, without any pharmaceutical or medical intervention whatsoever. This completely natural way of childbirth can take place in a hospital, birthing center, or at home.
Many women begin the natural childbirth process with instructions to their attendant that, if medical necessity should dictate it, they'd like to receive appropriate pain medications and other interventions while remaining as true to the philosophy of natural as possible.
It usually happens that a woman opting for natural childbirth has been closely monitored during pregnancy and will choose this method of delivery only when there is no risk of complication to herself or to her baby.
One reason natural childbirth is becoming an increasingly popular method of delivery is the stronger bond between mother and child that many mothers report. They feel that by experiencing this very natural physiological process in as natural a state as possible, the connection begins and remains stronger.