Sublime

During vaginal birth, a baby’s journey down the birth canal serves as its intimate introduction to its mother’s vaginal microbiome, the distinct combination of bacteria that go on to help the growing human deal with infection, train its immune system, and help it process food.

Leboyer birth,*

Women with a doula were less than half as likely to have an epidural, had shorter labor, were about half as likely to have a C-section, and were half as likely to have forceps used in delivery.

Every new mother begins as a child-mother. A child-mother is old enough to have babies and has good instincts in the right direction, but she needs the mothering of an older woman or women who essentially prompt, encourage, and support her in her mothering of her children.