Orgasmic Childbirth, Is It Really Possible?

When you think of child birth, chances are the words “orgasmic”, “pleasurable” and “blissful” do not come to mind. Hollywood has done a spectacular job of conditioning people to believe that childbirth is a crazy and traumatic experience for all women. Just think of what you have seen in the movies and television shows – The sweaty, screaming woman lashing out at her partner, hesitant and in pain wishing that the experience would just be over with… the woman being rushed into an emergency ward, thrown into a wheelchair by an anxious nurse and taken to a room where her legs are pried open with stirrups as she brings a child into the world accompanied with agonizing screams. If this has been your only exposure to child birth, you may be quite sceptical when I tell you that some women’s experiences of giving birth have been extremely pleasurable.

Woman hugging partner during childbirh
Image: Woman Hugging Partner

Debra Pascali-Bonaro the founder of the Orgasmic Birth movement and creator of the documentary describes Orgasmic Birth as the following:

Orgasmic Birth can be the blissful waves in between contractions. One can enter this altered state and ride the waves of sensation, expanding into the pleasure and increasing sexual energy and the hormones consuming one’s being. Riding the wave creates a peaceful, total body sensation that lingers as energy is exchanged between you, your baby and your partner. Birthing in love is a state of filling your entire body and being with oxytocin, the love hormone, and surrendering to the power within.”

It sounds a little bit esoteric reading the description however after watching some interviews and doing some research, I discovered that a pleasurable birth is a very realistic and achievable experience for many women based on science. Orgasmic birth does not necessarily mean having an orgasm whilst giving birth (although this is a possibility for some women). The idea behind an orgasmic birth is to surrender to the body’s natural ability to give birth blissfully.

Newborn baby with mother
Image: Woman Kissing Baby

Western Society’s Views On Childbirth

For some time in western society, child birth has been viewed as a stressful medical emergency requiring specialised intervention from surgeons. I completely understand the need for medical intervention in certain situations where the mother or child are at risk of complications and I am incredibly grateful to live in a time where mother and infant mortality is preventable in the majority of cases. I do however see that many woman have been convinced that all instances of child birth are to be medicalised with this certainly not being the case. Women’s bodies are made to give birth, heck they’ve been doing it since the beginning of human existence!!

The Feelings Of Shame With Orgasmic Childbirth

Upon reading comments on many of the orgasmic videos I viewed, what struck me most was the divide between people’s opinions of this experience. Shame around sexual energy when giving birth was rampant, with some people mentioning paedophilia and how wrong it was to give birth whilst having an orgasm. I understand that a pleasurable birth goes against what many people have been taught is “normal” however isn’t sexual energy what conceives a child to begin with? Would it not be a beautiful experience for a child to be born into this world from a mother who is in joy and pleasure rather than pain and agony? There is nothing wrong or perverted about a woman in pleasure during childbirth. The idea that woman have no other option but to suffer throughout childbirth is false and out-dated. Experiencing pleasure is the birthright of every person on this planet so if pleasure during childbirth is a possibility, I believe all women must be made aware.

Newborn baby who had a water birth
Image: Water Birth

The Documented Experiences Of Orgasmic Childbirth

Although a rarely documented experience in peer-reviewed medical literature, there have been numerous reports of pleasurable experiences with birthing children. Orgasmic birth has occurred unexpectedly with some women, others have done months of preparation to get their body & mind in the space to have this experience. From what I have read and what I have come to know about women, trusting one’s intuition and bodily wisdom is the gateway to an ecstatic birth. Instead of been confined to a hospital bed lying on one’s back, some women need to allow their bodies to take over and guide them during childbirth – this could mean being in a range of different positions, making sounds, breathing and moving the body intuitively. Human beings are mammals and like all species of animals, we have an innate knowing of what needs to be done to birth a child. Coming back to trusting our body requires dedication and commitment however the repercussions of this during birth can be phenomenal.

The Orgasmic Birth Movement

What resonates most about the Orgasmic Birth movement for me is that the founders advocate for woman having a right to choose how they give birth rather than needing to follow the western status quo of childbirth needing to occur in a hospital bed. They do not judge women who choose to have caesarean’s or medicated births, they are simply opening people’s minds to the potential of other ways. It is important that women have this awareness and are encouraged to make an empowered decision based on their specific circumstances rather than being left to believe that there is only one way of having a child. After childbirth, you can use Kegel Exercisers to strengthen your pelvic floor muscles.

Author: Stephanie Curtis- BA Nursing

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