Rhea Dempsey > Quotes

“This crisis is not a sign that anything is going wrong. Far from it. In fact, it is usually a sign that everything is going brilliantly! If this is understood and women are well supported, then these crises usually don’t last long. However, these crisis moments are critical, pivotal moments, because the way they are resolved will affect the further course of the labour.”
― Rhea Dempsey, Birth With Confidence: Savvy Choices for Normal Birth

“Facing pain in labour is undoubtedly an even greater challenge for contemporary women birthing in an environment where the seduction of the epidural is everywhere lauded.”
― Rhea Dempsey, Birth With Confidence: Savvy Choices for Normal Birth

“The next crisis may be experienced at about 1–2 cm dilation at the shift from pre- to early labour.”
― Rhea Dempsey, Birth With Confidence: Savvy Choices for Normal Birth

“whoever manages the pain will gain power over the circumstances of the birth.”
― Rhea Dempsey, Birth With Confidence: Savvy Choices for Normal Birth

“Each of us has a comfort zone in which we feel totally safe. In this zone, we aren’t learning much because anything even a little bit new will cause a tiny dose of stress.”
― Rhea Dempsey, Birth With Confidence: Savvy Choices for Normal Birth

“The next shift in intensity, which marks the progression from early labour to established labour (sometimes also known as active labour) at around 4–6 cm dilation, provides the next likely crisis—the crisis of ‘the body calling’.”
― Rhea Dempsey, Birth With Confidence: Savvy Choices for Normal Birth

“Reframing your attitude to labour pain by understanding it as functional, physiological pain and an indication of ‘things going right’, rather than medical, pathological, ‘things going wrong’ pain, is a foundational awareness needed by all willing women.”
― Rhea Dempsey, Birth With Confidence: Savvy Choices for Normal Birth

“The World Health Organization quotes research, which shows that continuous empathetic and physical support during labour results in shorter labour, less medication, fewer epidurals and operative deliveries and higher Apgar scores.”
― Rhea Dempsey, Birth With Confidence: Savvy Choices for Normal Birth

“I’ve come to call this one the crisis of ‘mind calling’.”
― Rhea Dempsey, Birth With Confidence: Savvy Choices for Normal Birth