What is natural childbirth? Any discussion of this topic requires a definition of the terms used, because sometimes any vaginal birth, no matter how many interventions are employed, is considered a natural birth. For purposes of this article, natural birth is birth without the use of obstetrical drugs and interventions (these are drugs and procedures used during labor and birth). A woman choosing natural birth relies on non-drug pain relief, relaxation, emotional support, movement during labor and her own inner resources.
"Take two of these and call me in the morning" is an adage we have all heard dozens of times. Meanwhile, drug and pharmaceutical advertisements promoting their new "wonder drugs" clutter the pages of our reading material. Listening to the quiet voice in the background of pharmaceutical advertisements on the television describing the side effects of a particular drug may lead one to feel as though one is better off living with the affliction than trying to survive the side-effects of the cure.