Ruth Ehrhardt > Ruth's Quotes

“Don't stand unmoving outside the door of a crying baby whose only desire is to touch you. Go to your baby. Go to your baby a million times. Demonstrate that people can be trusted, that the environment can be trusted, that we live in a benign universe.”
― Peggy O'Mara

“Babies are such a nice way to start people.”
― Don Herold

“When a woman births, not only is a baby being born but so is a mother.
How we treat her will affect how she feels about herself as a mother
and as a parent.
Be gentle. Be kind. Listen.”
― Ruth Ehrhardt, The Basic Needs of a Woman in Labour

“The baby, when he or she is ready to be born,
will send a message that tells the mother’s body that it is ready.
The mother’s body can then begin labour by slowly releasing oxytocin, the hormone of love.
The mother and baby work together to bring the baby into the world.”
― Ruth Ehrhardt, The Basic Needs of a Woman in Labour

“Stories teach us in ways we can remember. They teach us that each woman responds to birth in her unique way and how very wide-ranging that way can be. Sometimes they teach us about silly practices once widely held that were finally discarded. They teach us the occasional difference between accepted medical knowledge and the real bodily experiences that women have - including those that are never reported in medical textbooks nor admitted as possibilities in the medical world. They also demonstrate the mind/body connection in a way that medical studies cannot. Birth stories told by women who were active participants in giving birth often express a good deal of practical wisdom, inspiration, and information for other women. Positive stories shared by women who have had wonderful childbirth experiences are an irreplaceable way to transmit knowledge of a woman's true capacities in pregnancy and birth.”
― Ina May Gaskin, Ina May's Guide to Childbirth

“There is no other organ quite like the uterus. If men had such an organ they would brag about it. So should we”
― Ina May Gaskin