ABSTRACT
Dick-Read’s idea that ignorance of what to expect in labour is likely to reinforce fear, setting up a fear-pain-fear cycle, was validated in part seventy years later by Lang et al.’s (2006) research demonstrating that anxiety predicts labour pain. Rather controversially, Dick-Read ad voc ated that it was pos sible to ex peri ence a pain-free birth if anxiety was taken away and, again decades later, the hypno-birthing movement has reprised this idea (Mongan 2005). However, the initial impetus of Childbirth without Fear was capitalised on by the French obstetrician Fernand Lamaze, who introduced and promoted a package to pregnant women combining childbirth education, relaxation and breathing techniques. Others de veloped his package, coining the term ‘psychoprophylaxis’ as a descriptor of the Lamaze method and promoted it throughout the USA. The ori ginal emphases on controlled breathing and pro gressive relaxation techniques have given way to an expli cit philo sophy sup porting normal labour and birth. Today the organ isa tion promotes six care practices to optim ise normal birth (see Box 2.1).
