ABSTRACT
Every second, more than four babies are born on the planet. It could give the impression that birth is an ordinary event if it happens that often. But anyone who has given birth or was present at a birth will say the contrary: birth is not an 'ordinary' event. The literature on health and on childbirth recognises that in Western healthcare systems childbirth is viewed as a hospital and medical matter. There is a culture of technoscience, risk aversion and of surveillance creating a background hum or mood of fear. Consciousness is an integral part of presence; it is a kind of knowledge and experience that cannot be learned. In different disciplines, such as psychology, sociology and anthropology, childbirth is considered a period of adjustment and of personal and social transformation. During an archaeological dig, archaeologists found a variety of artefacts including graves with tools, traces of rituals and symbols related to death.
