When Aran, my second son, said he wanted to be born, it was the first time Jon and Miriam (son and mother) separated. Jon was three years old and, although we were quite nervous, he showed that he was old enough to get along with grandparents.
What if I had it wrong? Well, I'm pretty sure that Miriam, at least as long as the thing wasn't very intense, would have said that of "Bring him in a while," as this mom and daughter did: the beautiful moment when a mother pauses her labor to breastfeed the eldest.
In a series of photos captured by professional photographer Maegan Dougherty, who was present at the delivery, Kate decided breastfeed her 2 year old daughter while waiting for the little girl to be born.
Apparently, the girl was at home with other family members, but according to the mother, they decided to go to the hospital for a visit while the little sister did not decide to be born.
Upon arriving, he thought it might be a good idea to suck for a while, to be with mom again in that strange place and in such a strange situation, with mom in a bed that was not her own, and Kate thought it was fine. That was the moment of the photo above, captured by Dougherty.
Maybe the girl helped her little sister to be born?
The contractions were going slowly, without haste but without pause, so there was time for this moment together. Interestingly, after the girl was sucking, the contractions began to be more intense and frequent, and the baby was born only two hours later.
The reason? As we read in People, they blame it on the mother's oxytocin production, secondary to breastfeeding. It is well known that the ejection reflex of breast milk is produced by oxytocin that is secreted by suction. That same secretion of oxytocin can help the uterus with contractions, and that is why nipple stimulation is considered a way to help in childbirth (it is when the oxytocin receptors of the uterus work, since before delivery this does not happen - and that is why it is said that breastfeeding and pregnancy are compatible-).
This may well be the reason, but I want to add another: after being with the girl and seeing that she was fine, and that she was calm again with her family, Kate, the mother, relaxed in that regard and decided that could already focus on giving birth to her little girl. The mind can act by blocking many physiological events, including childbirth, and in the same way, it can eliminate those blockages leaving the body free to act as needed at all times.
And it could also be that it was none of that and that the girl was born equally at that time, but it seems logical (and it is nice) to think that this moment of mother and daughter, that little breastfeeding time, helped her to continue with the childbirth: with the peace of mind of seeing that his eldest daughter was in good hands and the stimulation caused by breastfeeding.
