Grantly Dick-Read
Encyclopedia
Grantly Dick-Read was a British
obstetrician who is regarded by many as the father of natural childbirth
movement. He dedicated his life to educating expectant parents about the benefits of giving birth naturally, with as little intervention from obstetricians and health professionals as possible. Much of the pain in childbirth, he argued, came from society’s attitude towards childbirth, which often emphasised the pain.
Dick-Read's ideas were at first ridiculed, and he was expelled from the London
clinic he had set up with a group of fellow obstetricians. The publication of his first book, Natural Childbirth, met with much opposition amongst the medical profession. It was only much later, when he published Revelation of Childbirth (which was later retitled Childbirth without Fear) which was also aimed at a general readership, that his philosophy captured the public’s imagination. Soon he was invited to lecture tours all over the world, turning Childbirth without Fear into an international bestseller. However, he still thought much of his work was unfulfilled, and felt that the seemingly unstoppable tide of medical innovation which was meant to ease women's experiences of childbirth only achieved the opposite.
Grantly Dick-Read had fought in the First World War where he was seriously injured. His recovery period inspired some of his philosophy. After divorce from his first wife, he met Jessica, who rescued his abandoned manuscripts, and convinced him that he owed it to women to persevere.
In 1956 he became the first president of the UK's Natural Childbirth Trust (which later became the National Childbirth Trust
), the foundation of which he inspired, and which was first proposed by an advertisement placed in The Times
by Prunella Briance.
In 1957, Westminster Records
released a phonograph
album titled Natural Childbirth: A Documentary Record of the Birth of a Baby, which was supervised by Dick-Read.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
obstetrician who is regarded by many as the father of natural childbirth
Natural childbirth
Natural Childbirth is a philosophy of childbirth that is based on the notion that women who are adequately prepared are innately able to give birth without routine medical interventions. Natural childbirth arose in opposition to the techno-medical model of childbirth that has recently gained...
movement. He dedicated his life to educating expectant parents about the benefits of giving birth naturally, with as little intervention from obstetricians and health professionals as possible. Much of the pain in childbirth, he argued, came from society’s attitude towards childbirth, which often emphasised the pain.
Dick-Read's ideas were at first ridiculed, and he was expelled from the London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
clinic he had set up with a group of fellow obstetricians. The publication of his first book, Natural Childbirth, met with much opposition amongst the medical profession. It was only much later, when he published Revelation of Childbirth (which was later retitled Childbirth without Fear) which was also aimed at a general readership, that his philosophy captured the public’s imagination. Soon he was invited to lecture tours all over the world, turning Childbirth without Fear into an international bestseller. However, he still thought much of his work was unfulfilled, and felt that the seemingly unstoppable tide of medical innovation which was meant to ease women's experiences of childbirth only achieved the opposite.
Grantly Dick-Read had fought in the First World War where he was seriously injured. His recovery period inspired some of his philosophy. After divorce from his first wife, he met Jessica, who rescued his abandoned manuscripts, and convinced him that he owed it to women to persevere.
In 1956 he became the first president of the UK's Natural Childbirth Trust (which later became the National Childbirth Trust
National Childbirth Trust
The National Childbirth Trust is a UK-based charity with registered charity number 801395.The National Childbirth Trust is the leading charity offering information and support in pregnancy, childbirth and early parenthood.-History:...
), the foundation of which he inspired, and which was first proposed by an advertisement placed in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
by Prunella Briance.
In 1957, Westminster Records
Westminster Records
Westminster Records was an American classical music record label, issuing original recordings from 1949 to 1965.It was founded in 1949 by Mischa Naida, the owner of the Westminster Record shop in New York City, businessman James Grayson, and conductor Henry Swoboda...
released a phonograph
Phonograph
The phonograph record player, or gramophone is a device introduced in 1877 that has had continued common use for reproducing sound recordings, although when first developed, the phonograph was used to both record and reproduce sounds...
album titled Natural Childbirth: A Documentary Record of the Birth of a Baby, which was supervised by Dick-Read.