For a birth without violence

Tribute to Frédérick Leboyer, pioneer of respectful birth

In the days following the birth of our first child, we discovered a book entitled “Birth Without Violence” written by Frédérick Leboyer, a French obstetrician-gynecologist who developed a gentle childbirth method he described as “without violence”, allowing the newborn to come into the world without trauma.

Frédérick Leboyer focuses on the baby’s well-being and details the gestures that should be performed so that this “odyssey at the end of which the child enters the world” is experienced without violence.

He emphasizes that the first gesture should be to place the child on the mother’s belly, so that they continue to feel her warmth and heartbeat. He then recommends cutting the umbilical cord only when it has stopped pulsating. According to him, this gesture facilitates the transition to pulmonary breathing and makes it less traumatic.

Frédérick Leboyer specifies that the most important thing is to allow time for the mother and child to “be together”. He adds that excessive noise, abrupt movements, and overly bright lights are not welcome when a child is born. He also explains that, through breathing techniques, a woman can manage to reduce the pain of childbirth.

Frédérick Leboyer asserts that the relationship between mother and child is a loving one, and that it is this relationship that should be prioritized when the child arrives.

We quickly and completely embraced this vision and decided to make it our own by beginning to massage our first child and reflecting on how to organize ourselves so that future births would be sacred moments worthy of the greatest respect.

In fact, our fertile couple has extensively put into practice the simple principles proposed by Frédérick Leboyer. With each new birth, we calm our minds by breathing in sync as a couple and connect with the child during the opening time (the name we use for the phase commonly called “labor”). Since births take place in our strict marital intimacy, we have control over the atmosphere in which the child is welcomed: dim lighting, silence, respect for mother and child, newborn kept against the mother’s belly as soon as born, delayed cord cutting… This allows us to make this event a sacred moment.

Thank you Frédérick Leboyer for the magnificent works (books and videos) that you had created. Your vision of welcoming babies without violence has greatly helped and inspired us. It showed us the direction we wanted to follow in our hearts. It gave us the courage and strength to offer our babies a birth with all the respect they deserve by choosing to welcome them in gentleness, peace and the intimacy of our conjugal love.

We hope that the works we have created with love, patience and perseverance in order to share our experience will in turn become a help and source of inspiration for future parents who also wish to offer their baby a respectful and happy birth.

This article was written by Claire Loiseleur, mother of eleven children all born within the heart of marital intimacy, through our conscious choice to offer our babies a birth with all the Love and Respect they deserve, and co-author of the book and documentary:

Filled with music and colours, and enriched with numerous captions and voice-over explanations, the documentary EXPERIENCING BIRTH NATURALLY AND PEACEFULLY beautifully complements the teachings shared in the book NATURAL BIRTH WITHIN THE INTIMACY OF THE COUPLE.

This film is available as a streaming video, with instant viewing through a private personal link offering unlimited access.

Read more articles on the topic of respectful childbirth.

A list of these 22 articles, along with a brief summary of each, is available on the following page:

The book GIVING BIRTH NATURALLY AND FREELY AS A COUPLE is part of the Lights for a New World books presented on the Youtube channel and Facebook page entitled : Lights for a New World

The expression « Lights for a New World » is explained on the following page :