Rumour of angels and heavenly midwives: anthropology of transpersonal events and childbirth.
Women and birth : journal of the Australian College of Midwives March 1, 2007 Gregg Lahood 33 citations
Some women experience non-ordinary states of consciousness (NOSC) during childbirth. This paper applies a transpersonal psychology framework to understand these experiences, drawing on stories collected from mothers, fathers, and midwives in Auckland, New Zealand between 2001 and 2006. It compares local women's NOSC with ethnographic accounts of spirit-possession in indigenous midwifery and reinterprets Medieval European witch-hunts from this perspective. The author argues that midwives should learn to identify and support women's NOSC during labor, as many women find strength and wisdom through these states. The topic is also relevant to men present at births as fathers or health professionals. The inquiry aims to revalorize NOSC among mothers and educate birth attendants.