Silent, But Brain-Dead
Scientology (absent any science of course, since it's a religion based on a the "literary" ravings of a science fiction writer) advocates something called "silent birth":
That means no yelling or talking during the delivery and doctors are asked to remain quiet as well. It is believed the quiet birth reduces trauma during delivery and therefore prevents irrational fears later in life.Actress Kelly Preston, wife of John Travolta, delivered her daughter in a silent birth without painkillers and admitted to Redbook magazine that it wasn't easy.
"It got hardcore at the end because she was so big," Preston said. "I changed my mind and said, 'Throw me in the car! I want an epidural!"
Preston was too far along and had to give birth at home. The church doesn't exclusively ban painkillers, but many mothers refrain from using them.
Fellow Scientologist Brittany Wadhams refused painkillers and tried her best to stay quiet.
"About a half hour before pushing, that's when it got more difficult, and that was when I would have a contraction and then I would start screaming," Wadhams said.
A doctor who has attended silent births says medically there's nothing wrong with the practice, but adhering to it might be impossible.
...Former Scientologist Lawrence Woodcraft said he felt awkward asking doctors to go along with a silent birth when his daughter was born using the method.
"To me it was very strange and embarrassing, particularly asking the medical staff and doctors to be quiet," Woodcraft said. "They're like, 'Well, we have to do our job.' So that was stressful and difficult."
Some Scientologists say the church has recommended counseling known as "auditing" for mothers who were unable to stay silent.
"My goal was to do it as best as I could and know that what I believed in I tried to follow as close as possible," Wadhams said.
Cruise and Holmes have not announced whether their child's birth will be silent.
Luckily, prior to their child's birth, we can probably count on Cruise to be vocal in numerous moronic ways. Let's just hope his poor little conscriptee Katie doesn't have any postpartum depression. One-A-Day Plus Iron, anyone?
UPDATE: And here's another set of backward, anti-science morons -- the primitive idiot parents of three Amish children who contracted polio after going unvaccinated. Via Sploid.
Scientologists also believe that having sex while pregnant traumatizes the fetus, so looks like Tom's going to have to fly solo for the next few months. Wackos.
deja pseu at October 14, 2005 11:48 AM
I know it sounds odd, but I stumbled on a Scientology-affiliated birth center when I was looking for a non-hospital place to give birth near Silver Lake. They were excellent midwives, never once pushed even the slightest bit of Scientology dogma on me and I had a wonderful fast birth. We were home eating Zankou chicken that same night -- much better than the noisy hospital where I had my son and never got any sleep at all. I never heard any talk of a silent birth, but my daughter had a pleasant warm bath immediately after birth -- the only practice which seemed to differ at all from a hospital. The atmosphere was calm, and I couldn't care less if L. Ron Hubbard thinks it's a good idea --it certainly seems like a good idea for the mother and baby. The only wierd point of the entire process was during the childbirth prep class when they asked how many people would be using "the barley formula." Apparently that was some other piece of Scientologist twaddle, but they didn't care that we weren't going to be using it. In short, don't be dissing the Scientologist's birth practices -- they may be wacky folk in many other ways, but they actually do better with birthing than the medicalized establishment.
Pat Saperstein at October 14, 2005 4:04 PM
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