Dr. Grantly Dick-Read grew up as the son of a farmer and deacon of a Congregational Church in Beccles, England.[1] There he would hear stories from his mother about births in his community. This, coupled with the reverence he had for his own mother, brought him to the idea that there was a sacredness about the birthing experience for women.
As a young man Read aspired to become a missionary but the outbreak of World War I interrupted that plan and he,instead, felt the calling to pursue medicine. He was a medic during the war and subsequently went to medical school completing his MD at Cambridge with his fieldwork at the London hospital.[2] It was there, in he battlefield hospitals during World War I, that he was exposed to yoga, breathing and progressive relaxation techniques used to cope with stress and pain. This experience during the war, combined with the birth stories he heard as a youth, planted the seeds for his method of natural childbirth.
Growing up in a strong community of faith left a lasting impact on Read, his medical practice and his philosophies. It is impossible to tease Read’s faith out of his medical practice, which raised him to the status of hero to the mothers and laypeople to whom he preached while simultaneously proved damaging to his professional career.
He began to develop his theory of Natural Childbirth in 1919 when he published a brochure on the subject, but to no acclaim.[3]In 1932 he revised and expanded this philosophy in a book titled“Natural Childbirth followed by the 1942 edition originally titled Revelation of Childbirth, then renamed Childbirth without Fear. This last edition brought Read’s method into popularity.
Next up: Marinating in Early 20th Century Maternity Care – Read Refines his Philosophy
[1] Thomas, A.N. (1957), Doctor Courageous, p. 9
[2] Thomas, A.N. (1957), Doctor Courageous, p. 17
[3]Read, G.D (1942), Childbirth without Fear, p. xvi
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