On Becoming Birthwise: Understanding Birth by Design: On Becoming...

With blinking eyes and puckered lips, the passenger completes the journey. As the baby slides into the waiting hands of the birth attendant, a new citizen is announced. It's a girl The baby's first breath is the culmination of a perfectly timed, physiologically detailed plan. For nine months she has depended on her mother for survival, as the intricate workings of the placenta sustained her life. Now changes occur to ensure her independent survival. For the first time her heart pumps blood into her lungs, and the designated vessels close to complete the self-contained breathing process.