JBLI intends to boldly reclaim the term natural childbirth to describe, from this time on, the spontaneous courses of labor and birth as they occur when completely free from outside influences and interventions, or internal hindrances from the mother herself. The treatment of medical emergencies that occasionally occurs during Natural Childbirth should not be confused with assistance of Natural Childbirth itself, which is a separate spiritual, emotional, and physical process, not a medical event. Therefore, neither the safety nor the satisfaction that families experience during this process is more important than the other, and neither can be diminished or excluded from any birth without consequence. Natural Childbirth is, in and of itself, a safe, normal, healthy function of the female anatomy. Pregnant women and their babies carry all essential provisions necessary for Natural Childbirth within themselves.
All births are irreplaceable and immeasurably important life events for all participants.
All facets of childbearing are also fundamental parts of human life, and the events which transpire in conjunction with childbearing have a profound effect on the developing well-being of all members of the family as well as society as a whole. Babies are aware and feeling human beings from well before the time of birth. A mother and baby are necessarily and desirably interdependent during pregnancy, birth, and early childhood. Physically receiving one s own infant into one s own hands is an irreplaceable and immeasurably important life event for babies and their families. Childbearing is a personal process for all members of a family, involving unique, intimate choices, values, and beliefs.