When a birthing mother is allowed to feel safe and secure in the privacy of a dark room surrounded by people she knows and trusts, she is 10 times more likely to experience the Fetal Ejection Reflex (FER) during the second stage of labor (pushing).

It’s widely known that when a woman experiences stress or perceived danger, her labor slows and can even stop! That could be a new person coming into the room she’s never met before, someone switching a bright light on, making an offhand remark.

The Fetal Ejection Reflex has been compared to throwing up, something your body does completely involuntarily. Oxytocin triggers contractions that expel the baby from the body without the mother consciously making an effort to push her baby; her body does it for her.

If you’ve given birth, did you experience the Fetal Ejection Reflex? What was it like?