--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The women in labor must have NO STRESS…" description: "\"The women in labor must have NO STRESS placed upon her. She must be free to move about, walk, rock, go to the bathroom by herself, lie on her side or b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/059/grantly-dick-read-31586_bathroom_the-women-in-labor-must-have-no-stress-p_471597.png" --- # The women in labor must have NO STRESS placed upon her… ![“The women in labor must have NO STRESS placed upon her. She must be free to move about, walk, rock, go to the bathroom by herself, lie on her side or back, squat or kneel, or anything she finds comfortable, without fear of being scolded or embarrassed. Nor is there any need for her to be either…” quote by Grantly Dick-Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/059/grantly-dick-read-31586_bathroom_the-women-in-labor-must-have-no-stress-p_471597.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/059/grantly-dick-read-31586_bathroom_the-women-in-labor-must-have-no-stress-p_471597.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/059/grantly-dick-read-31586_bathroom_the-women-in-labor-must-have-no-stress-p_471597.png) > “The women in labor must have NO STRESS placed upon her. She must be free to move about, walk, rock, go to the bathroom by herself, lie on her side or back, squat or kneel, or anything she finds comfortable, without fear of being scolded or embarrassed. Nor is there any need for her to be either 'quiet' or 'good.' What is a 'good' patient? One who does whatever she is told-who masks all the stresses she is feeling? Why can she not cry, or laugh, or complain?” [Grantly Dick-Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grantly-dick-read/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Labor should be a natural, stress‑free process allowing women autonomy and comfort. **In simple terms:** Women need freedom and support during labor, not control. Key Takeaway Support natural movement and respect patient choices. Themes birth autonomy comfort empowerment Mood empathetic advocacy Type educational inspirational When to use this quote - hospital labor - home birth - midwife‑led care - pain relief options - postpartum recovery Key Concepts patient‑centered care natural childbirth pain management Questions to Reflect On - What can staff do to reduce stress? - How does movement affect labor progress? A Different Perspective Rigid protocols can increase fear and pain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cry/) [Embarrassed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/embarrassed/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Labor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labor/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Mask](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mask/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [No stress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/no-stress/) [Rocks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rocks/) [Stress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stress/) ## Related quotes > [The woman in labor must have NO STRESS placed upon her. She must be free to move about, walk, rock, go to the bathroom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grantly-dick-read/the-woman-in-labor-must-have-no-stress-placed-upon-her-she-must-be/) [Grantly Dick-Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grantly-dick-read/) > [Being patient does not mean being silent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xanana-gusmao/being-patient-does-not-mean-being-silent/) Xanana Gusmao > [The patient must be at the center of this transition. Our largest struggle is not with the patient who takes their medication regularly, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-beck/the-patient-must-be-at-the-center-of-this-transition-our-largest/) Stephen Beck > [Emphasis should be placed more on what the patient does in the present and will do in the future than on a mere understanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-h-erickson/emphasis-should-be-placed-more-on-what-the-patient-does-in-the/) [Milton H. Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-h-erickson/) > [“But while the patient does bear some responsibility, I believe that the onus falls more heavily on the doctor to be attuned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-ofri/but-while-the-patient-does-bear-some-responsibility-i-believe-that/) [Danielle Ofri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-ofri/) > [“When she’d finished, she cut the thread with a pair of scissors, patted the wound once more and stepped back. “Better.” “No bandage?” She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-dee/when-she-d-finished-she-cut-the-thread-with-a-pair-of-scissors-patted/) [Bonnie Dee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-dee/) > [“If you can, trap me. I'll make a good patient because I was brought up in the environment of authority; it's going to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-jarman/if-you-can-trap-me-i-ll-make-a-good-patient-because-i-was-brought-up/) [Derek Jarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-jarman/) > [The physician, to the extent he is a physician, considers only the good of the patient in what he prescribes, and his own not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/the-physician-to-the-extent-he-is-a-physician-considers-only-the-good/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Expensive medicines are always good: if not for the patient, at least for the druggist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russian-proverb/expensive-medicines-are-always-good-if-not-for-the-patient-at-least/) Russian Proverb > [It's usually the stupid people that develop long illnesses. You need more than indolence and selfishness, you need endurance to make a good patient.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/it-s-usually-the-stupid-people-that-develop-long-illnesses-you-need/) [W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/) > [I've never been a good patient. I'm not good with pain. It is not for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angie-harmon/i-ve-never-been-a-good-patient-i-m-not-good-with-pain-it-is-not-for-me/) [Angie Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angie-harmon/) > [One should treat one's fate as one does one's health; enjoy it when it is good, be patient with it when it is poor,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/one-should-treat-one-s-fate-as-one-does-one-s-health-enjoy-it-when-it/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [Listen because I want you to know, do it because this is good for you, be patient because it is really meant to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-alapan/listen-because-i-want-you-to-know-do-it-because-this-is-good-for-you/) [Mitch Alapan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-alapan/) > [As a kid, I often figured it was good to be patient to a fault.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-bender/as-a-kid-i-often-figured-it-was-good-to-be-patient-to-a-fault/) [Aimee Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-bender/) > [David Lynch was very good, very patient with us, and the reaction in the United States seems pretty good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-farnsworth/david-lynch-was-very-good-very-patient-with-us-and-the-reaction-in/) [Richard Farnsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-farnsworth/) ## More by Grantly Dick-Read > [“I am persuaded from long years of experience amongst women of many nationalities that good midwifery is essential for the true happiness of motherhood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grantly-dick-read/i-am-persuaded-from-long-years-of-experience-amongst-women-of-many/) [Grantly Dick-Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grantly-dick-read/) > [Male science disregards female experiences because it can never share them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grantly-dick-read/male-science-disregards-female-experiences-because-it-can-never-share/) [Grantly Dick-Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grantly-dick-read/) > [It is not only that we want to bring about an easy labor, without risking injury to the mother or the child; we must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grantly-dick-read/it-is-not-only-that-we-want-to-bring-about-an-easy-labor-without/) [Grantly Dick-Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grantly-dick-read/) > [“Faith eliminates fear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grantly-dick-read/faith-eliminates-fear/) [Grantly Dick-Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grantly-dick-read/) > [Many women have described their experiences of childbirth as being associated with a spiritual uplifting, the power of which they have never previously been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grantly-dick-read/many-women-have-described-their-experiences-of-childbirth-as-being/) [Grantly Dick-Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grantly-dick-read/) > [A newborn baby has only three demands. They are warmth in the arms of its mother, food from her breasts, and security in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grantly-dick-read/a-newborn-baby-has-only-three-demands-they-are-warmth-in-the-arms-of/) [Grantly Dick-Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grantly-dick-read/) > [ What manner of mind considers this holy estate \[pregnancy\] which women are privileged by the Almighty to attain as a slur upon the social… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grantly-dick-read/what-manner-of-mind-considers-this-holy-estate-pregnancy-which-women/) [Grantly Dick-Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grantly-dick-read/) > [“The newborn has only three demands. They are warmth in the arms of its mother, food from her breasts, and security in the knowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grantly-dick-read/the-newborn-has-only-three-demands-they-are-warmth-in-the-arms-of-its/) [Grantly Dick-Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grantly-dick-read/) > [No other natural bodily function is painful and childbirth should not be an exception](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grantly-dick-read/no-other-natural-bodily-function-is-painful-and-childbirth-should-not/) [Grantly Dick-Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grantly-dick-read/) > [It is as great a crime to leave a woman alone in her agony and deny her relief from her suffering as it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grantly-dick-read/it-is-as-great-a-crime-to-leave-a-woman-alone-in-her-agony-and-deny/) [Grantly Dick-Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grantly-dick-read/) > [Fear can be overcome by faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grantly-dick-read/fear-can-be-overcome-by-faith/) [Grantly Dick-Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grantly-dick-read/) > [If left alone in labor, the body of a woman produces most easily the baby that is not interfered with by its mother's mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grantly-dick-read/if-left-alone-in-labor-the-body-of-a-woman-produces-most-easily-the/) [Grantly Dick-Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grantly-dick-read/) > [“I emphasize this because some of my colleagues, for whose academic attainments I have great respect, argue" 'You assume too much; this is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grantly-dick-read/i-emphasize-this-because-some-of-my-colleagues-for-whose-academic/) [Grantly Dick-Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grantly-dick-read/) > [Fear can be overcome only by Faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grantly-dick-read/fear-can-be-overcome-only-by-faith/) [Grantly Dick-Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grantly-dick-read/) > [The woman in labor must have NO STRESS placed upon her. She must be free to move about, walk, rock, go to the bathroom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grantly-dick-read/the-woman-in-labor-must-have-no-stress-placed-upon-her-she-must-be/) [Grantly Dick-Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grantly-dick-read/) [Explore all 16 Grantly Dick-Read quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grantly-dick-read/) ## More Bathroom quotes > [I've been in a serious conversation with one of my children, and a fan has come up. I've been in a public bathroom and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-reddy/i-ve-been-in-a-serious-conversation-with-one-of-my-children-and-a-fan/) [Helen Reddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-reddy/) > [Ill-fitting grammar are like ill-fitting shoes. You can get used to it for a bit, but then one day your toes fall off and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/ill-fitting-grammar-are-like-ill-fitting-shoes-you-can-get-used-to-it/) [Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/) > [You know, I'm the only one in this family who has no problems, . . . And you know why? Because any time I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-know-i-m-the-only-one-in-this-family-who-has-no-problems-and-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“bathroom—if you”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-o-reilly/bathroom-if-you/) [Bill O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-o-reilly/) > [Poems come from ordinary experiences and objects, I think. Out of memory - a dress I lent my daughter on her way back to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-olds/poems-come-from-ordinary-experiences-and-objects-i-think-out-of/) [Sharon Olds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-olds/) > [I took a wrong turn on the way to the bathroom and found myself in a beautifully proportioned room I had never seen before,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-took-a-wrong-turn-on-the-way-to-the-bathroom-and-found-myself-in-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In the 1998 Oscars, I found myself in the bathroom in a stall, next to Tom Selleck. So I leaned over and I said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hanks/in-the-1998-oscars-i-found-myself-in-the-bathroom-in-a-stall-next-to/) [Tom Hanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hanks/) > [My pet peeve is hearing a knock on the bathroom door followed by the familiar words, 'What are you doing in there?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-scalf-linamen/my-pet-peeve-is-hearing-a-knock-on-the-bathroom-door-followed-by-the/) [Karen Scalf Linamen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-scalf-linamen/) > [Using a public bathroom is an incredibly embarrassing experience. I enter the stall but can't reach the lock on the door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinead-burke/using-a-public-bathroom-is-an-incredibly-embarrassing-experience-i/) [Sinead Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinead-burke/) > [I get really nervous if pigeons are flying around before shows. I can't stand them after one once flew in through my bathroom window…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-horan/i-get-really-nervous-if-pigeons-are-flying-around-before-shows-i-can/) [Niall Horan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-horan/) > [“I'll meet you outside," I said. No way was I actually doing to shout 'I have to pee' at the top of my lungs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-lennon/i-ll-meet-you-outside-i-said-no-way-was-i-actually-doing-to-shout-i/) Stella Lennon > [I grew up with six brothers. That's how I learned to dance - waiting for the bathroom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-hope/i-grew-up-with-six-brothers-that-s-how-i-learned-to-dance-waiting-for/) [Bob Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-hope/) > [How are we doing, Simon?" she whispered into the small microphone in her collar. "Just about..." Simon started slowly. And then he stopped. "Wow."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-carter/how-are-we-doing-simon-she-whispered-into-the-small-microphone-in-her/) [Ally Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-carter/) > [Mr. Presley has no discernible singing ability. His specialty is rhythm songs which he renders in an undistinguished whine; his phrasing, if it can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-gould/mr-presley-has-no-discernible-singing-ability-his-specialty-is-rhythm/) [Jack Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-gould/) > [To take one example, I mean, the whole issue of bathrooms and gender - in this particular election, when the stakes were so high,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-inskeep/to-take-one-example-i-mean-the-whole-issue-of-bathrooms-and-gender-in/) [Steve Inskeep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-inskeep/) Browse all 726 Bathroom quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The women in labor must have NO STRESS placed upon her. She must be free to move about, walk, rock, go to the bathroom by herself, lie on her side or back, squat or kneel, or anything she finds comfortable, without fear of being scolded or embarrassed. 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