Women in ante-natal classes exercising
Grantly Dick-Read, 1955
Grantly Dick-Read (1890-1959) was a British obstetrician and
pioneer of the natural childbirth movement. He spent his career
advocating the benefits of giving birth with as little medical
intervention and as few drugs as possible, believing that fear and
tension caused most of the pain women experience during labour.
Unsurprisingly, he encountered significant opposition from the
medical establishment. In 1956, Dick-Read was appointed the first
president of what is now the National Childbirth Trust
(NCT), which still offers the antenatal classes which
Dick-Read encouraged.