An 11,600-year-old figure of a woman giving birth breech, discovered in Göbeklitepe. Additionally, she is the only female figure found in Göbeklitepe so far. Şanlıurfa Archeology Museum.

A stone slab from Gobekli Tepe (10,000 – 8,000 BC), with a carving depicting a woman in a birth giving position.

Ceramic shard with a female figure possibly giving birth. Starčevo culture, 7th – 6th millennium BC, Sarvaš. The shard is 15 cm X 15 cm so the vessel it was part of must have been very large and was probably used for storing grain. It is possible that the figure depicted was symbolic representation of the Mother Earth.

Mesopotamia, Ur (3800 – 3000 BC) Archaic seal showing woman in a birth giving position

Akkadian to Old Babylonian relief, 2500-2000 bc. depicting a woman in a birth giving position

Cylinder seal, 2700-2300 bc. of the Mature Harappa period, Indus valley civilisation shows a woman in a birth giving position.

Bronze disk headed pin. Curious, weird representation. All the fertility functions ; Sєxuality, birtgiving and nurturing …Inanna star converted in 8 petals flower … surrounded by 2 antelopes Astarte style. Lajja Gauri? Lorestan.1250-650 bc.

A small fragment from a ceramic vessel found at Poggio Colla, the site of a 2,700-year-old Etruscan settlement in Italy’s Mugello Valley, showing a woman giving birth to a child

Ancient Greek relief showing child birth ᴀssisted by a midwife and family members

Roman relief showing childbirth ᴀssisted by a midwife

Lajja Gauri, the Hindu Goddess ᴀssociated with abundance, fertility and Sєxuality shown in a birthing posture. Sandstone statue, ca. 6th century AD, India (Madhya Pradesh)

Do you see any similarity between these images? All of them depict a woman in a “natural birthing position”.

This upright sitting position helps the mother push in a very familiar position: the position you are used to using for having a bowel movement. Additionally, the low height of the stool flexes your legs and expands the size of your pelvis, and the upright position helps use gravity to promote the downward movement of the baby. Between contractions, the mother can lean backward and rest supported by the back of the birthing stool or bed or leaning on the helpers who stand behind her.

Now look at the shape of the woman’s body when she is in this birthing position. Do you see anything familiar?

Neolithic talismans (?) in a shape of a woman giving birth, Cerje – Govrlevo, Makedonija, 7th millennium BC