[1] Teachers of the Bradley method believe that—with adequate preparation, education and help from a loving, supportive coach—most women can give birth naturally, without drugs or surgery.
The method itself is an application of what Dr. Bradley termed "the six needs of the laboring woman": deep and complete relaxation and abdominal breathing; quiet, darkness and solitude; physical comfort; and closed eyes and the appearance of sleep.
Robert Bradley entered the field of obstetrics in 1947, at a time when mothers were restrained in hospital beds and unable to freely move throughout labor due to the medication they were administered.
[3] Terming this practice as "knock-em-out, drag-em-out obstetrics", when "twilight sleep" and general anesthesia were common in hospital deliveries, Bradley decided to develop his own method.
Based on observations of mammals during labor and birth, he developed a childbirth method to teach women to do the things that animal mothers do instinctively.