Tom & Katie's Planned 'Silent Birth'

Tabloids Won’t Be, But Docs & Nurses Will Be On Whisper Regimen

(AP)  Scientology doesn't dictate where babies should be born or whether drugs can be used, she said.

Quiet birth "supplements whatever medical model the mother chooses," said Karin Pouw, a spokeswoman for the Church of Scientology International.

Beverly Hills obstetrician Stephen Rabin said he has never attended a silent birth but believes that verbal communication is key during delivery. While he supports limiting "extrinsic noise" and extraneous visitors in the delivery room, speaking to parents is still "extremely critical."

"It's almost impossible to do without words," he said. "You're not going to yell at the patient. You may talk to them in a calming fashion and the patient will gain comfort from hearing your voice."

Typical delivery-room talk might include direction on how to push and reassurance that the woman is doing it right, he said. A doctor may also need to explain pain medication or unexpected problems with the birth.

But as long as the planned approach isn't harmful, Rabin said, parents should choose the delivery method best for them.

Seward said silence doesn't just keep the subconscious clear, it also is more relaxing for the mother and less jarring for the newborn.

"The baby is coming from a dark womb," she said. "They come from a muted environment and they're thrust into this world."

Infants deserve to be born into a reverent place, agreed Mindy Goorchenko, a certified doula and birth educator whose own unassisted delivery of twins was featured on the Discovery Channel. The transition from the womb to the world should be peaceful, she said.

But moms, dads and doctors probably need to talk during delivery, Goorchenko noted.

"Communication is key in birth for all people involved," she said.

Sound can also be an effective means of working through labor, she added. Besides, the womb isn't as quiet as one might think; babies can hear voices, music and their mother's heartbeat, Goorchenko said.

"Infants respond in the womb to what's going on around them," she said. "Why at the moment of birth you'd suddenly need silence doesn't make sense physiologically."

Still, said Goorchenko, a mother of four, she wanted privacy during her deliveries and preferred silence following the births.

"You don't need loud, blasting noises while mother and child are bonding."