Women's bodies have near-perfect knowledge of childbirth; it's when their brains get involved that things can go wrong.

The remark contrasts the body’s largely automatic, physiological competence in labor with the mind’s capacity to introduce fear, tension, and second-guessing. It reflects a common theme in midwifery and childbirth education: anxiety and overthinking can disrupt relaxation, inhibit effective contractions, and make pain feel more unmanageable, while trust and calm can support smoother labor. The quote also implicitly critiques overly cerebral or intervention-driven approaches that may override embodied cues. At the same time, it is not a denial of medical risk; rather, it frames childbirth as a process that often benefits from psychological safety and confidence as much as from physical readiness.