From inate wisdom to complicated living…..

In her book Sight and Sensibility (the ecopsychology of perception), Laura Sewall speaks of how our landscapes effect our views of life. Those who live fully embodied lives and are in touch with their sensate-feeling self know this to be true. I know that sitting in front of this computer typing this blog has a completely different effect on me than when I’m up among the Redwoods strolling in the early morning fog. I feel alive, I feel myself very much part of the landscape.
I have no doubt that the way a woman experiences birth is inextricably connected to where she chooses to birth. I have taught prenatal yoga for the past 13 years and the women who are choosing to birth at home or at our local birth center are returning to my postnatal classes with very different stories. It stands to reason that this is the case. Hospitals are for sick people, simply walking into a hospital will unconsciously undermine a woman’s confidence and trust in herself to birth her baby her way. What really bothers me is how a woman will have an experience that she defines as great and then as I listen to her recount her birth story, she starts to talk about all the ways that the undermining of her confidence ensued through the birth. For example, One of my former students was moving along and expressive through her birth process, after 12 hours an R.N. came in and asked, “Well have you had enough of this foolish notion of birthing without help.” Another student said that she had spent about 18 hours of her early birth process at home, when she got to the hospital and the triage nurse asked her “how long have you been in labor.” She replied, “eighteen hours.” The nurse turned to her husband and said, “how did you manage her like this?” These are only 2 of the countless stories that I have heard. Two weeks ago in my postnatal yoga class two mothers shared their stories. It turns out both of them lost a good deal of blood that required emergency intervention because the placenta’s “were taking too long and had to be pulled out…” after which excessive bleeding followed. This is the ultimate in misogyny and extremely disrespectful. How is it that we are still practicing in a way that is so utterly disrespectful and clearly reveals an overall diminished since of trust in the birthing process?
Women absolutely deserve to be respected in HOW SHE CHOOSES TO PROCEED WITH BIRTH especially if there are no signs of problems with baby or mother. We must live in a way that educates and reveals the birth process as a naturally occurring event in the cycle of life. I believe we must turn our eyes and hearts towards the simple and profound and open to ease and grace of the whole process. Perhaps when little children learn how to internalize and are an embodiment of love, peace, harmony and trust the process as a naturally occurring phenomenon because the adults in their lives actually model and embody these characteristics, we will see birth return to an event which more often than not turns out as we would expect. A woman who is fully embodied and quietly present to receive her babe as soon as she emerges from her body and that each person graced enough to bear witness will utterly and fully respect the mother and the baby. (In word and deed.)

The first 9 months, your baby’s womb room

So here’s the thing, we have read that sperm & egg unite and become ONE fertilized unit that begins to divide ITSELF according to the intrinsic ‘know how’ that already exists within.  In the first few days WE…ALL MAMMALS are FREE FLOATING passengers in the body’s of our Mamas.   Do you know that YOU,  that’s right YOU made your own source of nourishment ‘before’ connecting to your mom?  Did you know from YOU, arose the matter that became your amniotic sac?  Did you know that your mother’s body actually must say, “YES” and allow you to attach YOURSELF to HER so she then can continue to support you in your journey to BECOMING?

I am amazed at how humans can stand in complete and utter AWE of this journey from fertilized egg to baby emerging….becoming while other humans completely are devoid of any Awe and Reverence.   LIFE IS SACRED, LIFE IS HOLY…and humans are capable of dismissing it as something so much less.

As an R.N. in the maternal-infant arena and prenatal/postnatal yoga teacher and birth educator I daily stand in Awe and Reverence ,  a deep deep respect for this process of Birthing.

I give thanks and praise everyday for  fertile wombs.  I stand in awe at the magnificience of the whole process!