We live in a time and a birth culture where I am convinced that we need to UNLEARN more about birth than we need to learn.
We need to unlearn that birth is scary, painful and traumatic. We need to unlearn that it is difficult, impossible without medication, and dangerous. We need to unlearn that because an epidural is the most common way to deliver a baby, that it is the safest and easiest way.
What if you knew nothing about birth?
What if you just looked to nature and to your ancestors?
What if the women around you were trusting their bodies?
What if you believed your body was designed to give birth? To expand, to open, to release.
What your body needs to relax, to open and to give birth, is quiet. Love. Nurturing. Kindness. Darkness. Safety. How can we get that for you at your next birth? Believe me, it will not happen by accident, or without intention.
Play with me for a second - I want you to imagine trying to have sex with your partner with a bunch of doctors and nurses watching. Now imagine they keep giving you instructions on what to do next, they shine bright lights on you, and it's a revolving door of people coming in and out of the room. Crazy right? Why do we expect you to be able to birth a baby in this environment? The same conditions that are needed to get pregnant: privacy, safety and love, are the same conditions needed for birth.
So how to we unlearn?
Here are a few thoughts.
For starters we acknowledge that Hollywood isn't real! And it reflects some really untrue things. Like that women's water always breaks to start labour. That birth always needs to happen on your back. And in a hospital with lots of screaming.
We question if common, popular and normal is really what's best for you and your baby. Just because over 90% of the birthing population in London, ON is getting an epidural, doesn't mean that you have to, or that you'll even want to or need to.
We take a look at our family of origin and begin to ask some hard questions like: what are my family's beliefs about birth, about pain, about safety, about science, about religion, about relationships, about trust, about hospitals etc.
We take a next level look. Find the books to read - not the first page on the google search. Ask us, we'll give you a list!
Find people you trust who are talking about what birth could look like. Meet them, interview them.
Go to a prenatal class that talks about what is going on in your biology, your physiology, your hormones so that you understand what helps your body progress, and what doesn't. We teach
that.
Do a coaching call, attend a "I want a different birth" workshop if this isn't your first go around. Yep we teach that too.
Unlearning. It's no joke. It's not easy. We want to help. We want you to have a birth that you don't need to recover from, so you can move into breastfeeding and into postpartum bliss.
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