02/06/2024
Did you know?
The separation we have as a society from birth makes us fearful of it.
We don’t see births as part of the flow of life. Most of us are not at the births of our children.
we don’t grow up checking on and bringing food to postpartum neighbors.
The only reference most of us have is the highly medicalised births that Hollywood dishes up: scenes of mamas screaming and yelling at their partners, waters breaking and rushing to the hospital, or horrible emergencies in which a doctor heroically saves the day.
Birth remains hidden, dangerous, unknown, and, therefore, scary. As a result of these attitudes and the fears that have been so deeply instilled, women are treated as sick patients and told what is going to be done to our bodies, rather than treated as powerful, autonomous adults. We are taught, as a culture of women, that we don't know how to birth, and that we need to be rescued.
One way to begin to reclaim birth is to replace fearful images with those of strong, powerful birthing women and natural births. Yes, birth is hard. Yes, birth is bloody. Yes, it will push you to, and even past, the very edges of where you thought you could go physically, mentally, and emotionally to bring your baby into the world. And yes, birth is mysterious.
It takes us deep into an ancient place to find resources we also didn’t know we had.
But birth is not abnormal, or weird. It’s a force of nature, just as you are.
We can also pass down a new legacy. Teach our children about the beautiful, challenging, empowering passage that birth is for both baby + mama.
We can break the cycle of alienation current generations grow up with.
So, tell me, what are 3 words you use to describe your birth or a birth you’ve witnessed? Say what comes to your mind.
it doesn’t have to be roses + flowers, it can be spiritual, painful, embarrassing, just let them be real, so we can remind the world what real birth is.
Let’s reclaim birth and community together. It’s time.
Viva Romm
