Birth Medicine

How did our ancestors birth?

This is a very important question, because in our culture, most of us are not raised with positive and "real" images of birth. We make agreements about how birth will be for ourselves by relying on TV, Hollywood, and popularized books like "What to Expect When You Are Expecting." TV undermines the power, intensity, and intimacy of birth by adding humor and satire...Hollywood tends to depersonalize and mock birth by soaking birth scenes in drama and fantasy...or by completely deleting the act of birth. Ever notice a pregnant leading lady in one scene, and the next she has a baby in her arms? What message does this send? Books like the aforementioned seek to give each mother a map for birth...the same map for every woman. They offer a manual to think your way through birth. This will simply not serve any birthing woman! Too much information activates the left side of our brain and we begin to judge, over-analyze, and anxiously stock pile expectations! We need our colorful and juicy right brain to guide us on this labyrinth of a journey!

Our first birth story deeply affects our birth beliefs. Most birth stories, at least in our culture, are told with judgment and disdain. Perhaps your mother harped on the fact that you took "way to long" to get here, or that birth was "messy," "scary," "traumatic," or "unsafe." Maybe you heard bits of "your father almost passed out (laughter)," "I would never do it again," or "I never got my body back." Perhaps your mother never spoke of your birth...How many of you beautiful women have heard a magical and whimsical version of your birthday? Or did you get infected with the "birth story virus?"

What about our grandmothers? Did they talk to us about birth? Where are the wise old grandmothers and wisdom keepers?

Where are the juicy circles of women, mothers (seasoned, newly-initiated, and soon-to-be), and story-tellers who sit together and support one another and listen...really listen? If you were a fly on the wall, this would not be a social occasion, but a circle full of open ears, quiet hearts, and sacred attentiveness. {If you are reading this and know of such, feel free to comment and share!}

Birthing women need other women who have gone before...who share their birth experiences as birth medicine, using only bits and pieces at a time to soften, open, and expand our ideas about birth!

I hope to plant seeds of birth awareness by spreading "Mother Chi" wherever I go. Won't you join me?

Shall we come together and birth our children in love and light and sacredness?

You can start by posting your birth medicine here.

Here are some visuals to meditate upon.

With open ears,

Betsy