being the survivor of 3 traumatic cesarean births, i understand how important it can be, for both mama and baby, to have the best birth possible. those births still hurt years later. so i do get a bit frustrated when someone isn't willing to invest the time to educate themselves and make good decisions for themselves and their baby.
i was re-reading one of my favorite books today, Silent Knife, and i came across this paragraph which i want to quote:
"Elderly women in nursing homes who can hardly remember what they were served for lunch become lucid when asked about their children's births. They recall details, sensory impressions. Birth is such a powerful life experience that it lingers in memory throughout a woman's life. Its effects are immeasurable; they ripple continuously and are boundless. For this reason, and countless others, birth needs to be --and can be-- a time of peace, joy, and awareness."
you will be sitting with your old lady friends one day, playing old lady card games, and still recounting your birth stories. how do you want to feel in those moments in that distant future? empowered, fulfilled, satisfied, like you conquered the world? or traumatized, beaten down, weakened, pitiful, broken.
i believe birth is a gift given to us by God. i believe He meant it to be an empowering, life changing thing for each woman to prepare us to be better mothers and stronger women. women who can change the world. it is worth every bit of effort each of us put into it to set ourselves, and our babies, up for the very best outcomes possible! WE ARE WORTH IT!
rant over. ;)
(i feel i must add a disclaimer.. sometimes no matter what we do to set ourselves up for the best chances of success, things still go wonky. this is so hard, and truly breaks my heart when it happens. i have watched some of the most deserving women end up back in the OR after such hard-fought battles. BUT they can sleep at night, knowing they did everything they could to have the best shot at a natural birth, and fate just had other plans. i hope that gives them a sense of empowerment. they didn't just lay on the table, they fought! much love to these mamas.)
Just found your blog from the article about VBA3C on birthologie. The video was so beautiful it made me cry! And you're close to me, too! I'm just north of Dallas. I love that you became a doula! I, too decided to go into birth work after three traumatic births (only the last being a cesarean, but that was enough!) and intend to pursue midwifery. Glad to have found you! :)
ReplyDeletegood for you!! best wishes mama!! :)
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