Your birth matters.

How many births have you seen in TV or movies that don't have an "emergency" vibe with birthing mom screaming/raging/pained... on her back on a hospital gurney, gown on, legs up, people holding her knees, and she's pushing until she's red in the face... with machines beeping, wires, bright lights, and people all around, people counting and saying PUSH!!??

How many births have you seen in TV/movies that are NOT like that?

This is how you CONDITION a human brain. Show it a scenario over and over again, charge it with emotions - and that becomes integrated into our brains as HOW LIFE IS. No questions asked.

But it's not. It doesn't have to be.

Did you know, that, when left to birth naturally, most women, LIKE ALL MAMMALS, opt for a dark, quiet, and secluded space. Most women, LIKE ALL MAMMALS, elect to move their body through labor, and in the moment of birth, become more still, and in a position that allows for the pelvic opening to open to it's maximum diameter. Which for humans, is typically on all fours, or in a type of forward leaning squat. Did you know the standard lithotomy position actually restricts the pelvic opening potential by about 1/3 (!!).

We've been fooled into thinking that anything BUT the conditioned reality is not safe.

… That birth is NOT safe, unless you are overseen by the Medical system. And even then, it is inherently dangerous and something could go wrong at any moment - it feels more like an emergency than anything else.

… You, most likely, CANNOT do it on your own, that a birth without Medicine, or a medical doctor/team overseeing the process, is irresponsible, or worse. Trust the doctors, trust the system - they know best.

… That birth is suffering - women can't get through it without medicine - and why would you want to? You don't get a medal for being in pain (sound familiar?)

… At the end of the day, birth doesn't matter - THE BABY matters. Ever heard someone say, "Well, at least you had a healthy baby, that's what really matters." ???

It's BULLSHIT.

If anyone has ever said that to you, let me apologize on their behalf. They're conditioned too. Your birth DOES matter. Your experience matters. It impacts you forever. And for anyone to say or imply otherwise, only further traumatizes and hurts. I see it, I see you, and I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry. You deserve better and you are not alone.

Birth does matter. Moms matter. AND babies matter.

What they left out in this short video, is that many of the experiences mothers have after birth can be related to side-effects of medications. Many of the interventions DURING labor have side-effects (for mom and baby), which create a need for later interventions. Mothers and families are typically NOT informed of the risks of interventions because we are conditioned to believe they are "safe." When moms do question it, they are typically met with the response that it's "routine procedure" or "policy"... which is not really an answer and does not allow for informed consent. And then we are conditioned to be so grateful the doctors were there to save us - when, in reality, many of the complications we experience are SIDE EFFECTS of the very medications and procedures we've given.

I have a close friend whose doctor wanted to induce (because she was approaching 39wks gestation). They chose to start with a cervical ripening drug - one which they did not inform her, carries a risk of post partum hemorrhage. And she did hemorrhage after birth - and thankfully the doctors and medical staff were there to help her and she received a blood transfusion - they helped to solve a problem that they, themselves, may have contributed to. But no one acknowledged that - they told her how lucky she was she was in a hospital when it happened. When she later researched the drug and brought this to the attention of her doctor, the doctor denied any possible correlation - refusing to acknowledge the statistical data and studies proving the increased risk. This is unacceptable. Not surprisingly, her next birth was at home.

It's SO important that we learn to identify where our beliefs have been conditioned - so we can start asking different questions, and start advocating for ourselves and for the birthing people whom we love.

LINK: NBC- U.S. is the most dangerous place in developed world to give birth

Peaceful Beginnings

Yes, the moment of birth can, and sometimes does, look this peaceful.

Pregnant mamas, flood yourself with these types of birth images. Intervention-free births. Let them into your consciousness.

Our “labor and birth looks like...” consciousness files are typically loud and emergency-like scenarios from TV and film. The woman is typically on her back, screaming, ‘purple-pushing’, with bright lights, people yelling ‘push!,’ and babies being whisked away as they emerge. It’s only a fraction of what is possible, let alone physiologically “normal.”

Birth is a journey into your conscious and subconscious mind, and there are many ways to plant seeds of possibility and power for yourself during the process.

Photo Credit: @Gestaluz (FB)