Note about natural childbirth.

The beauty of natural birth.

by Charlotte Webb on Sunday, 10 October 2010 at 23:11

When I became pregnant in May 2009, my interest and passion in natural pregnancy and birth grew with my belly. It peaked during Rowan's birth when, with ecstasy, I realised that all the beautiful birth stories I had read up ‘til now were NOT lies, were not the fantasies of oxytocin-drunk women, were not mere recollections through rose-tinted glasses. The beauty of birth was as raw, natural and untameable as the wild ocean waves and the way to handle it is to ENJOY THE RIDE and not try to tame them, not to resist. The idea of taming or controlling the 'pain' implies that the birthing sensations are somehow in need of fixing. They aren't. Those sensations are getting your baby out. Breathe deep, and enjoy the ride.

When I think of natural birth, my heart and soul explode with a riot of colour, my eyes light up, I glow and I feel amazing - when I think of my own son's birth experience, it's hard not to cry. The proudest 15hrs of my life. Nothing will ever beat it. I will have many more children, and each of their births will be unique and beautiful; but the first...the first time you make love to the Universe, the first time you truly surrender yourself, the first time you glimpse pure true love and ecstasy, that will never be forgotten, never be repeated, and I will never be the same person again, for now I know what love is. Now I know how to love myself. Now I know how to heal, now I know how to nurture, for I have given birth. I have participated in the growth and safe keeping of a new human soul, and I had an absolute PARTY doing it. 

This joy was possible because I am a woman; if you are a woman, you can have a blissful, ecstatic, non-painful birth. I don't mean, 'if you are a hippy woman with 11yrs of yoga experience and a hotline to the Dalai Lama, you can have a blissful birth' I mean IF YOU ARE A WOMAN, YOU CAN HAVE A BLISSFUL BIRTH. The female body is made to give birth and to breastfeed a baby, whatever way you slice it. Have faith, have confidence, own your power and do not give it away by asking others for permission to move/eat/drink, or how you are doing - ask YOURSELF, ask your baby, or better yet - just trust and know that all is well, all is safe, all is perfect.  

I don't want to bring this positivity down by mentioning hospitals, doctors, and all that jazz - but they are often focused on what can go wrong with a birth, and this kind of negative talk can make it difficult to enjoy the birth fully. We currently have a culture of 'pain' surrounding birth, but it doesn’t have to be this way, and it ISN'T this way for much of the world. It is popular to share birth stories of pain, horror, interventions - but it isn't supposed to be this way; sometimes it is painful and difficult because we meddle with Nature, and when you meddle with Nature, the delicate balance is upset and things won't be as easy and joyful as they might otherwise have been. Sometimes it is necessary to intervene; much, much more often it isn't. 

Plenty of women in Western society are reclaiming their birth, because they are realising the truth - that their ancestors birthed without the need to knock themselves out with drugs. They birthed easily, with full knowledge and acceptance that they are WOMEN and therefore capable of birthing babies with minimal 'problems'. Never underestimate the power of the mind - problems and pain start in the mind, and are shown by the body. What I'm saying is, if you're uptight, scared, tense, jittery, being talked down to and bullied, your body will be tight, tense, scared - for a birth, you need to be LOOSE, open, free, you need to surrender into it, to greet each contraction with love and say THANK YOU for helping my baby out, THANK YOU to your body for being so wise, THANK YOU to your baby for all the effort THEY are putting in! Keep the love and gratitude. You are blessed to be having a baby.

The truth is, that your body knows what to do. Your baby knows what to do. YOU know what to do, and sometimes all you have to do is surrender, be thankful, listen to your instincts and to breathe. If you can listen with a quiet open mind, and without a mask of fear, you can ride the beautiful waves of birth with joy, you can have an ecstatic birth, you can fall in love with yourself, the Universe, your baby, your partner. It is your body, your birth, your baby, and you are the woman with the answers.