The night of the first birthing class had finally come and I was almost as giddy as the first Dr's visit (expectant mothers are pretty easy to please...anything baby related!) We met at my friends house and started out just talking about our experiences so far. Pregnant ladies love to swap stories (this doesn't end when the babies are born either...)
A movie called The Business of Being Born was the primary thing on the agenda and I was excited to see it because I had heard a friend of mine mention it before.
This movie was amazing. It was like it knew all the questions I had asked my doctor and all the very kind "Oh I'm sorry, we don't do that" responses. It gave scientific fact for all the things I intuitively knew deep down...like women's body's were created to go through this process...and that being comfortable and at ease were crucial to the progression of the labor...and how drugs like epiderals not only lead very often to a cascade of medical interventions that wouldn't have been necessary otherwise BUT ALSO rob the mother of the complex mixture of hormones that are released while she is laboring/birthing naturally that are vital in after birth bonding.
I saw two contrasting birthing styles. One in the hospital (that I was headed toward) where florescent lights flickered, machines beeped, and strangers walked in and of your room to "check" you. Where Dr.'s sometimes followed your "birth plan" (sort of...) and sometimes pressured you into things that made their job easier. I saw women who sat back and let someone else control their birth for the simple fact they didn't realize it was their moment, their birth, their rite of passage, and could possibly be the most breathtaking and powerful moment of their life.
Then I saw women, midwives, and doulas who believed in the birthing process...who didn't see pregnancy or birthing as a sickness or condition to be cured. I watched women labor in their dimly lit bedroom or a warm and welcoming birthcenter without anyone hovering over them. The women knew how to birth. Not because someone was screaming at them to "push!"...bur because their bodies were allowed to move at their own pace in a comfortable environment. They were surrounded by women who believed in their ability to birth and who had done it themselves.
So much was going through my head, but the biggest and most pressing thought was "I'm already 5 months into this thing...what choice do I have now?"
More to come...:)
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