What do you Believe?

I was recently in Estonia and treated by my friend to a full sauna treatment in her own home.  As we went through the pre cleaning, scrubbing and washing rituals, I was reminded of similar experiences I have had in Turkish baths, Moroccan hamams and Balinese well being centres. When my friend mentioned that it was a cheap way of cleansing because she used natural, inexpensive products like salt and honey and that she had no need to use expensive skin lotions or hair products, a light bulb went on.  Of course, the western world is not going to adopt these more traditional, natural methods because there is no money to make in it. 

The experience of being in these totally wet rooms where water is liberally splashed around and bodies are scrubbed and cleansed with real intention and nudity is natural, is so liberating.  My experience has always been in bathrooms where the wet area is limited to the bath or shower and I am fearful to get the others areas wet.

As she explained the theory behind the rituals, I realised that previously I had always treated these types of experiences as a one off event as part of my travelling adventures and an aberration to my normal bathing/cleansing habits.  I had never considered that I should actually change my western, commercial and inhibited ways to these more liberated and natural methods of cleansing and purifying.  My conditioning led me to believe that bathing for short periods every day, alone, with no rituals and using expensive products was the only way possible for me. 

I grew up in a transplanted European culture that had no connection to the land it had taken over and instead of embracing the indigenous peoples and acquiring local knowledge of how to live off this new land, they hunted and persecuted them almost out of existence.

This led me to consider the current global birth crisis and I realised that it was the same conundrum.  Women who have been brought up listening to stories about technological, hospital births and have been born that way themselves, are going to dismiss an unassisted, natural homebirth as an aberration.  They are not going to consider that it is a safe and valid choice.  They are not going to be able to bypass their conditioning to believe that they could actually do this too!

The “system” doesn’t want women to adopt a low tech, natural, homebirth because then they would not make any money, birth is big business!  The “system” has to feed itself and its beliefs to keep everyone contributing to its money making machine!  The “system” keeps us fearful and disempowered so that we need it!

I believe that when a woman goes within, she discovers that all she needs resides inside her, her body is perfectly created to give birth without drugs, hospitals, doctors or medical procedures.  She can create whatever she desires when she opens to love rather than contracts in fear.  Love opens psychically and physically, allowing the baby safe and gentle passage into this world!

What do you believe?

A litte bit of knowledge goes a long way

This week I received a beautiful and totally inspiring birth story from a friend in Estonia.  This brave young woman gave birth to her second baby in an ambulance in the middle of a harsh Estonian winter on the way to the hospital.

The writer of this story is young and shows a maturity far beyond her years as she uses the knowledge that she has gained about birth from her own experience, her doula and her studies in Source Process & Breathwork to guide the very inexperienced and unknowledgable paramedics who helped to deliver her second baby.

She had acquired a great deal of knowledge about calm, natural births and she also had a strong belief that this was the way she wanted to birth her child.  Each time the paramedics tried to make her do something that didn't resonate with her own knowledge, she very calmly and insistently showed them another way, her way.  In the end, the only choice the paramedics had was to step aside and allow her to give birth in all her own power, without drugs, interventions or other medical intrusions.

This is her summary of the experience;

I think the most suitable word for describing this birth is empowering. I have even more trust in my body, in my children’s bodies, in the human body alltogether, therefore in being physical. I know that I have a choice, a power to choose, a power to create. I have more faith in medicine, because I feel I can choose how to make medicine work for me, not against me. I don’t have to be a victim of doctors, we can be partners if we are open for a dialogue. I saw even more clearly that there is a working connection between everything and everyone. Giving birth was meant to be satisfying, wonderful, amazing, transforming. I sometimes have dreams about giving birth, they are always very enjoyable and I wake up a smile upon my face.

It surely shifted my own conciousness about birth and I am quite sure it made a big difference for all the mothers and babies who these paramedics have helped after this experience. Kertu’s birthstory started spreading quickly, at first in the hospital and among friends and now I have heard it even from a complete stranger who I met in a breatsfeeding seminar. I hope it will help especially women to trust, respect and cherish themselves and the natural process. I hope it will encourage a dialogue between mothers and medics. I hope that some mother who has heard it, has a little bit more courage to stand up for her and the baby’s right to experience childbirth in its full glory.

I am in awe and total respect for you Anni V.

Readers of this blog, please send this to your friends, let others know that birth truly can be awesome and knowledge and self belief are the keys!

Transitions

A transition is the point where one thing or state changes to another.

Birth & Death are transitions to and from the physical plane. If you accept that your essence of being is infinite with the ability to transition between the physical & the spiritual, then there is no place for fear.

Instead of resisting and fighting these profound transitions, you can embrace and welcome them with excitement and joy.

Imagine a world where death is celebrated like birth and birth is revered like death!

A transition is often a time of weakness and vulnerability. This is only temporary as your true power lies on the other side and all that is required is persistence and patience.

For the labouring woman, transition occurs between the cervix opening and the urge to push. Many women report feeling emotional, vulnerable and overwhelmed. They often feel like they can't do it and it is a time where encouraging support is required. The baby, too, must feel vulnerable and apprehensive as their journey to be born reaches it's climactic stage.

People who have observed death, particularly of the aged or ill, report that at the time the person transitions from life, a contented and peaceful expression passes over their face relieving their facial features of worries, age or pain.

Next time you experience a transition, albeit a minor one, remember to embrace it with excitement and joy and leave fear behind!

Birth - Nature's Way

If you have ever had a pet or observed animals in their natural habitat giving birth, you will have knowledge on the key components of successfully giving birth without external aid.

Typically animals birth their young at night under the cover of darkness as a form of security and the desire not to be observed.  They find isolated, protected places for the same reason.  The act of giving birth will take all their energy and focus so they will not be able to protect themselves or their newborns if they are attacked.  Our cat gave birth the other day to 6 kittens, it was her fourth litter and each time she has found a different "safe" place to give birth undisturbed!

Animals do not have obstetricians, midwives, birth manuals, birth preparation classes or partners to tell them what to do, they instinctually trust that their body's know how to birth and they relax into the process.  

Human beings are part of the animal world and we operate with many of the same instincts.  If left to go into labour spontaneously, most women, especially first time mums, will labour and birth during the night.  We too want to feel safe and unobserved during labour and birth.  Having a baby in hospital, in an unfamiliar environment, surrounded by strangers, under bright lights, being monitored and observed constantly must place most labouring women into "stress" mode.  This stress or fear activates her"fight & flight' system, releasing adrenaline into the system, which creates the opposite physiological effect to the one required to birth naturally.

Most women "choose" to go to hospital because they believe that it is the safest place to birth.  For many decades now we have been told that women need doctors, hospitals, pain killing drugs, monitoring machines and interventions to be able to successfully birth their babies safely.

The majority of women do not need any of those things to birth naturally and safely.  

What they need is:

• a secure, safe environment
• to be mostly unobserved
• trust in their own bodies
• support by significant others in their life
• to be uninhibited so they can access their primal self

In the forty years since birth has moved primarily from the home environment to the hospital environment, there has been no significant improvement in maternal and infant mortality rates, in fact in some countries the maternal mortality rate is on the rise.  What has increased is the number of surgical births, now 30-40% in most developed countries and even as high as 80% in Brazil.  It was only 5% of births in 1970.  The use of synthetic hormones has increased astronomically and many women experience traumatic, painful and deeply dissatisfying births.

Women all around the world are being denied their right to birth in Natures Way.  Many are convinced that they need unnecessary surgery and interventions.  The trend is getting much worse and the potential exists that surgical birth could completely replace Natural birth!

The time to act is NOW!

It is time to reclaim birth - Nature's Way

Freedom for Birth

Freedom For Birth is a 60 minute campaigning documentaryfeaturing a Who's Who of leading birth experts and international Human Rightslawyers all calling for radical change to the world's maternity systems.  

Made by Britishfilmmakers Toni Harman and Alex Wakeford, Freedom For Birth filmtells the story of an Hungarian midwife Agnes Gereb who has been jailed forsupporting women giving birth at home. One of the home birth mothers  supported by Ms Gereb decided to take astand.

Hermine Hayes-Klein, US lawyer and organiser ofthe recent Human Rights in Childbirth Conference at the Hague, the Netherlandssays, “the way that childbirth is being managed in many countries around theworld is deeply problematic. Millions of pregnant women are pushed intohospitals, pushed onto their back and cut open. They are subject to unnecessarypharmaceutical and surgical interventions that their care providers openlyadmit to imposing on them for reasons of finance and convenience. Women aroundthe world are waking up to the fact that childbirth doesn't have to be likethis and it shouldn't. Disrespect and abuse are not the necessary price ofsafety”.

When pregnant with hersecond child, Anna Ternovsky took her country to the European Court of HumanRights and won a landmark case that has major implications for childbirtharound the world.

There will be over 1000 screenings of this landmark film on Thursday September 20th 2012.  Log on to www.freedomforbirth.com to find out if there is a screening near you.

I will be screening this film on Thursday October 4th at my home in South West France. 

Inspiring Story

The other night I had the priviledge and the honour to meet Olympic Gold Medallist, Kristin Armstrong.  On the night that she successfully defended her Beijing Time Trial Title, she paid tribute to her coach and family for supporting her and believing in her.
Kristin shared that with only 22 months before the Olmpics, her coach convinced her to return to training only months after the birth of her first child.  It was a struggle to get her recently pregnant body to respond to the rigours of training, however both her and her coach persevered and were richly rewarded with an amazing success.

To win one Gold Medal is an awesome achievement in itself, however to defend your title to win Gold again only two years after having a baby is truly inspiring.

Kristin shared with me that actually the birth of her child was a wonderful experience and extremely easy with only one hour of full labour.  She consciously chose not to attend birth preparation classes as she felt they engendered too much anxiety in first time mothers.  The belief Kristin had in herself surely contributed to her easy and joyful birth.

WHAT AN INSPIRATION!

How has your BIRTH influenced you?

Birth is one of most important events in our lives.  It shapes our future and most of us are unaware of how and why.  It is the point that we transition from a water mammal to an air breathing mammal.  It is our first experience with physical and emotional change.  Although many of us don’t realise it, at birth, we were conscious and making decisions.

What happened at your birth?

How might the events of your birth have influenced the way you are today?