Empowering Change

Birth impacts the life you go on to lead and therefore impacts society because society is the sum total of all the individuals in it!

Babies born into fear and struggle become people who live in fear and struggle.

Babies separated from their source (mother) in their first moments on earth become people who think they are alone and have to do it all on their own. Instantly they have lost connection to the concept that WE ARE ALL ONE!

Strong beliefs are formed in those first moments!

It is up to us to help change how the next generation is welcomed on earth

When I started writing this blog over a year ago, I was convinced that I wanted to change the consciousness around birth so that babies can come into the world in joy and ecstasy and mothers can harness the power of the divine feminine to enhance their lives.  NOW I realise that it is much more than that. 

I have a vision of a world where people live in harmony, corporations only produce and promote products and services that are for the good of all and nature is respected and sustained!

I realise now that my mission is to EMPOWER CHANGE!

Visit my revolutionised website and sign up to receive Insights and Infomation direct to your inbox so that we can do this together   www.lynnethorsen.com

If we CHANGE Birth we can CHANGE the world!

DECIDE to be your own Birth Leader

I recently read a post by Deepak Chopra on the subject of how to be a good leader and I decided that it was perfect advice in how to manifest the birth you want!

Step One - Assess the risk to reward ratio & gather evidence.
This is the stage where you find out as much about the birth you want as you can.  Assess if there are risks and also what are the rewards.  Determine if the rewards outweigh the risks and gather as much evidence as you can to support your decision.  You may need this to argue your case with your health professional.  For example if you are someone who wants to have a VBAC (vaginal birth after caesarean) you would be well served to find out all the facts about uterine rupture as research that I have conducted shows that the risk is far less than many health professionals will tell you.  The more knowledge you have the more power you have!  You will have far more success in having your decision supported.

Step Two -  Judge the opposition and gather a team that supports your values and goals
It is important to understand the opposition that you may meet in your quest and have answers at the ready. Be prepared to shop around if you cannot get the support you need.  Start gathering a team that will support your goal.  There are many professionals that will support goals like natural unmedicated birth, VBAC, Vaginal Breech Birth etc.  Also educate the people closest to you such as your partner, mother, friends and other children.

Step Three -  Think outside the box to avoid rigid, fear based thinking.  Learn to trust the wisdom of your instincts.
Currently birth is surrounded by conservative, fear based thinking.  If you desire a more natural birth, it is necessary to think outside the square, be creative and trust the wisdom that your body has innately.  Female bodies know how to birth, this is the great gift of your own internal wisdom.  TRUST, TRUST, TRUST!

Step Four - Generate enthusiasm, loyalty and esprit de corps among your followers.
Your belief, trust and enthusiasm will spread to your supporters.  You may even find that it spreads to others and inspires others to follow in your footsteps.  Your positive energy will create positive energy around you.  I have read many inspiring birth stories where the positive energy and strength of conviction of the birthing mama has influenced and enlightened the birth professionals working with her.  In some cases it has changed the way they practice forever!

Thankyou Deepak Chopra for these wise words, which fit so perfectly to the Birth Process

NATURAL BIRTH REQUIRES SAFETY & PRIVACY

NATURAL BIRTH REQUIRES THE MOTHER TO FEEL SAFE AND UNOBSERVED

“Anything that disturbs a labouring woman’s sense of safety and privacy will disrupt the birth process.  This definition covers most of modern obstetrics, which has created an entire industry around the observation and monitoring of pregnant and birthing women.”[1]

Dr Sarah J Buckley

In order for the natural system of birth to begin functioning optimally with a gradual release and build up of the birthing hormones, the mother needs to feel safe and unobserved!

Safety is a deep instinctual primal need for a woman to feel comfortable enough to relax into the physical state of vulnerability required for birthing.  We can observe how animals instinctually seek out a secluded, hidden safe place in which to birth their young.

During the preparatory phase before the onset of labour, women will instinctively want to find this private, safe place.  This is the time that many women start ‘nesting’ activities; renovating, cleaning and preparing for the birth.  As the majority of women in the developed world birth in hospital, packing the hospital bag has replaced preparing the home as the most common ‘nesting’ activity.

Our culture has been programmed to believe that hospital is the “safe” place for birth and many women want to race off there at the first signs of labour.  Often, once they arrive, their bodies instinctively do not feel safe or unobserved and for many women, labour slows down or stops altogether.  This then validates the belief that women’s bodies are not to be trusted to birth by themselves and that they require all the intervention that the medical model offers.  It is in this situation of arrested labour that the 'cascade of intervention' begins with labour inducing drugs, electronic foetal monitors, restricted movement, large technological machines, epidurals and finally the caesarean section.  From the moment she arrives, fear is building in the mother.  Fear is contraindicated to natural birth.

Privacy is essential for a woman to feel safe and comfortable to surrender and let go; to allow the body to find its own wisdom in how to birth the baby. Sadly, there is little if any privacy in the hospital setting.  Strangers, bright lights, machines, people coming in and out of the room at will, loud noises. Labouring women are often subjected to invasive procedures such as internal examinations, catheter insertion, IV insertion, attachment of the EFM to the babies head and their genitals on show with little respect for the sanctity of birth and  the need for privacy.  Giving Birth is a truly intimate act, not unlike the act of lovemaking which put the baby there in the first place.  Making love in full view of a room of strangers is not conducive to a relaxing and ecstatic experience, the same applies to birth.  Even some homebirth midwives do not create enough privacy for the labouring woman and her partner.

If you want this situation to change then you, the consumer needs to start demanding increased safety and  privacy in the birth setting.  If you don't get the answers you want, then change doctors, change hospitals and spend your money where you can get what you want!  This is the power of the people!  We have a choice as to how and to whom we spend our money!

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[1] Dr Sarah J Buckley, Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering, One Moon Press, 2005, P110.

BIRTH: Nature Knows Best

We are living in a world that has decided that technology and machines can replace the natural physiology of the human body.  One of the reasons is that there is a lot of money to be made out of all things man-made.  In this series of posts I am going to examine the requirements of the ‘birth system’ so that it can function optimally, the natural physiological responses of the ‘birth system’ and the consequences of inhibiting and trying to control nature.

Obstetricians, as members of society, tend to blind faith in technology and the mantra: technology = progress = modern. The other side of the coin is the lack of faith in nature, best expressed by a Canadian obstetrician: 'Nature is a bad obstetrician.' So the idea is to conquer nature and results in the widespread application of attempts to improve on nature before scientific evaluation. This has led to a series of failed attempts in the twentieth century to improve on biological and social evolution. Doctors replaced midwives for low risk births, then science proved midwives safer. Hospital replaced home for low risk birth, then science proved home as safe with far less unnecessary intervention. Hospital staff replaced family as birth support, then science proved birth safer if family present. Lithotomy replaced vertical birth positions, then science proved vertical positions safer. Newborn examinations away from mothers in the first 20 minutes replaced leaving babies with mothers, then science proved the necessity for maternal attachment during this time. Man-made milk replaced woman-made milk, then science proved breast milk superior. The central nursery replaced the mother, then science proved rooming-in superior. The incubator replaced the mother's body for care of low-weight newborns, then science proved the kangaroo method better in many cases.

If more doctors experienced an earthquake or volcano, they would realize their ideas of controlling nature are nothing more than stories to rewrite insignificance.

Dr Marcus Wagner[1]

The human body is an amazing piece of structural, chemical and electrical engineering.  There are a myriad of systems that integrate and work together to establish and maintain internal equilibrium or balance.  At university I studied Anatomy, physiology, exercise physiology and biomechanics and was constantly in awe as I learnt the intricacies and machinations of the human body.  What makes humans so interesting is the role that consciousness plays in physical responses to internal and external environments.  Whereas most other mammals respond to bodily requirements such as eating, drinking and birth with instinctual actions, we humans influence and control these actions with conscious thoughts and emotions.

A human body consists of its anatomy and physiological systems. Examples of these are the respiratory, digestive and circulatory systems, to name a few, which contribute to the optimal functioning of the body during its everyday activities.  I now understand that Birth too, is another perfectly designed physiological system.  It is activated when the innate consciousness of both the baby and mother release the trigger, suggested to be the hormone, oxytocin.  As in all the other physiological systems, to function optimally, birth requires healthy nutrition, a relaxed emotional state and no interference from external stimulants.  .

It is interesting to note that the obstetrical industry only began in the sixteenth century and it was not until the twentieth century that it really began to take over birth.  In 1972 the caesarean rate in the US was only 3% and that has now risen to 33% in 2011.  Humans have been birthing and evolving for 2 millioin years, mostly without obstetrical intervention.  Therfore the notion that we NEED obstetrical assistance is a mere blip, not even worth registering on the continuum of human existence.  Although we are several generations into this model of care, now is the time to re examine the facts and remember that nature knows best.

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[1] Marsden Wagner, MD, MSPH, Fish Can't See Water: The Need to Humanize Birth in Australia

The Goddess Gives Birth

To follow up from last week's posting about the role of 'The Goddess', here is the story of my encounter with my inner Goddess!  I know there are many women out there who have experienced this too!

I first met my inner Goddess during the birth of my first child.  At the time I was unaware that it was she that I was communing with.  When I first encountered her, I was simultaneously awestruck and deeply afraid.  I wasn’t afraid of the discomfort or hard work that I was experiencing during labour, I was afraid of her power!  I tried to hold her power back.  I tried to control her. I thought if I unleashed her power, I would tear in two and be destroyed.  I resisted her with every cell of my being, keeping at bay the primal scream that threatened to be released.

My body was no longer in control; a force that shook me to the very core had seized it.  This was happening during the second, pushing stage of labour and with each contraction, this force threatened to consume me so I held it back as best as I could.  For over two hours, I resisted until my conscious, earthly fear of being transferred to hospital to have my baby surgically removed overtook my other fears.  I knew then that I had to harness this energy and power within me.  I had to surrender my need for control and release my fear to fully embrace this source of power. 

With great trepidation, on the next contraction, I answered the call.  I finally surrendered my resistance and said YES to this hidden force.  I felt my connection to my inner power.  I realised that I could do it; I could handle all this energy and still survive.  Within minutes, my baby started to be released from my body and less than twenty minutes later she was born safely into my eager hands.  My euphoria soared as I experienced the ecstasy of achievement.  I had accessed my hidden power to birth my baby fully naturally with no pain relief or medical procedures.  Even though it was my first child, my perineum had stretched beautifully, accommodating her passage without tearing.  Ten minutes later, my body once again responded with its natural physiology to spontaneously eject the placenta with minimal bleeding.

The context of this birth was that my baby was breech and I was having a home birth against all medical and social advice.  Contrary to most other people, I did not trust hospitals and doctors due to past negative experiences and I wanted to avoid a surgical birth at all costs.  Additionally I had learnt during my holistic therapy training of the connection between the mind and body and the art of manifestation.  I had read many books that taught the importance of natural birth to the baby and I truly believed that birth was a natural not a medical event.

Additionally during my daughter’s birth, I had learned something about the process of birth and myself.  I had learned that hidden deep in my female physiology lay a fierce and immense power and if I had it then other women had it too.  I felt like I had uncovered a secret, a secret that I knew many other women had not yet learned.  I knew something that no man could ever know or experience and I knew that is why the male dominated medical model of birth is so unsuccessful. I was passionate in a way that I had never experienced before. Just slightly below my level of conscious awareness, I knew that I had stumbled on my very reason for being.

I immediately wanted to shout it to the world.  I wanted to reveal its mysteries to all the women in my life because I wanted them to share in the euphoria and transformation that I had experienced.  When I tried to impart this knowledge, I found that no one was listening.  I found that the conditioning and programming around birth was so deeply ingrained that most women could not even fathom what I was talking about.  I saw that a deep fear and resistance stopped them from even trying.

It seemed incredulous that strong, successful women believed they couldn’t do it when it came to birth. I struggled to understand why so many gave up the opportunity to experience their inner strength and access their sacred inner wisdom. I felt frustrated by a society and culture that actively encouraged this disempowerment and felt angry with those who chose to profit financially from the business of birth.

The Goddess exists for us all, it is time to reclaim her in the process of birth!

The Goddess

Some of you who visit this site, may wonder about the title and what it means.  I came up with it a year ago when I created this blog and it is only now that I truly understand what it means.  I have recently spent some time researching the ancient Goddess Cultures and I have gained a much deeper understanding of who and what The Goddess is.

The true power of the Goddess lies in the fierce, aggressive, wild and uncontrollable aspects of her nature as is experienced in the extremes of Mother Nature herself.

The Goddess is inherently feminine and the source of feminine power.  She is the connection between the cosmos and the earth, symbolised and incarnate by the female physiology through menstruation, pregnancy and birth.

Goddess power is transformative power.  She allows the ordinary person to perform extra-ordinary physical and metaphysical feats.  She lies dormant in every bodily cell, both male and female, until called upon instinctually or intentionally. She is not just available to a select few; her power is universal and part of us all.

Our current consciousness has a deep and morbid fear of her power and she has been suppressed, repressed and oppressed over the millennia since the Patriarchy established itself as the authority in our lives.

Childbirth is one of those times when the pathway to Goddess power is open to women, as long as the natural process of birth is honoured and allowed to function without intervention.  The current Patriarchal medical model of birth inhibits and interferes with the sacred physiological and spiritual transformation of labour and birth.

The time has come to Wake UP and rediscover our Goddess birthing power. 

The time has come to say NO to the misogynistic, disempowering practices of medicalised birth before it is too late.

The power of the feminine resides in the cohesion of the female group.  Females represent slightly more than 50% of the global population.  If we do this together, we will be a force to be reckoned with. 

The SHIFT in consciousness is stirring and the voices are getting louder.  Make a stand and answer the call of the Goddess.

NEXT Post : The Goddess Gives Birth

Why do Women birth on their back?

Why do women birth on their back?

Whenever you see a woman giving birth on television or in films, inevitably they are on their back, pushing, panting and screaming.  The doctor is close by and proudly hands the woman her baby once she has miraculously pushed it out against all odds.

Giving birth on your back with your feet in stirrups is the same as trying to have a bowel movement in the same position, it is much harder than if you are upright, with your feet firmly planted on the floor.  The opening to a woman’s pelvis is around 30% greater when in an upright position as compared to lying on her back.

An upright position allows you to use the force of gravity, use the power of your own muscular system and move more freely to assist the baby’s passage.

So WHY do women give birth on their back?

This trend began back in the days of King Louis XIV of France, who according to historical records, was a voyeur.  He wanted to be able to observe the women of his court giving birth and not be seen himself.  It was far easier to do so if the woman was on her back with her legs in the air.  As a result, this method became fashionable amongst the nobility or upper classes.  The rise of the middle classes in the 18^th century led to more and more women adopting this “upper class” fashion.  At the same time, doctors became more involved in delivering babies, especially to those who could afford it.  The lithotomy position (lying on back) was far more convenient for doctors who could sit comfortably on a stool and deliver the baby.

The highly medicalised birthing model, that is so prevalent in today’s age, likes women to be in a bed and on her back so that they maintain full control.  Women are immobilised by foetal heart monitors and epidurals.  The obstetrician can come in and perform all his “miracles” and hey presto he delivers the baby.

I have given birth to three babies and the last position I would have wanted to be in for any of the births was on my back, with my legs in the air.

I am always astounded and dismayed when I see birthing videos with the woman on her back, literally pushing uphill.  It makes no sense at all!

I encourage all those birthing mama’s out there to take back their power and get on their feet!  Adopt the position that is most comfortable to you rather than what is the most convenient for the medical staff!  

It will make the world of difference to how you birth your babies!