We live in a scared society when it comes to birth. One woman after another confessed to me on separate occasions over the holiday season that they were simply ‘terrified’ of giving birth.
Such an emotive word can only come from a deep dark place and is sadly a sign of the times. Unresolved, this mindset can only lead to more interventions, surgeries and preventable trauma for new mothers and only perpetuate the cycle of fear, control and over-medicalisation of birth that we face today.
This begs the question, how did something so beautiful and light at its essence become so ugly and dark?
When I shared with these women I had my girls naturally and drug free (not to brag but to normalise birth and spread positive messages) their eyes widened with sheer amazement. I may as well have said I had flown to the moon or spotted aliens- it would have elicited a similar response.
Yet this is what we have been designed for and have been doing since the beginning of time! So when did birthing naturally become so rare, alien and even heroic?
Just the other day, a US paper declared the largest baby ever born, “What’s more amazing is that Asher is “au naturale” – meaning no surgery and no drugs… not even an epidural …Natural delivery carries risks for the mother, but Kendall took it in her stride and is doing very well.”
What about the risks of drugs and surgery?There is a fabulous acronym; FEAR is simply false evidence appearing real.
So where did this fear or false evidence come from? We build our beliefs on the building blocks of all we have experienced and the meaning we give it. For instance, if all we have experienced of birth is what our mother told us (often nothing remotely inspiring) or what we have seen in Hollywood movies (a frantic woman rushed in a wheelchair like a patient or emergency waiting to happen) then it’s no wonder we are afraid!
Where is the beauty, miracle or spirituality of birth? It’s been swept aside and forgotten under a pile of negativity, gossip and misconceptions. The problem only perpetuated when a friend spots the bump and offers every horror story she has ever heard and builds up the bank of fear in the pregnant woman’s mind. The media plays right into this fear. If these fears are not addressed by the time the baby is ripe and ready to greet the world, this may impact on her experience. Our thoughts create our reality.
Dig deep. Every thought begins with a belief so I challenge you to answer this question Birth is……. What are you thinking about?
Katrina Zaslsvsky
Birth Goddess
