Yesterday, I helped welcome a new life into this world. It always amazes and inspires me to witness what we can achieve. It saddens me too. It was a great birth to first time parents who were Hypnobabies students of mine. Through 12 of the 17 hours, she was doing a beautiful job of working with her body and handling the power naturally. Then we went to the hospital… I knew she was in transition when we got there but that she still had just a bit to go. I also know that the last bit is the most intense and the most powerful. Changing locations at that time is difficult and on top of that, the hospital assessed her BY HERSELF! They would not let me (her doula) or her husband back there with her so of course she wanted to get an epidural. She had lost her rhythm.
To quote a wiser woman than I, “I know like I know, like I know” that everything happens in the exact way that it should including birth and this one is no exception. My client did get an epidural which went smoothly and worked very well for her and 3 hours later, her son was born. Looking back, I’m not sure either of them could have handled the power of that birth. The baby went into some distress and mom had to really concentrate on her breathing and stay focused so he could recover. At one point, she was about 1 min away from a c-section and she stopped, took some deep breaths, and talked to her son and it worked. His heart rate picked up and he was good from then on. I’m not sure she could have done that with the intensity of the contractions too.
I know that I have a bit of radical in me because there are certain times in my life that “I just want to change the world”. When I was in college, it was the school system; yesterday it was the labor and delivery part of hospital births. In college I decided that to change the world, you have to conform to it so you can make changes from the inside. I had another glimpse of that yesterday. There is so much “not right” with the way our culture brings our new humans into the world. It starts with our beliefs and goes all the way through “just take a pill and you will feel better” but when we just take a pill, we give up our power; our power as the wonderful and awesome creators and manifestors that we really are. First we believe that we are powerless, we see it and we are taught it. Then, we act on it and create that reality for ourselves. I’m relating it to birth but you can see it on every level of our society.
So, stop believing the others and listen to your true self or your inner wisdom. Start looking for the “I can’s” and start appreciating yourself for the “I did’s”. As for me, this is my journey and I will continue educating and changing lives one at a time. I love what I do and I will continue to do it until I don’t enjoy it or something better comes along. Whenever I attend a birth, I am so honored to be able to share this moment. It reminds me why I teach and helps me better understand what to teach. It also reminds me that I am great at what I do so thanks you L and J for reaffirming my calling.