If you could write your birthing story before giving birth ... What would you write?
Before soul searching, many of us would think that we would write a simple, straight forward, and uncomplicated birth story.
But what about that women in us who has been waiting for nine months to be the star player in a most exciting performance, would we want our story to be run of the mill? Would it be more exciting to write a story filled with danger and surprises, that leaves your audience holding their breath for you, crying for you, and then sighing with relief for you?
Would it be more out there to write a story that makes you unique from every other birthing women you have spoken to? Would you want your story to be like a lullaby that makes every women want to have another baby no matter how many she has already?
We do write our own birth stories, and we have the choice to write them just the way we want them before we give birth.
The mother who KNOWS that her hips are too narrow to birth any size baby, let alone a big baby... She will not be able to get the baby out.
The mother who's entire extended family of women have had long and treacherous ordeals, and KNOWS that she will have that too... will have a long and treacherous ordeal.
Let me tell you a story of a woman. Her mother had 36 hour labors with all of her children. Her sister had a 36 hour labor. She was in labor and called her midwife, said that she was in labor. When the midwife arrived she asked the woman how she was doing, the woman answered, 'I am doing alright, but I know that this show is just getting started, my mother and sister have 36 hour labors, and that's just how it is in my family', the midwife looked at her watch, and thought to herself, well, 30 hours to go. Sure enough, 30 exhausting and harrowing hours later, her baby was born.
Why?
Is it genetic?
The answer is that its all in her mind, she wrote her birth story based on her mothers birth story, based on her sisters birth story. She could have written it differently.
It was my oldest son's first birthday, I was 38 weeks pregnant with my second. I had a midwife appointment. I was 2 centimeters dilated and experiencing surges (contractions), just like I had been having since 35 weeks. My midwife was part of a group of midwives in UCLA hospital. She was my favorite, but whoever is on call is the one who attends your birth. She looked at me, then looked at my swollen uterus and said, 'I am on call tomorrow afternoon'. Okay said my preborn baby, and together we decided that tomorrow afternoon is a good time to give birth. Sure enough, my precious Motti was born at 3:15 PM the next afternoon, with my favorite midwife present, in a dimly lit room in UCLA hospital.
A woman I spoke with told me that she really wanted a home birth but her husband was uncomfortable with it. She was in good strong labor at home, and decided that it was time to go to the hospital, sure enough, when they arrived at the hospital, her labor slowed down. She wanted a home birth.
Be careful, you do write your own birth story. Think about it carefully, create art that defines how you want to birth, journal about your dream birth. Take a
HypnoBirthing course , and prepare your mind and body for the most beautiful, natural, and peaceful birth you can imagine.
