misplaced mama

My friend once called the birth of her child a paradox because of it’s bittersweetness. I think birth in general is a paradox. As life is. The experience—either sides of the extreme to that opposing mirror that lives near the middle— of that paradox is what keeps us alive and active. Interested. Connected. Would a life epidural make life all the more bareable? I don’t think so. I think is would make it rather dull, disconnecting us to that spirit of being human that is so sensational; the highs and the lows, the deep cuts and the light massages, the sweet kisses and the sharp slaps. It would be like being awake and walking without feeling your legs move. To live lacking sensation.

I fear too many people have been convinced that birth hurts too much to handle. I am grateful that help in labor is there if needed, of course. This is a good thing. Actually it’s more than good that there is a choice, because all people need different things and all women have their own unique lesson to learn within their birthing experience. We need to have the choice to birth the way we want, drugs or not. But we all should also have the choice to easily and readily learn more about birthing so the myths surrounding it can start being wiped away (like my favorite birthing quote: ‘their is a secret in our soceity…it’s not that childbirth is painful…it’s that women are strong”). We deserve the choice to learn about our birthing selves without the Medical World’s tight grip on the majority of information dispersed to us through not only the media but through doctors, nurses, pharmaceutical companies, technology indutries, universities…etc.

We deserve to NOT be mis-educated on the culture of birth, the pain of birth, on our bodies that birth.

I may get the opportunity to watch two goats give birth. I was thinking this might offer insight on these questions I have on the painful ecstacy (?) of childbirth. Perhaps watching other species birth will give me a new and fresh perpective. Maybe it will offer me new tools to use this writing thing as a way to cut through the mis-information and myths. Maybe the goats will let me in on their secrets to birth and I can share continue to share.