Meeting with some lovely and dynamic people at the Calderdale home birth support group this morning has reminded me of my new promise to myself to blog! Those groups are always interesting, and it is always a pleasure to meet new people and to form a small part of their journey into and through the amazing transition that pregnancy and birth is. It took me a while to realise that not only does each subsequent pregnancy bring us into a new realm of 'being' as a person, and as a family, but also all sorts of other experiences and challenges. I remember feeling o so wise having reached a certain stage in my life, only to get swept onto other things, which made me realise I how much more there was ! - To learning, developing, changing...
(I am reminded of 'Women who run with the wolves' http://www.clarissapinkolaestes.com/women_who_run_with_the_wolves__myths_and_stories_of_the_wild_woman_archetype_101250.htm - a book which I have never read cover to cover, but love to dip into)
Two things stood out for me at the group this morning; - one, was thinking about planning a home birth whilst being accepting of the possibility of a need for transfer to hospital.- The discussion caused me to reflect on the idea that there are so often unprocessed fears or emotions around birth, or the idea of parenthood - or any aspect of the above, and that those emotions, or mental processes which are perhaps very deeply engrained - part of our personality almost- can not only hinder us in labour (possibly a useful thing, as it gives us the time and opportunity to get them 'out there'), but can also make it feel more difficult, and indeed be more difficult as our bodies respond to what is going on in our thoughts. Sometimes what feels like a 'safe space' for one woman to birth in, does not feel the same for another (or maybe for our partners or support, who may be coping or processing their own fears or emotions) - or maybe we think we want one thing, but something deep within feels a need for something else ( an example - the woman who has made a birth plan for her husband to be the first to touch the baby, who actually finds she wants to be under a duvet or shut in the bathroom).
The other issue I have been prompted to reflect on is that of 'free birthing'... birthing without the presence of a health professional. I will write more about this later - And also will let you know when it has started about a new blog designed specifically to give women considering freebirth some of the information they need (relevant to our health service and systems of law/birth notification and registration in the UK). It seems that with the looming difficulties that independent midwives are going to have with attending births legally that we may well find that free birth becomes more common. Please keep your ears to the ground about what is happening for us. At the moment it is not looking great - although a big positive is that if the neighbourhood Midwives scheme rolls out, many more NHS midwives may find it easier to practice in a much more autonomous way that they do now. that's got to be good for women and families! ( www.independentmidwives.org.uk )
One of the key points from this morning's discussion was that it is quite crucial for women to check in with a health professional at some point in her pregnancy - Aside from the issues around antenatal care, which obviously need a good deal of thought and informed decision-making, this is an issue for registars. When registering a birth, they have no way of confirming that the baby is actually yours, so having some recognition somewhere is definitely helpful! Ideally to have a midwife arrive very soon after the birth to file a birth notification form to the registry office - And I have to say, ideally have a midwife involved in some way all the way through - I'm presuming that if you're reading this and thinking about free-birthing you will be educating and informing yourselves appropriately...
On to more mainstream matters... or maybe not (!) - check out the lovely Julia Dawid's new website for some fun and fresh light on all that is birth and pregnancy. Singing and meditation are two of my favourite therapies these days, and this collection is definitely worth a look..http://thesingingmidwife.net/
Enjoy.
