Birth is Rarely Neutral in it's Impact on Mental Health

If you haven't had the opportunity please take the time to read Sydney's birth story. I want to take a moment to tell you why I love it so much. When Sydney and I first started talking she relayed to me the stories of her first 2 births. I recall her saying something that I've heard from other women. She said that as far as hospital births go that they were good and drama free, but she was left with the feeling that something was missing or not quite right. It sounded to me that one of her biggest concerns was having a repeat situation of a health care provider question how long was too long to hold onto this baby. That alone pulled her out of her center and initiated fear with the birth of her son. There was also the desire to have the opportunity to have an uninterrupted immediate postpartum, where she could bond with her baby in alignment with her physiology. She made it clear that with this birth that she was ready to be fully responsible for her experience and the whole of her health.

My teacher, Rachelle Garcia Selega, says "when we disrupt physiology, we see disease." Disruption of physiology (physiology being our innate blueprint that is in alignment with wellness) can take place at any point in our health time line when we give up our knowing of our own body and place our health in the hands of another person. It is still true that there are doctors and health care professionals that have information and access that can help us promote our own wellness, but the voice of the external authority has become louder than our own. In the case of birth, we see this begin with prenatal visits, and more impactful, in the days right before birth. I believe that true prenatal care supports and trusts the innate knowing of the mother. And so often we see healthcare professionals, who honestly may not intend to cause harm, undermine the intuitive intelligence of the pregnant body. It takes the form of "doing" for the mother the prenatal care, of crunching numbers turning her body into statistics, of telling her about her chances for a vaginal delivery, and instilling fear that her body is not functioning properly. This last one turns into a self fulfilling prophecy. The message received that your body is taking too long to get this baby out causes stress, which produces the exact opposite set of chemicals required for the pregnant body to want to go into labor. This is an intervention, and a disruption of our physiology, which can lead to prolonged labor, the need for cesarean delivery, inability to bond properly with the newborn, and postpartum depression. And this is only a few example of how the trajectory of the birthing mother's overall health is affected.

Our nervous systems are ancient and highly intelligent, and cannot be fooled into thinking that a situation is safe when it is not. We see the manifestation of trying to bypass this intelligence with cognitive processes, or plain old denial in so many areas of life. Birth shows us that we just cannot do this, and calls us back to our center and intuitive wisdom. I trust women to tap into this primordial wisdom, laid down by generations of evolution, and do what is right for their bodies and their babies. I've known women who listened to their knowing and decided to stay home to birth away from the people and environment who were causing them to question their power. I have also known women who decided to make the brave and heartbreaking decision to give up their dream of a home birth and participate in a hospital birth for the health and safety of her and her baby. And they were all right in their choices. This is the foundation of the support that I offer, and offered to Sydney. She felt safe in her home and trust in her body's ability to birth safely. She presented as a woman who knew that she still had more to gain from birth, and it was a piece that she was not going to receive in a hospital. She knew through experience that a hospital birth would not allow her access to the fullest transformational power. Birthing on her terms "outside of captivity" changed her as a person, and the effects of that are still working in her life today. I've been watching it happen, and it's AMAZING! This is why I love Sydney's story so much. It is an account of her being in her integrity and power. The work we did together happened before the birth. I absolutely love a birth where a mama feels like they don't need me there. This speaks volumes to how trust in and elevation of the birthing mother can encourage her to find her own way. And that's the bottom line, and what is going to change the world, is women stepping into and knowing her fullest expression. We need women to trust their power.

And we get to choose. As birthing people, and as support for those people, we get to choose which path to walk. This birth will only happen one time. It is an opportunity to access a process where what is received is self confidence and empowerment, or it can lead to disease and depression. Further, this impacts the formation of our new parents that are raising our next generations. Birth is rarely neutral in its' impact on mental health. And yes, we can see both elation and depression, which we will cover in other posts over time. For now, I just wanted to express my gratitude for Sydney, and for her wanting to discover herself. I'm grateful for the opportunity to walk along side her, into sometimes dark and uncharted territory, on a path of strength and love. This is why we do it. Sydney, you inspire me! - Kathleen