Energy Dynamics of BirthBy Linda Rawlings. People are aware of human energy. Walk into a party, feel the vibe. Emotions and attitudes working within and through the various bodies, shaping the energy of the room and each individual: blocking, building, releasing, containing, opening, denying. When we consider energy and the experience of childbirth, the dial goes off the scale!!! It is simply awesome, so multifaceted, so energetically ripe, so hightened in its capacity to be anything, everything or oblivion itself; so open to interptation and manipulation. The energy which is accessible during childbirth is indeed exceptional. It is also easily influenced and women require the highest respect, compassion and sensitivity to flow and grow with the energy as they bring forth life. With each child born energies come together which actively enhance or inhibit the birth process along with its potential to be experienced by the mother as an honourable rite of passage. I call this energetic nexus ‘the energy dynamics of birth’, and I’d like to develop the concept by relating my own journey through the wonderland of issues and influences which have supported the birth of my three children and evolved my somewhat unique perspective of birth. ~... in the beginning ~ As with most daughters my mother’s attitude and experience influenced my own early knowledge and appreciation of birth. I was born at home in a tiny village in England and throughout my childhood my mother always spoke of birth as the most natural process in the world. I was therefore stunned to realise once I became pregnant, that in Australia I was expected to give birth in a hospital. Why anyone would want to share a natural and intimate part of life with unfamiliar people, in an unfamiliar environment, was beyond me. My concern deepened when I discovered that Judith, my Aboriginal sister-in-law, was required by WA Health Department policy to leave her desert community to birth in a hospital vast distances from her land and her people. As Judith is a Ngaanyatjarra woman living a semi-traditional life, I felt strongly that if either of us should be ’allowed’ a homebirth, it should be her, not I in my recently rented abode. After all, Judith’s ‘home’ was not mere dwelling but a complex set of elements which incorporated the vast desert landscape and a dynamic weave of rites and relationships which supported her social, cultural and physical well-being. Aboriginal women who birth away from their kin and country are stripped of their day-to-day supports, and of their familiar language, food, sounds and smells. In my dawning awareness of the energy dynamics of birth, the blatant imposition of one set of values over another ~ the white men’s policies over indigenous rites and beliefs, politicised me like nothing ever had before. I felt the sorrow as Judith was removed from her community to wait many weeks, in virtual isolation, before giving birth to Francis in Kalgoorlie Hospital. Two months later I birthed Julian at home in East Perth. Throughout my first experience of pregnancy and labour, I held strongly my Mother’s conviction that birth is a ‘natural’ process. And indeed it was a natural birth. It was also awesome in its power and so rich in mystery, depth, wonder and learning; a rite of passage equal to none! I describe Kaspar-Jack’s birth 3 years later, as ‘political’. At Murdoch Uni, I was immersed in the study of birth; it’s representation in the arts, sciences and gossip, and the experience of birth across cultures and time. My studies convinced me that our society was starved of positive, powerful, non-medical representations of birth and so I shared Kaspar’s birth with a crowd of faithful friends. Again the energy was quite beyond definition; so incredibly unique, sublime, intense, wholesome and affirming. Ten years later my third son, Oliva Joi, was born by caesarean section. As Oliva’s birth was an elective surgical procedure, 3 weeks post ‘due date’, my challenge was to create an energy dynamic within the hospital environment akin to the spiritual ambience of birth at home. Although I still felt that my body was capable of birthing my child vaginally (and around a very large fibroid!), I ultimately had to transfer this trust to a team of medical specialists. To enable the experience to be soulful and imbued with positive energy for both myself and my child, I also had to let go of the fear which had accumulated over the proceeding weeks, as medical professionals denigrated and ridiculed me and my right to delay the caesarean they were eager to perform. With pure love and intent, in my own powerful and gracious way, I surrendered into my caesarean birth as a precious gift for myself, my child and all who gathered to assist me. And when the moment came and Oliva was lifted from my womb, the room was flooded with the most exquisite orange light of my dawn meditations and the energy of birth was again sublime! ~ Anticipating Birth in Traditional Societies ~ To understand more deeply the energy dynamics of birth, freed from the complexity of the medical model or experience of childbirth, it is productive to appreciate the birth practices of indigenous cultures. Although incredible diversity exists, each tradition works to create an energy dynamic which affirms and supports a safe, easy and spiritually rich experience of childbirth for the mother and the child. In traditional societies birth is a natural and sacred part of life where girls experience close at hand their elder sisters, cousins and aunties as they become mothers. While cultures vary considerably, each has definitive guidelines about how a woman should prepare for childbirth and this is represented in various ways. From a few words spoken in whispers through to lengthy and elaborate ceremonies, each expression and communication essentially works to achieve the same outcome;
As a rule pregnancy is a time when a woman is surrounded with all things positive and often great care is taken to avoid anything or anyone that may cause blockage, tension or distress. Across the world customs, such as smudging the birth place, are used to release or deter any negative influences, to evoke and ground the energy of birth and to affirm and strengthen cultural life. It is considered unthinkable to speak to pregnant women about birth as something which is traumatic, physically painful, unpredictable or unbearable. The minimisation of emotional, psychological and spiritual conflict is said to contribute to a quick and easy delivery. Traditional birth attendants and intuitive midwives are sensitive to the influence of egos vying for control over the birth process. Midwives working at this level know how many centimetres dilated a birthing woman is without having to do an internal examination, they know if someone is drawing energy away from the birthing woman, they know too when their own expertise is limited and when to seek the assistance of the medicine man or woman, hospital or medical specialist. ~ Birth in Traditional and Indigenous Cultures ~ With rites performed, the birth place prepared and under the guidance of familiar, sensitive and experienced birth attendants, a traditional woman moves into her experience of birth. Like all women she will never know what this will bring. Most probably it will be new life, it could also be death. As the energy and intense sensations of childbirth grow, traditional women surrender themselves into the mystery, trusting that the wisdoms of the ages will guide their path. Without the compulsion to check their own physical experience against a standard model of childbirth, these women enter deeper and deeper levels of their own unique experience. There is no right and wrong way to give birth. As the body expands and contracts, the energy rises with the profound love and attention of those near and dear to the birthing woman. So present and attuned are the attendants that the experience becomes one united force, everyone moving and responding to the rhythm of birth. And for some the energy of birth continues to rise beyond the limited experience of our everyday reality. It becomes sublime, so powerful and elegant, eloquent and dynamic, touching the very souls of all who share the experience. The rigid boundaries which separate one from another merge with the greater universal consciousness. Within this mysterious and magical terrain a child is born, a new life begun, the most precious gift a woman can give. ~ The Loss of Traditions ~ Unfortunately the loss of birthing traditions is happening within cultures all over the world, almost without exception. By the next generation few women will give birth innocent to the trauma, pain and medical procedures with which birth is now associated. I believe it is important that we recognise this for what it is; that we are at a transition point in the evolution of the human species which is shifting birth at a global level from a woman-centred, compassionate, culturally integrated foundation for life, to a fear-based, medically managed, physiological procedure which occurs often in isolation from family, spiritual and community life. On an individual level more and more people are recognising the importance of healing the emotional, spiritual and physical pain which tends to go with the modern day experience of birth. This includes the experience of birth as we enter life from the warm waters of our Mother’s womb and the experience of birth as we bring forth the gift of life from the flesh, blood and energy of our female bodies. The healing of such wounds is indeed crucial work but I’d like to suggest that perhaps we are looking too narrowly at the cause and effect of our individual experiences of birth trauma. There may be only limited benefits in generalising, for example, that a woman’s post natal depression or post traumatic shock syndrome might be as a result of a particular type of birth experience. Perhaps it is time to acknowledge the energetic influence of our collective consciousness where great confusion, pain and grief must be held around the notion of childbirth. Might this prevent us from being more assertive with our birthrights and birth rites? Might this be impacting on our individual experiences of childbirth? Let us not forget the edict >from the Garden of Eden and the suffering that women have experienced through the ages as a result of our sexuality, midwifery, healing magic and the different colours of our skin. Is it any wonder that so many of us get lost or lose ourselves, our power, our dignity and our ecstasy as we labour to bring forth life? ~ ...from suffering to healing ~ When I allow myself to touch the pain associated with Oliva’s birth, I can’t help but feel for all women who have had or who might experience such a disorientated birthing. The suffering comes not as a result of Oliva being born by caesarean but rather from having lost something which was forever there before; the consciousness of being part of, and continuing, a precious tradition of birthing at home with the love and support of family and the sensitive guidance of the ‘village’ midwife. > When I see my experience in this light, I have to ask; how different is my experience to that of a pygmy woman who prepares formula for her newborn baby, or a woman from the highlands of New Guinea who is led to believe that birthing in a hospital is better, cleaner or safer?, or our countless fore mothers from western ‘civilisation’ who were routinely drugged throughout labour to avoid the pain of childbirth? Each practice motivated by fear, each practice stripping us of our strength, our womanhood and our birth traditions. When I consider the increase of such practices worldwide, I refuse to feel my pain in isolation for I know it is shared by women of all nations and nationalities. As my suffering expands to join other women in theirs, I gather strength, compassion and hope. That women in our society are forced to give birth in hospital only because they lack the money to pay for a responsible birth at home is undoubtedly unfair and unjust. That money should dictate how, when and where a woman gives birth is, I believe, a crime against humanity. While many hospitals may attempt to duplicate the dynamics which come together in the context of homebirth, many more remain rigid and fear is quick to lead the way in the birthing process and interventions of all kinds are increasingly deemed necessary. For those of us alerted to the dynamics at play and who feel an imperative to provide women of today and future generations with options for soulful birthing, the task to turn the tide might seem somewhat overwhelming. How do we start? Where do we go? How do we maintain a momentum? I don’t know that there are simple answers to these questions but perhaps we might begin by allowing our collective suffering around childbirth to be our guide. By seeing the breadth and depths of such suffering, not as individual pain and injustice, but as cultural and spiritual wounds crying out for recognition, a more profound healing of our people and our world can begin. By acknowledging and feeling the loss collectively and symbolically, humanity will be released into a future which again allows the energy dynamic of birth to bring about miracles. And as each child is born soulfully into this world, the vibration of the planet itself is lifted. In a world which is saturated with fear, there can be no greater task. It’s time for all of us to come together, to heal our wounds and see the fundamental nature of the task at hand. Each and every birth is important no matter where or how it may happen. As mothers, midwives, sisters, health professionals and friends, our role must be to support the women of the world to give birth with greater and greater love, trust and integrity to themselves and their spirit. Our world is counting on us to do this. |