Episode 7 -- The Instinct of Birth

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Here’s the story we discuss this week:

“My own mother always made a point of telling me how terrible it had been to give birth to me, that her body was wrecked in the process and that women in our family must not be meant to birth naturally (The story always punctuated with, '... and thank goodness for doctors or we would all be dead!'). When I became pregnant I hired a very expensive obstetrician. But the birth ended up as an emergency caesarean and significant trauma for me as a new mother. My own mother was sympathetic but there was an element of 'I told you so'. But there was a little kernel in me that thought, 'It doesn't make sense. How could it be that all my many thousands of female ancestors had a body that worked, but me and my mum didn't?' I went on a massive transformative journey to learn about the instinct of birth and to trust in my body. I ended up having my next two children at home with midwives, and am so glad that I did, because I am a very different person now and now my daughters have empowering stories about their births that I hope they will carry forward to the next generation.”

Stella mentions the John Montague poem called The Locket and the book Birth.