As humans, we’ve all had the opportunity to be born. Some of us will be lucky enough to go into labor one day. If birth is so prevalent why is it that most of us know so little about it? Birth has been on my mind a lot lately. A dear friend of mine is eight months pregnant and another friend of mine just recently gave birth. As a 22 year old woman, I’ve been exposed to very little information about the child bearing/rearing process. It’s rarely discussed in the media or among my peers- which I find puzzling. I find it strange that most young women and men understand more about sex than they do about reproduction. I’m under the impression that many people feel that birth is something that we find out about in the process of doing it. It is handled by doctors that, it is presumed, are trained to know about birth than we do.
In my freshman year of college I was exposed to my first birthing video. It terrified me. I left the room feeling angry and disowned by my own gender. In this film, a woman was in the hospital laying down while the doctors injected her with many birth inducers and pain killers. At the peak moment, the baby was pulled out, the umbilical chord was cut, and its throat was quickly cleaned out: both the mother and the child were screaming. I was angry that I was a woman and it was possible that if I had a child birthing experience it would look like that.
I wasn’t exposed to any other options. Fast forward to the present.
Around two weeks ago I had the opportunity to view two documentaries: The Business of 
Being Born and Birth as We Know It. The Business of Being Born ” interlaces intimate birth stories with surprising historical, political and scientific insights and shocking statistics about the current maternity care system.” It enlightened me, scared me, and, most importantly, gave me new options on what a birthing experience can look like. Birth as we Know It is described as a film that has an illuminating effect “on the impacts of conscious conception, pregnancy and birth”. This stunning film showed images of wild women giving birth in the warm lagoons of the Black Sea. Both of these films radically shifted and healed my prior anger with the birthing process. I learned about different birthing practices that included more holistic and empowered birthing techniques.
Although both films included at home births- which many of us consider dangerous in the US, I was left feeling at peace with my options and abilities as a woman. It would be amazing for many women AND men to see these films, as this information gives them an opportunity feel more included in the birthing process.I’d like to add that I have no intention of having children anytime soon -yet this film still left me feeling more empowered and connected to my femininity. If you are interested in birth, are expecting, or know anyone who is expecting I highly recommend watching this film. I am so thankful to have been exposed to so many new ideas around conception, it has helped me understand so much more about how precious human life really is.
Have you ever found yourself in the position of needing to loose more than 100 pounds? Have you ever taken a leap of faith from a secure, successful career to choose your own freedom and fulfillment? Do you know what it is like to loose the weight, leave the job, and learn to fly?
With my Great-Grandmother passing on last week, I am fully present to how blessed my life is and how it wouldn't have been possible without her (and all of the Grandmothers who have come before me). I realize how blessed I am to have known my Great-Grandmother and to have had her in my life for so long. I was truly raised by a village. Not only did I know her, but I lived with her, was raised by her, held by her. I come from a line of powerful women. My Great-Grandmother, Grandmother, Aunt, and my Mother all raised me. Alongside them stood my Great-Grandfather, Grandfather, Uncle, and (step)Father (who fully stepped in to be my father and take me as his first child when I was a baby). They've watched me grow, learn, stumble, get up, take a stand, love, find myself, be myself, graduate, get married, move away, move back home, loving me through it all. Through them, through my Great-Grandmother, I have learned (lived) community. Living with her has taught me so much about loving and taking care of each other. It was never anything that was considered as a decision in my family. It was just what we did for each other, even when it was hard. It was (is) a way of being.