| I have three young children, born in 2002, 2004 and 2008. After the birth of my first baby, I grew to love breastfeeding and
raising a young baby. Mothering, nursing, and family life touched me in a special way, and I wrote about my experiences and my story. I spent time
around other mothers, enjoying the company of others who it seemed, shared an unspoken bond. My first birth experience left me feeling confused, like
I had somehow lost something which had rightfully been mine, and so with my next pregnancies, I determined to birth naturally with little intervention.
With the births of my second and third babies, I saw the remarkable beauty of birth untouched and I realized I had found another of my passions in life:
birth. |
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Experiencing my own pregnancies and births, as well as witnessing the pregnancy and birth journeys of women around me, I saw that
pregnancy is a precious season, ripe with hope, change and the feeling of something beautiful about to blossom; birth itself is magical, a deeply
intense event, culminating in a new baby being born, and also in a mother being born. A birthing woman’s spirit and strength should be celebrated.
After birth, with breastfeeding, a woman finds her own balance as a mother. I have complete faith in women’s inner resources and in their bodies’
abilities to grow, birth and nurture their babies.
Women and families benefit from support, care, and being around others who appreciate the inherent ability of these couples to be
parents. Couples are often overwhelmed by the depths of the emotions they experience as expectant parents, and it seems vast amounts of information
are available on childbearing and parenting issues. Having the skills to navigate pregnancy and birth means that new parents can take responsibility
for their birth choices, and go on to shape the kinds of births they have. Women’s memories and experiences of birth touch them in a very real and
intimate way, and they carry these memories for their whole lives. Often, how a woman labours and births seems to make a difference in how she
approaches mothering, and in how she sees herself as a woman and a mother. It seems only right then that women are cared for sensitively and
respectfully as they move into the mothering season of their womanhood.
I find meaning in my work being able to support expectant couples, breastfeeding mothers and new families, and being able to witness
the miracle of pregnancy and birth many times over. I am also thoroughly enjoying and growing through my childbirth education and breastfeeding
training with CBI, although this is nothing compared to the joys and lessons that each day brings, being mother to three young spirited ones!
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