30 Days To Due Date

It happens to be a holiday, so I am off work! Today I am contemplating how to unprogram the cultural pictures I have about birth. I am think that some meditation and energy work are in order. Stay tuned ...

As to the physical, my goals for the day are to work on my “Labor Comfort Kit.” I have some of the items, some parts to make, and some to choose. Here is the plan:

A hand-made zippered pouch out of fabric that I love (probably from fabrics that belonged to my mother, that way some of her energy will be there), which will contain:

• Hand-made lavender eye pillow – stuffed with organic lavender and buckwheat hulls
• Bach Rescue Remedy diluted with water in a spray bottle
• Motherlove birth & baby oil – it contains apricot oil and lavender flower, and should work for aromatherapy and for massage
• Aloe and echinacea facial cleansing towelettes
• Crystals – I have yet to choose some of my favorite crystals for use as focal points during labor.  I want to look into how the energy of different crystals affect labor and birth.
• iPod music and meditation selection

So, here are the all the components for the zippered pouch and eye pillow:

I also want to do some more research about whether or not binaural beat audio meditations can be effective during labor.

Off to the creation room to work on the sewing projects!

An hour or so later... I have a completed lavender eye pillow:

I basically followed the tutorial in the above link.  In the tutorial the author states that getting the pillow into the cover was a little challenging, so I decided to just leave one end open and have it button.  It works perfectly!

Once I have finished the zippered pouch I will post a picture. 

Birth as a Sacred Event

Why is it that in our modern world birth has been made into a medical event, where women expect woes and pain? The prevailing mentality about birth has somehow shifted from a divine and celebratory event, from a sacred rite of passage for a woman, into an event that we look on with fear, misunderstanding, and anticipation of great suffering. How many of us realize that we don't have to buy into this cultural conditioning? Why have we let capitalism, via insurance companies and hospitals tread upon and take over this celebratory and transformative life event?

Of course, the importance of this issue didn't occur to me until I became pregnant. I suppose it just wasn't within my scope. Now that I am pregnant, and expectantly awaiting the birth of my first child, the chasm between the way that birth is treated by our culture, and the way I think it should be treated is so apparent that I cannot ignore it. Thus, I feel compelled to say something.

I want to create new rituals and traditions around birth. I want to discover a way to divest myself of the prevailing ideas and attitudes our culture has about birth. I want to reclaim for myself, women everywhere, and my soon to be born daughter, what we have somehow forgotten. Therefore, I set out on a quest of discovery, renewal, reclamation, and eventually... birth.

1. I believe that birth is a sacred event.
2. Giving birth is profoundly transformative for a woman.
3. Birth is a universally pivotal experience.
4. Pain and suffering are not the same thing.
5. Birth is a part of life, not a medical event.

So, in keeping with the above, I seek to make my own birth adventure/experience one of sacred and divine significance, a natural one, a time when I put to use any and all spiritual and meditative training I have, and I am searching for ways to celebrate it with my husband, and forthcoming daughter, to make it the melding of a new family. My main goal is a simple one: To enjoy the experience of giving birth.