Reclaiming Birth Power Collectively
December 14, 2007
The last in a series of posts from Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom: Creating Physical and Emotional Health and Healing by Christiane Northrup, M.D., Chapter 12: ‘Pregnancy and Birthing.’
Reclaiming Birth Power Collectively
“Imagine what might happen if the majority of women emerged from their labor beds with a renewed sense of the strength and power of their bodies, and of their capacity for ecstasy through giving birth. When enough women realize that birth is a time of great opportunity to get in touch with their true power, and when they are willing to assume responsibility for this, we will reclaim the power of birth and help move technology where it belongs – in the service of birthing women, not as their master.
“For many women, having a baby is their first experience of being connected with other women and with their vast creativity. It has the potential to transform the ways in which we think about ourselves. As one patient said to me, ‘I felt at one with every woman who ever gave birth. I felt powerful and in touch with something within me that I never knew was there. I took my place among the lineage of women as mothers.’”
Related posts:
Turning Labor into Personal Power
Birth and Female Sexuality
Rebecca’s Story: Reclaiming Birth Power
Amanda’s Story: A Home Birth
Entry Filed under: childbirth, pregnancy, sexuality, society. Tags: childbirth, labor, power, sexuality.
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1.
joyfulseeker | December 20, 2007 at 7:28 am
Wow, extraordinary photo! I’ve never given birth but I’ve been intimately present at two. Having served as a midwife of sorts I can somewhat relate to the sense of connection to the lineage of the strength and creative power of women. This has been a great series of posts!
2.
mayinthesouth | December 20, 2007 at 3:18 pm
I’m so glad you liked them.
It was something that really moved me.
3. The Silver Child « Sitting In The South | January 2, 2008 at 4:34 pm
[...] my hands and knees, which made me think of what I’ve been reading the past few months about childbirth & home birth and how supposedly giving birth in water is the easiest possible way and this [...]
4. Being Female « Sitting In The South | March 18, 2008 at 3:38 pm
[...] bookstore right around when I was finishing Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom (which I quoted from so much earlier) and felt it was a gift from the Universe to [...]
5. Mother’s Account of a Waterbirth « Sitting In The South | May 23, 2008 at 3:42 pm
[...] Account of a Waterbirth Since child birth and alternative birthing methods are something I discussed here before, I wanted to share with you [...]
6.
Tom | May 26, 2008 at 3:51 pm
Thank you for posting this. I used your picture on my site.
Hope you don’t mind.
See Website url above.