"And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it:" Genesis 1:28
Because the sensations of childbirth are strange to a woman, and because she has not properly prepared herself for what it will be like, she often becomes fearful. Because she does not know how to cope with these new sensations, she often works herself up into quite an emotional state, and comes to dread and fear each contraction. This creates what has been called the Fear-Tension-Pain cycle.
Imagine that you have to get up and speak in front of a large audience of people. The auditorium is filled, and you are waiting to go out and deliver your message. What might be happening in your body at that time? What physical sensations might you feel?
Butterflies in stomach, Knees shaking,Sweaty palms, Heart racing,
Tension in neck and shoulders, Muscle Pain, Queasy stomach, Shortness of breath, Feeling faint
All of these are the body's way of reacting to fear. Nearly all women experience these same sensations during childbirth - not because they are having a baby, but because these sensations are part of a fear reaction. Because the sensations of childbirth are new to a woman and she is confused, she does not realize they are due to her own fear reaction.
Barring some kind of physical obstruction, injury, or other physical complication, pain in childbirth can be virtually eliminated with proper preparation for birth, by providing excellent nutrition, by accepting that the body knows how to give birth, and realizing that pain is either the result of the fear response, or is the body's way of encouraging us to change our physical circumstances so as to eliminate the pain and the cause of it. We can use the pain, if it occurs, as a guide, knowing that it is directing us toward a solution. And the solution must begin in our own minds.
But....
Lots of women DO have pain in childbirth. Mainly, because they have bought into the world's deceptions about childbirth. Women still have pain in childbirth because they continue to be deceived, and because they choose to give birth passively according to the ways of the world. Also, not enough Spiritually-based, self-empowering childbirth classes are available, and women are not educating themselves about how to change their birth experience.
Your birth can be an empowering, transforming experience. Educate yourself about how to give birth safely without medical intervention.
All that being said, It seems clear that having a successful, victorious childbirth experience depends upon two main factors:
1. Learning to recognize and defeat the deceptions of childbirth.
2. Learning to give birth in the simple, vigorous, and active
way that God intended.
And as a Doula, I can help with this journey!
