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Amanda on being a Childbirth Educator |
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No woman forgets the day her child was born. And no woman should ever wish she could. There is a crisis in obstetrical care in North America right now. Books are being written about it. Movies are being made. Information is being made available. The changes that need to happen are innumerable: government legislation, hospital and doctor’s office policies, availability and costs of service all need to change. First and foremost, however, we must change the way we think about birth.
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On this subject, there is no such thing as over-informed. |
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Until about a hundred years ago, women would have learned from a very early age what pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding were all about. They would have learned from their mothers and sisters and aunts and neighbours. They would have seen babies being born. Their hands may even have been the first to touch a younger sibling or cousin. Today, many of us live too far away from our female relatives, and those we can call on are themselves often undereducated on this subject. Childbirth is something that happens behind closed doors and birthing women are asked not to raise their voices for fear of disturbing those around them. And in the silence that is created, womanly wisdom is being lost. For most women today, the first baby they ever see born is their own. As a Childbirth Educator I have the opportunity to plant a new seed of knowledge in this generation of women and their partners. Perhaps in a couple of generations’ time we will have re-established the flow of information from grandmother to granddaughter and it will no longer be necessary to learn about something so personal from a stranger. Until then, don’t be afraid of what you don’t know. Be inspired by what you have yet to learn. |
