True Feminism

I am rereading Anita Diamant's The Red Tent. I read it long ago, before I was a mother. Rarely do I write down quotes from books and things but I had one from this book up in my house for ages. Something about "life's hardships are like the knots holding the jewels in place on a beautiful necklace." Obviously, the first time I read this book, this is what I needed to hear.

This time around reading it, I have such a different perspective. I remember very little of the story but I am captivated by the discussions of childbirth and attitudes about women's bodies and cycles and relationships.

This is the phrase from the book that is sticking with me now, as a mama: "Why did I not know that birth is the pinnacle where women discover the courage to become mothers?" and "Until you are the woman on the bricks, you do not know the power that rises from other women--- even strangers speaking in unknown tongue, invoking the names of familiar goddesses."

I can get pretty worked up about the over-medicalization of childbirth. Evidence shows there are many negative results for health and relationships--- trouble nursing, struggle attaching, longer healing rates due to C-sections as the result of unnecessary interventions, etc.

This quote stirred something much greater in me. I feel like a generation or two of women struggle to feel confident as mothers. They lack the inclination to follow their "Mother's Intuition" and I feel like that phrase speaks to the very core of that.

Until women are in charge of our own childbirth process and TRUST ourselves--- our bodies, our hearts and our minds---- to birth our babies as naturally as possible, we will lack the courage to aptly parent our babies, children and teens.

We need to trust ourselves and right now, our society's about childbirth do not honor this need. I often lack the confidence to do what I need to do. If I can remember to think about birthing my babies every time, I will have such a surge of confidence and power. I have never felt so powerful as when I gave birth.