Awakening the wise woman

On Wednesday, we went to see the midwife. It was pleasant as usual. I always feel good about being able to talk about how I feel about childbirth and not get looks of bewilderment or amazement in return. Sue was there along with her two students this time, so my contentment was multiplied by three. Such a welcoming and nurturing atmosphere. Much better than my experience at the gynecologist!

We went over all the basics. My urine was checked and there was no protein present, which is a good thing. (If there was, it might be an indicator for the development of Pre-Eclampsia.) My blood pressure was a bit lower than last time, which is exactly what I was going for by starting the garlic pills since my last visit. The baby's heart rate sounded great at about 140.

We were able to talk about some books that would be good to get into. I got some good ones from the library and have found a new (to me) frontier of philosophies and ideas like using yoga to help with labor, water birth techniques, and calm birth. I just started the "Calm Birth" book and right now I'm going over the history of women and medicine...

During the Inquisition of the church that took place in the Middle Ages to the Renaissance period, thousands of wise women were sharing in the knowledge and practice of medicine and midwifery. Women were once highly regarded as healers. Unfortunately, the church misinterpreted this practice as witchcraft and did not accept it. The result was the loss of generations upon generations of wise women knowledge when the church tortured and burned these women at the stake.

Another book that's a little bit lighter is called "the Vaccine Book" by Robert W. Sears. Its about the pros and cons of vaccines and talks about alternative vaccination schedules that work more with the way the body naturally works. I found a particular interest in this book because of my experience with working with kids who have autism. I've heard a lot of talk about how the mercury levels in some vaccines have possibly caused or catapulted many cases of autism.

Aside from books, my midwife suggested that I consider studying and preparing my mind with labyrinths. I had never thought of it before, but it makes sense. Working on a labyrinth is a lot like labor in that it keeps your mind occupied on a task that is mundane and gets difficult at times. It always takes persistence and redirection to see it through to the end. Its also a good way to fill the down-time during labor to keep the mind occupied so it doesn't go into a frenzy of anxiety. I think of mandalas in pretty much the same way... so in addition to exercise, taking supplements, eating right, drinking water and reading, I'm going to start working on labyrinths and coloring mandalas to prepare for labor!

These kinds of things really get me excited. I feel the wise woman awakening inside of me with every new idea that comes my way. The process of this pregnancy and learning about labor are like planting a seed to start life again in an old-growth forest that has been cut to the ground. I only hope I can do justice to the many women who came before me.