Why Share Birth Stories?

It used to be that when the time came to give birth, a woman had a community of women around her, supporting her and helping her labor. It may have been the closest neighbor, a field away. It may have been the entire village that came. There were older women helping the younger women through it, sharing real stories, not hiding the truth of the pain, messiness and miraculous that is birth. These women encouraged and empowered the laboring women. They celebrated with them, and at times, mourned with them.

Times have changed.

Many women no longer have a circle of supporting women; encouraging them, informing them. They have not heard the good and beauty in labor, only the pain. While we may not all be gathering around a communal well, we can still have that community of women who swap stories and information. A community that can encourage each other that however labor progresses and whatever is required, they will be able to do it, bear it, accept it. A community that can assure each other that no matter how your labor unfolds, you did good.

I’ll be sharing my birth stories shortly. I wondered how much detail should go in to them; how much to share, how much is too much? I tried to find a balance. My goal is to share honestly and truthfully how it unfolded for me. Every birth is different. As I the time drew closer for my first labor, I loved to read other women’s actual accounts, preparing myself and learning more about the ways labor can progress.

I hope you will enjoy my stories as the come. I hope they will be helpful in some way to you. If you would like to submit your own story to be shared, please email me jennifer {at} beautifulcalling.ca.

You can read Chloe’s Story (part one and two), John’s birth story and soon, Isaac’s!

Have you shared your birth story? Feel free to leave the link in the comments.