Tuesday, March 27, 2012

birth (the disclaimer)

I think one of the reasons I haven't "gotten around" to posting about Shepherd's birth is because of the way he was born. I didn't have any medication, and I'm wary to talk about it, because, drumroll, it went so well. I feel like there's so much controversy among women about how a family welcomes their baby into this world, and I just don't know how to tell the story of our experience without sounding a certain way. As a writer, this keeps me from putting fingers to keyboard about pretty much everything else. I need to write this story, or I won't be posting anything else here for a long time.

Today, I was strolling through the archives of one of my favorite blogs, domestic reflections, and I read her FAQ. At the bottom was this:

"What’s your deal with natural childbirth? 
I always tell people it’s like running a marathon. Some people feel the drive to do it and get huge satisfaction and fulfillment from it. (Let the record reflect i would never run a marathon and i think all of you who do are c-r-a-z-y.) On a more serious note, however, i think a lot of women today in our society are cheated out of a positive birth experience. They are told the pain is awful and all that matters is a healthy baby. Of course, everyone’s priority (far above anything else) is the baby’s health, but a mother’s experience in childbirth should be honored and valued as well. And if you have ever gone through a natural childbirth experience i think you know what i’m talking about."


So, I haven't run a marathon, either, so that's not my comparison. But what struck me about this statement was this sentence: "a mother's experience in childbirth should be honored and valued as well."  I do agree with that. And so I hope you'll respect why and what I write about in the coming days, and I hope what I write is communicated as a story, and not an edict of "how it should be done," because I hate those sorts of things.

(This is a long-@ss disclaimer post just to say I didn't have meds during childbirth, I'm proud of it, but I would be proud of however my baby was born, so please don't be mad at me for saying I'm proud of it. Also, when did I become so concerned about all of this?)

1 comment:

C. Stombock said...

What would drive someone to do it TWICE knowing exactly what was in store? Well, I did. Your disclaimer sums up how I feel about my birth experience, the one I witnessed last week and those of my friends who are willing to share. I can't wait to hear your story and I hope it inspires a future mom who values her experience in the same way.