A Beautiful Birth

So besides being Audrey's mom I'm also a huge natural birth fanatic! I actually enjoy researching all about natural birth, especially physiological home birth. (See here for some basics on what I believe about birth: http://www.trustbirth.com/beliefs.html). I deeply wanted to make this passion into more than just an interesting subject I like to read about, so last September Ryan, Audrey, and I drove across a few states to the Bradley Method of Natural Childbirth teacher training workshop. We took Bradley classes in preparation for her home birth and they really made a difference! So now I'm teaching my first series of classes to other expectant couples. I offered to play the part of doula (person who supports the coupe  physically, mentally, and emotionally during the birth) for my students and one couple took me up on that offer. I want to respect their right to privacy, so I'll just say that they had a fantastic natural birth in the hospital with minimal complications. The best part of that experience for me was not the actual birth but the relaxed and supportive atmosphere when I arrived at their home. It's hard to really describe the atmosphere of a laboring woman in her own environment, where she feels most safe and secure. It's something you can palpably feel in the air - a certain energy I have never felt anywhere else. It was so moving and a humbling privilege to be invited into her labor space and she was incredibly beautiful and powerful. She was working so well with her body and completely in "labor land." Birth can be a sacred spiritual event, as well as a physical one, if you let it.