Preparing for Birth, Not Delivery!

A wise friend of mine from the UK who had a home delivery with a midwife and her baby was born in water in her bathtub, said something profound to me recently. She said, I kept telling the doctors I was preparing for birth, and they kept saying "when you deliver the baby"... she said it was funny, because in her statement, she was in charge, her body would get ready as Nature has planned, and when the time was right, she would have labour, and consequently birth. The doctors language is about their control. When you deliver, in her mind, sounded like the post is going to come, and the stork will deliver your baby! Doctors like to control birth, and that is why they call it delivery, they are the "stork"!

I would be fine with doctors playing the stork. I would be fine if they call it delivery and not birth. I would be fine if they keep the mother's wellbeing at the top of their minds. I would be fine if the C-Section rates stay between 10-15%, like WHO says they should be. I would be fine if doctors cared.

But doctors play more than stork. They like to play God. They like to be the conductor of this whole orchestra we call birth, naively. They cut, chop, overmedicate and intervene when they do not need to. Nature has created a beautiful way for us to reproduce and create our young. In the wild, lions and tigers and other animals do not have veterinary surgeons in attendance. They deliver fine. In our own Indian villages, thousands and hundreds of women have given birth with the help of elder village women, dais (Indian midwives), etc. It's when the village women are taken to hospital or clinics in their desire to be like us "wiser" city folk that there is a problem.

Trust your gut. Trust your bodies. Be aware that hundreds and thousands of women before you have managed to deliver babies, most of them healthy and well... Trust in your ability to be brave and strong through labour. Be aware, breathe, get ready for the most important event in your life, your baby's birth. Your choice whether you want to prepare for birth or get ready for delivery!


Jhilmil Breckenridge runs a pregnancy yoga class to help women prepare for birth. She is a certified pranic healing instructor and understands ayurveda. When you prepare for birth with Jhilmil, you get more than just yoga. You get the wisdom from an older mother (Jhilmil has "delivered" 4 children), you get bonding and sharing with other pregnant women, and you receive unconditional love. Love is key to trusting your own bodies. Love is key to safe birthing.