Homebirth, waterbirth, natural birth, unmedicated birth, vaginal birth

𝐒𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐈𝐒 𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐍
▫
The temple of birth is sacred.
▫
The environment surrounding a child and mother coming into existence is worthy of silence amongst every person in the room except for the parents.
▫
A baby, so fresh and vulnerable, seeks for his mothers voice, her touch, her smell.
▫
More often than not, as soon as the baby is born, everyone in the room goes about their day. Talking loudly, laughing, machines beeping away, baby gets handled by other people who are not the parents.
▫
The mother is still in labor, birthing her placenta, and her child is thrusted into an environment that can feel frightening.
▫
The baby begins to cry. And although most people think crying is a sign of a healthy baby, we couldn’t be any farther from what is actually happening.
▫
The baby becomes distressed and cries for help.
▫
It’s a very distinct distress cry that I see quite often in hospital births, especially when the baby is taken away from its mother.
▫
Adrenaline and cortisol levels start to rise in mother and baby, at a time when it’s critical to start slowly coming down from the peak. This causes excess postpartum bleeding for mother and hard wires the baby for stress. Everyone is effected physically and emotionally.
▫
The baby begins to go into a distress state, wails endlessly, calling its mother for help, then suddenly, the baby stops moving and crying. We think the baby has relaxed. But what has really happened is that the baby has given up crying for its mother, and becomes still and quiet in order to avoid predators(we are mammals.). The baby looks asleep but the reality is that the baby has completely shut down.
▫
The baby, who is shut down, will refuse to breastfed and mommy will have a hard time initiating breastfeeding and bonding.
▫
These are critical moments when everyone should recognize that the parents need silence and space from everyone.
▫
If we all can practice being quiet during church, a movie, or the library, we can be conscious of being silent at the temple of birth.
▫
VideoCred: @alexisstartingbirthkeeper on IG