I remember several months before my mother's death she said she had been thinking that birth and death were similar in some ways. She said she bet if you asked any unborn child if they would like to leave where they were and be born into a new world they would all choose to stay right where they were. Perfectly happy with life in utero. She said that she did have some fear about death but thought it was natural fear of the unknown.
Birth and death have some similarities. They both are monumental occurrences that change your life forever. Megan Cooper, an acquaintance I met when trying to make sense of this experience, mentioned if we talked about birth like we talk about death we'd say something like: There is a baby inside you. It will come out. The way it comes out is different for everyone. We wouldn't talk about long labor, pain, cesarean section, episiotomies, aspirating meconium, circumcision. But of course we do talk of these things and that way the family is better prepared to deal with the event and a crisis should one occur. It is time we start talking about death. We need to hear about pain control, agitation, delirium, hallucinations, and restlessness. That way if one of those arise when you experience a death you will be better prepared.
