Everything women experience during pregnancy, labor, & postpartum is unpredictable, you never know what could happen. Due to the uncertainty, it makes the life experience a rite of passage. Something you will truly grow from. "When the maiden dies, the mother is born."
There are 2 paths of motherhood: 1) The inner path of personal, spiritual and psychological awareness. 2) Outer path of practical learning.
You may enter at some point territory beyond what your conscious mind could have envisioned. This experience of birth is similar to a Labyrinth; unlike a maze there is no wrong turns, just a mixed up sense of direction and not knowing how close the end is.
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It will take great courage to deal with the unknown. Its also natural to experience doubts as you are weighing the options. Social conditioning has taught us not to trust or act on our instincts until implications are researched. Its important to listen to your inner voice, your inner compass will point you in the direction you need to take. Its good preparation to be flexible and ready to change your mind if the situation calls for it (research topics you may be scared of, this is the best way to strengthen yourself).
Ask Yourself:
1) What do I believe or assume to be true about birth, pain, babies, mothering and hospitals?
2) What assumptions are motivating me to make or not make certain decisions?
3) What is inspiring me to read about one topic but not another? Am I choosing to read material that matches familiar assumptions?
Your Call A call can be so many things. A call could be a topic that keeps coming up in your life through people talking of it. A call could be symbolism in your dreams. A call could be someone else noticing a skill you have. Sometimes we ignore our callings to please others, to avoid conflict, or to avoid overthinking the situation. But a call will persist until it's answered, this is why it's called a calling. We identify our calls because they appear in our lives over & over again until they have taught us what we need to know. Often times our callings become our passions as they are something we live for.
Examples of what others callings have been/are: •Maybe your calling is to be a mom. •Maybe your calling is to become a doula to ensure informed consent at hospitals. •Maybe your calling is to experience a natural birth after a very medical first birth. •Maybe your calling is to help create more awareness for PPD because of your experience.
What is your calling? ______________________________________________________________.
Don't Be Naive A positive attitude goes along way however ensure you have realistic goals & plans to achieve these goals. Question your promises and predictions. Don't strive for the perfect birth, that's unrealistic.
