As it is well known by all who keep up with my little life, I read, and read, and read everything I could during this pregnancy. I was determined to do everything in my power to make it as pleasant as could be. Through my reading I was constantly puzzled by all those women who rely on all kinds of things they recognize as powerful in their lives and came out of their birthing experiences empowered and happy. Why would they, with human and failing knowledge, have such good birthing experiences and we, with the infinite wisdom of our Father and the power of the Holy Spirit to tap into, don't?
I wish I could say I found "the answer" to this. I didn't, not the one-fits-all answer anyway. I did find an answer for myself though. I would never suggest that everyone should do things this or that way. I believe that in our God given uniqueness we must find what God expects from us to make situations work for the best, not only in labor and delivery but in every aspect of life. After all, if He'd wanted for us all to be the same, He would have made us the same to begin with.
Having said that, this were my findings:
The first common thread I found in all the reading I did was a positive, giving and loving attitude during labor. That message was contrary to all that I've heard before, and it made sense... after all, it is a Biblical principle, there is much more blessing in giving than receiving.
The second thing was in the terms of how to treat the contractions. I never thought of thinking about them as a sort of strength that was bringing my baby closer. I always thought of them as this pain I wanted to get rid of and was just suffering through.
The third thing was still in terms of focus. Not to focus on how much longer, how much time, how many contractions, but to take each contraction as one single minute of my life that was over when it was over and then simply enjoy the period of rest not even anticipating the next wave of pain.
So, I armed myself with a list of all the hymns and worship songs that spoke surrender, and strength to my spirit and I went to bed to those songs every night for the last few weeks. I purposed myself not to pay attention to the contractions until they had been consistent, intense and regular for at least one hour. Finally, even though I wasn´t necessarily looking forward to the whole process, I also purposed myself to embrace it and work with it as much as I could.
Those are some of my thoughts and were the thoughts that took me into labor. The birth story itself, for those interested, will come in a future post.
I wish I could say I found "the answer" to this. I didn't, not the one-fits-all answer anyway. I did find an answer for myself though. I would never suggest that everyone should do things this or that way. I believe that in our God given uniqueness we must find what God expects from us to make situations work for the best, not only in labor and delivery but in every aspect of life. After all, if He'd wanted for us all to be the same, He would have made us the same to begin with.
Having said that, this were my findings:
The first common thread I found in all the reading I did was a positive, giving and loving attitude during labor. That message was contrary to all that I've heard before, and it made sense... after all, it is a Biblical principle, there is much more blessing in giving than receiving.
The second thing was in the terms of how to treat the contractions. I never thought of thinking about them as a sort of strength that was bringing my baby closer. I always thought of them as this pain I wanted to get rid of and was just suffering through.
The third thing was still in terms of focus. Not to focus on how much longer, how much time, how many contractions, but to take each contraction as one single minute of my life that was over when it was over and then simply enjoy the period of rest not even anticipating the next wave of pain.
So, I armed myself with a list of all the hymns and worship songs that spoke surrender, and strength to my spirit and I went to bed to those songs every night for the last few weeks. I purposed myself not to pay attention to the contractions until they had been consistent, intense and regular for at least one hour. Finally, even though I wasn´t necessarily looking forward to the whole process, I also purposed myself to embrace it and work with it as much as I could.
Those are some of my thoughts and were the thoughts that took me into labor. The birth story itself, for those interested, will come in a future post.
3 comments:
It's so good of you to record your thoughts out Keila. These are nice nuggets for any woman to keep in mind as they themselves prepare or help someone else prepare for childbirth. As you know, for me, not all pregnancies have gone the same, and the most strength I could muster for a few :) was to rest in the arms of the Lord and in the arms of my husband...plus the love and support of some precious women I know ;). I'll keep your thoughts in my mental log. As always, I appreciate you.
this is so helpful and encouraging to read! some of this stuff is what i was thinking as we prepared for the birth as well. i'm going to bookmark this for future (hopefully a little bit more "future") reference ;)
love you!
Great thoughts. These truly are empowering ideas and so helpful and doable. It doesn't mean it will be a cakewalk, but it does mean you will feel more a part of what is happening, a cooperative part, rather than just a bystander having something horrendous happening to him.
Good insights!
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