Why "Beyond Birth?" An Introduction

Birth is the culmination of a process that really begins before a woman is even born. Even as a baby girl is being formed within her mother, that environment is shaping the woman that she will become. The mother's feelings, fears, health, and diet affect the baby that she is carrying, and this relationship carries on through the birth process and breastfeeding relationship. A healthy, happy, nourished mother most often births a healthy, happy, nourished baby who thrives and grows into a healthy child.

Of course this is a difficult and rare achievement in the world that we live in. Regardless of race, income, or social status, nearly all women face a variety of stresses, and many even fear on a daily basis. Health and nutrition advice is also confusing and often misleading, and at the very worst, dangerous for mothers and their babies.

Even before a woman finds out she is pregnant, there is a fear that pervades much of modern society surrounding birth, to the point that a few women attempt to bypass the birth process altogether by planning a cesarean. At least, the majority of women chose to labor numb from the waist down to avoid the pain and trauma that they have been told inevitably comes with birth.

Then she actually sees the little blue line, and then the fear-mongering really begins.
"NO alcohol- you don't want your baby to have birth defects, do you?"
"No sushi- you know there's bacteria in that, right?!"
"Make sure you microwave all lunch meat" (Just to make sure there's nothing left of value..)
"Just get the epidural as soon as you can; you know that 35% of mothers NEED a c-section, so you'll probably want the epidural just in case."
"Why would you give birth at HOME? What if SOMETHING BAD HAPPENS?"
"Breastfeeding really hurts and lots of women don't make enough milk. Try, but don't feel badly if it doesn't work out."
"Never put your baby to sleep in your bed! You might roll over on him! Plus, don't you want TIME ALONE with your mate?"

Something is missing in this picture...how about some COMMON SENSE and confidence that until proven otherwise, a mother knows what is best for her baby, and can give birth intuitively and without intervention? And that she can also feed the child that she birthed without assistance and complicated schedules and contraptions? And that women have been birthing healthy  babies for thousands of years without minute directions on what to eat and what not to eat before, during, and after pregnancy?

I hope that through this blog and talking to mothers in person that I can help to convince you that women are made to give birth and be wonderful mothers to their children, and that most do not need the fear based propaganda masquerading as helpful information that seems to dominate birth in our culture and in the media. I would also like to share some of the findings of Dr. Weston A. Price and other researchers who realized that nutrition is one of the keys to a healthy pregnancy, baby, and child, so that mothers can do all in their power to take their health and that of their children into their own hands.

Mothers need support during the birth process, but also before and after this momentous event. I hope that I can provide this for many women and their babies!

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