I host a monthly homebirth Meet-Up group and recently our topic was "Birth Stories." The idea was that new moms could come and tell their past birth experiences and moms-soon-to-be could come and get a peak at what is soon to come.
Our stories are powerful. Perhaps you remember, as I do, your first time telling a bit of your life's story with someone and feeling vulnerable yet known. It is a powerful and wonderful and thing and also a bit disturbing.
The weight of a birth story can be overwhelming. It can depict the most glorious and the most antagonistic moments of life to this point. It can feel like a victory won or a triumph lost or a place where a best effort was put forth.
Birth stories change with time. There's the first version we tell ourselves, and the second, and the third, and the details will change; sometimes in big ways and sometimes in small.
The point of telling a birth story is not to be 100% accurate; for your story will always be accurate because it is yours. The point of telling a birth story is to change you, the story teller. Sharing your birth story helps to process the process of birth. Sometimes, with time, our stories become more glamorous; other times, less. Telling them brings healing, perhaps to where we didn't know we needed it and perhaps to where we didn't know healing was possible.
Telling your birth story gives you a voice and gives your voice a place to be heard. Telling your birth story is not the same as discussing your birth. A story is told and is listened to, not contradicted. Let your story flow from your lips as you remember it in the 'now' moment, cascading on welcoming ears and closed mouths.
*****************************************
If you live in the Chicago area and are interested in exploring homebirth options, feel free to join us for our almost-monthly Meet-Up. Find more info here: http://www.meetup.com/Chicago-Homebirth/
Our stories are powerful. Perhaps you remember, as I do, your first time telling a bit of your life's story with someone and feeling vulnerable yet known. It is a powerful and wonderful and thing and also a bit disturbing.
The weight of a birth story can be overwhelming. It can depict the most glorious and the most antagonistic moments of life to this point. It can feel like a victory won or a triumph lost or a place where a best effort was put forth.
Birth stories change with time. There's the first version we tell ourselves, and the second, and the third, and the details will change; sometimes in big ways and sometimes in small.
The point of telling a birth story is not to be 100% accurate; for your story will always be accurate because it is yours. The point of telling a birth story is to change you, the story teller. Sharing your birth story helps to process the process of birth. Sometimes, with time, our stories become more glamorous; other times, less. Telling them brings healing, perhaps to where we didn't know we needed it and perhaps to where we didn't know healing was possible.
Telling your birth story gives you a voice and gives your voice a place to be heard. Telling your birth story is not the same as discussing your birth. A story is told and is listened to, not contradicted. Let your story flow from your lips as you remember it in the 'now' moment, cascading on welcoming ears and closed mouths.
*****************************************
If you live in the Chicago area and are interested in exploring homebirth options, feel free to join us for our almost-monthly Meet-Up. Find more info here: http://www.meetup.com/Chicago-Homebirth/
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