New Beginnings Doula Training

New Beginnings Doula Training
Courses for doulas and online childbirth education

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

It was work and I was grateful

"I didn’t get any spiritual uplift from the natural pain. It was work I had to do, and I was grateful I was able to do it. It just comes with the job. I did notice thought that I felt a lot better after the birth without the epidural than with one. I was more alert and awake after a natural birth than a drugged one. No new mom gets sleep, but I felt like I was recovering for weeks after my first"*

I just had to share this experience on this blog because I thought it represented such a down to earth view of labor and what it meant to one person. Labor does not have to be a major spiritual/other world experience. It can simply be hard work, but worth it.

I feel like this is a very refreshing view to take on life in general. Sometimes things are just hard work, but we do them for a reason. It reminds me of the idea that we should be grateful to have a sink full of dishes because it means we have food. Sometimes just the fact that we have to work at something is a blessing.

*This is quoted from a post from Robyn Warner.

1 comment:

N said...

Very insightful. I love your blog!

Birth is a Journey: Does it have to be life changing?


  • One woman might have to climb on an overfilled boat, risking her life and nearly dying as she escapes over the ocean to come to this land. This experience could certainly be life altering. It may very well color the rest of her life, positively or negatively. (I overcame this amazing struggle and here I am triumphant! OR Holy crap, that was SO hard I don’t know if I can go on! By the way, neither response is “right”. No one would judge the woman with the 2nd response.)
  • One woman may buy an airplane ticket, sit on a comfortable 747 and fly to America with a nice smooth flight and landing. She is happy to be in America. Those welcoming her are glad she is here safe and sound. She may only travel by plane 2-4 times in her life, so it is pretty memorable. But the journey itself probably wouldn’t be life changing; it would simply be a journey.
  • One woman may learn to fly an ultra-light plane to lead a flock of geese into America teaching them to migrate. This experience could certainly be empowering and life altering.