Highlights from the Red Tent

The Red Tent was this past weekend, and though we had a low turnout, I did think the conversation flowed easily, and was very encouraging. It's a good sign to see women, even if only a few, who are willing to take time away from their families to discuss the subject of birth, and how it effects us as women, and as a community.

We all have stories that are unique, and beautiful. Even those birth stories that are scary, sad, or troubling are opportunities for women to learn, grow, and find their strength. We had stories of beauty, stories of fear, and women with a wealth of experiences that varied so much. I was so pleased to hear the women talk about their cesarean surgeries without fear or shame, as well as women who shared about complications with their pregnancies or deliveries.

As women, there is so much tied in with our births that is not given a voice. It can be a great source of power and strength to give in to our bodies, and trust our biology to do such an amazing thing. It can be humbling, spiritual, and powerful if we let it. It can also be frightening for a woman who has a history of not trusting her body, but if we could have more conversations like this, I think we would all be more willing to embrace our births and what they have to teach us.

Culturally speaking, we don't give much credit to women who bear children, or how they choose to do so. This is part of the problem in my eyes. For some women, there is a lot of fear and shame tied up in how they gave birth to their children, and they can feel labeled or judged for things not having gone as they would have liked. In my eyes, this is a life event that shapes us no matter how it goes down. I don't put too much credit in the idea of a 'natural' delivery being 'better than' or more powerful than an 'unnatural' delivery. Birth is about choices, and the only reason to be upset about how things went, is to be upset because you didn't prepare adequately, or vett your provider well enough. Those are the only things we have control over, and SHOULD BE the only source of shame with regard to our births.

The videos taken at the event are too long for me to post on here, but if I can figure out a way to share them, I will. I was glad to be able to facilitate such a powerful conversation, even if it wasn't in the way or on the scale I had hoped to.