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@FreedomTribe has given us a really great Challenge Question to ponder on...

"What's the one thing you have lost - or would be afraid to lose - which would limit (or has already limited) your personal Freedom?"

Do you ever think about how mothers gave birth to their babies before doctors and massive technology came into play? Before the late 19th century most births took place right in the home. Some were attended by midwives who received their training through practical experience. There was no pain medication, drugs to speed up labor, nothing to put mothers to sleep...it was all done with mental strength, physical endurance and the natural process of labor.

Some where along the way things got shifted and we started to rely on doctors and the interventions they offered more than our own strengths. Giving birth to a child became a medical event instead of an intimate inherent experience. By the early 20th century it was standard practice to give laboring mothers a combination of morphine and scopolamine. These drugs relieved pain but erased the memory of the birth. They also caused complications in childbirth for mother and baby.

I always say,

I’d rather be strong and endure the potent sensations of labor now rather than suffer the consequences later.

It may feel as if we are doing our bodies a favor when taking meds in that moment but there is no escaping the sensations. We all feel them sooner or later. Some women never fully recover from certain medical interventions that are given during the course of labor.

So what’s the one thing I am afraid to lose that would limit my personal freedom?...

My choice in the way I decide to give birth to my children.

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When we give birth without meds our bodies are allowed to move through the labor process as it was intended. We are connected with the motions of our babies and together we work to bring them down safely through the birth canal. When this process is interrupted we can’t feel what our bodies are telling us to do. We don’t know when to push or relax or when to change positions because our bodies are numbed to the signals. We then have to rely on someone else to tell us these things.

Giving birth is a miraculous privilege and I want to be alert and in tune with every moment of it. I remember distinctly the sensations I felt delivering each of my five children (it helps that I wrote them down). I can tell each of them how easy or difficult their births were and the emotions I felt before, during and after delivery.

When your mind is free to think, and your body is clear to feel, there’s this oneness that occurs where everything in connection works together. My midwives have never had to tell me when to push, I tell them when it’s time for me to push. If my body wasn’t clear of interference I wouldn’t be able to feel those urges.

Being able to labor as you please is a beautiful freedom. My labors went smoothly because I was free to move around and work with birthing tools as I needed. I was able to choose positions that worked with gravity (being upright) instead of against it (laying on back which is how most deliveries are accomplished). When you work against gravity you put yourself and your body through unnecessary strain and pressure and end up working way harder than needed.

So knowing these things from experience I wouldn’t do well if this freedom was taken away from me. I wouldn’t be okay with someone else making decisions for me. If I was unable to connect with my baby it would be devastating for me. I love the whole experience, even the tough moments. Giving birth shows me just how much strength I really have and what my body and mind are capable of. These are moments I get to have personally with my babies and the last ones that are all to myself.

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Let Me Be

An Original Poem by @crosheille

Let me be free to move along the path that’s aligned with my body. No need for straps and chains unnecessary strains. My undivided focus is needed by my unborn child for our connection and communication. Don’t give me interventions that interfere with my intentions.

Restrictions limit my capabilities to do what God created this body to do. Allow my strength to shine, don’t take away what’s rightfully mine. My inner loins are capable of bringing this life amidst. I’m empowered to achieve this moment in confidence.

I value this freedom to soar to my highest potential and accomplish something miraculously incredible. Feeling every sensation bypassing dictation I’m able to be free just my baby and me. Seeing with my eyes, hearing with my ears and feeling every part of this descending. Remembering the toil, sweat and all the tears it took me to bore my children naturally over the last nine years.

Losing this freedom would devastate me taking away a big part of who I am. Who am I, a woman with girded loins ready to take on any challenge I may face. Let me be, oh let me be, give me my space and watch me travail. As I mission my purpose I always prevail!

Thank You for Reading my Freedom Challenge Entry!

Thank you @freedomtribe for such an awesome opportunity and challenge that exerted my thinking and creativity ~

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