Where you give birth is one of your most important decisions, and something you will want to give real thought to.
That initial decision will also be fundamental in determining what kind of subsequent choices you will be making from here on out. Think for a moment about what your ideal birth would be like.
All over the world at this very moment, women are laboring in many different places and circumstances. Perhaps it’s in a grass hut in the mountains, on a houseboat, in a tide pool, in a field, by the fire, under fluorescent lights, in a bedroom by candlelight, or in a grove of trees.
Women birth in different places according to the traditions and the culture in which they live—just as birds and animals instinctively build their nests with whatever is available to them.
The yellow warbler in this clip has built her nest among protective branches, using her natural instincts, and with the best materials she could find, in preparation to care for and nurture her babies. If you watch it full screen you will notice the soft, downy interior that blankets this sturdy structure. Thought and design were put into this structure she herself built for her little ones’ coming.
Typically, in our own human, first-world culture we think of three places for giving birth: the hospital, at home, and a birthing center. In the next three posts you will have the opportunity to look more closely at each of these three options. What might some other options be? In Russia, some babies have been born by waterbirth in the Black Sea. For a fun activity, I encourage you to take a little bit of time to close your eyes and just dream of the perfect place to give birth. Then open your eyes and take a few minutes to write down or draw what you saw in your imaginings of a wonderful and gentle birth for yourself and your baby.
