Natural Birth cannot be under our control, It is simply something to which we surrender ourselves

I want to share with you an excerpt from another website that I found interesting. It comes from Shiela Stubbs. I am posting it because I think she makes some wonderful points about the purpose of our work in labour and the resulting joy. She is a Christian. Wherever your faith lies, this is worth reading....


The Passion of Childbirth:

When I saw Mel Gibson's movie “The Passion of The Christ,” a thought occurred to me that I had never considered before. When Jesus promised the criminal on the cross beside him, “Today you will be with me in Paradise,” I realized that He was telling the suffering man beside him they would soon meet in a place that Jesus already knew well. Jesus had been to Paradise. Jesus not only knew what Paradise was like, but that it was worth torture to get there! They would be together and it would be wonderful! Just wait and see! Jesus could have put a stop to His suffering at anytime, yet he went through it because he loves us somuch. He did it so we – so I – could be with him inParadise! Being a woman and a natural birth advocate, I thought of the pain of a woman suffering through childbirth. In a similar way, I am willing to suffering through childbirth for my baby. Before he is even born, I love my child and want so much for him to be with me. Labor may seem like torture at the time, but that same day, I know will have my child in my arms. We will be together and it will be wonderful! Our relationship will be fuller and richer when we see each other face to face. Compared to what Christ went through to welcome me home, a few hours of labor is NOTHING! Eternity will be a rich, full life when we see Christ face to face. One woman described her last few days of pregnancy,with intermittent contractions keeping her from rest like this: “You know that part of you that wants to cry for mommy when you stub your toe? That part of me is crying right now, saying that God really hates me. This seems so unfair. I'm losing it, and it's a scaryfeeling.”

Mark 15:34 - My God, My God! Why have you forsaken me?

Another woman planning a VBAC at home described her fear too:“I'm just scared! All the other stuff that I fear nowand then, like losing the baby isn't really the bigdeal. I just am afraid of the pain. When my body takes over, I can't turn it off, and theintensity of feeling a baby move down through yourbutt is just incredible and you can't do one stinkin'thing about it.”

Jeremiah 4:31 – I hear a cry as of a woman in labor, a groan as of one bearing her first child – the cry ofthe Daughter of Zion gasping for breath, stretchingout her hands and saying, “Alas! I am fainting; mylife is given over to murderers.”

Another writer who describes herself as very a earth-centered, pagan woman said, "I truly wondered if I was crazy for [having the baby at home]. I think it was the sheer enormity of the experience: ....That raging power and those relentless contractions are not in our control.

"John 16:21 – A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that achild is born into the world.

There’s a verse in the bible about childbirth that I’ve always wondered about. Especially since becoming a mother, I've wondered what it means :1Timothy 2:14, 15 – And Adam was not the one deceived;it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner.But women will be saved through childbearing – if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety. Now I am beginning to wonder if perhaps the verse refers to the Passion of our suffering through childbearing: that we willingly sacrifice our own bodies for the love of ourchildren. We take up our cross and lay down our livesto give them life, submitting to the pain, allowing it to happen, even to the point of having our bellies pierced with the sword (cesarean section). Adam was not deceived. He sinned, knowing it was sinful. The woman was deceived. I was deceived. I trusted the wrong people. I didn't trust God, who created childbirth. Isaiah 66:9 :Shall I bring to the time of birth, and not cause delivery?" says the Lord. "Shall I who cause delivery shut up the womb?" says your God. Childbearing gives us an opportunity to experience but a tiny portion of the suffering of Christ on our behalf. It gives us the opportunity to understand Christ’s willingness to endure suffering for the life of another person, a person we already know and love even before they know us. We do it so they might have life, together with us. Natural birth cannot be under our control, it is simply something to which we surrender ourselves.

Further thoughts:
It is very difficult for us to fathom the endless love of God. Love is one thing that never runs out. The more love you give away, the more you have to give.Through bearing children God again offers women a unique glimpse into his everlasting love. Besides love itself, something else appears in a mother that never runs out: her milk. The more she gives and gives of her milk, the more milk she will have. In our world, products we create are used up, depleting our supplies, but God's love is abundant and everlasting."That you may nurse and be satisfied with her comforting breasts, That you may suck and be delighted with her bountiful bosom." -Isaiah 66:11Don't be deceived by those who tell us to limit that which God has provided so abundantly.


Our next book in the Childbirth reading room is Birthing the Easy Way, By Sheila Stubbs. Check it out!