Spiritual Birth

I recently had somebody ask me about the  "birth high."  I think they were interested because it sounds kind of fun to have this natural "high"- like it was some kind of harmless acid trip.  I did not know how to answer.  Yes- at the end of a natural birth, when the baby finally is here- there is a fantastic feeling, sometimes called a birth high or a birth orgasm.  It is so much more than this though.  Birth can be a spiritual experience. 

Maybe part of the reason I think this is because I am already religious.  But there is something magical about this experience.  At the moment of birth you are so close to the other side of this life and the next that the emotions are overwhelming.  Is this just hormones and endorphins?  I am sure that is part of it.  But I am convinced there is much much more. 

Birth is the act, the experience that brings a new life to meet us.  If you believe in God- then you must know that this is a moment so precious and sacred.  The first breath and the last breath on this earth are sacred and tender experiences. 

Why?

I am sure people wonder why I care so much about natural birth- and this is why.  I want to fully experience this moment.  I know that I will only have it a few times in my lifetime.  I know that it will require sacrifice and hard work, maybe even some discomfort or pain.  But I can not imagine missing it. 

I do not do it for the "birth orgasm"- I want to be able to feel that moment fully when I am so close to life and death that I can touch it all around me.  It would not be worth giving up some of the discomfort to miss this overpowering moment.  Believe me, I have understood why women get an epidural.  I feel my labors too!  I have understood why women get induced- I go overdue and I get uncomfortable and I have plans too!

But believe me when I say you don't want to deaden any of the sensations of birth if it means that you will miss even a tiny bit of this moment.  Birth is not just a physical passage, a way for that baby to get out of your body.  We don't just go natural because it is the best thing for the baby or because we want bragging rights.  I have my babies this way because birth is a spiritual experience beyond anything I could describe.  Allow yourself to experience it if you can.  It is worth it.  It is unforgettable.  And it is one of the most tragic things I can think of when a woman has this experience that can be spiritual defiled and turned into a horrible memory that she would rather forget.  The fact that so many women are denied this experience because of a system based on money and convenience and fear and liability makes me sick inside.  It makes me angry.  It makes me want to scream and change things and make them better. 

You can have this experience.  I believe that every woman is intended to have it if at all possible.  Thank goodness for technology when it is needed about 4% of the time.  Get rid of it when it is not.