Conscious Pregnancy, Conscious Birth, Conscious Motherhood

Pregnancy is not only a powerful time of having an incredible life growing inside of you, but an initiation into a whole new way of being for the mother-to-be. It is as much about birthing your baby, as being birthed into a whole new creation! You are not only sharing a body and all that goes into it, with your baby, but most importantly you are sharing a consciousness. I have the opportunity to meet so many pregnant moms. I get to hear their fears, concerns, trepidations, losses, and disappointments around their previous birthing experiences. The thing I hear the most with first time moms is I wish I had known... I wish I had known doing this or doing that would have or could have made a difference in my pregnancy, birthing, and post-partum experience. How would a new mom know these things without having gone through them and wishing it had all gone differently? I don't believe this has to be you. This is why I advocate for conscious pregnancy, which is about setting the intention to do your very best, with where you are in your life right now, to discover how you can bring more awareness into what you eat, think, and do, while this being is growing inside of you. It is like the butterfly effect. Even the slightest alteration in the flapping of the wings effects the whole ecosystem. It is this way with pregnancy and birth. The smallest shift can make the most profound differences. This isn't about perfection, this is about becoming more aware and being proactive. This is an opportunity to reclaim the power that has always been within you. It is not "out there" somewhere. We are all human and we all have our patterns and tendencies. When we are in this initiation process, I believe we are being asked to go deep within to places we've been disconnected from in order to reaccess a power, strength, confidence, and wisdom that becomes activated during this time. I believe that pregnancy and birthing are about reconnecting to this ancient Divine Feminine wisdom that is required to fully face, embrace, and be transformed amidst this sacred opportunity. I do not believe that this is often spoken about or encouraged in our culture. I see many women exposed to birthing classes and practitioners that do the opposite of empower.  Sometimes it is in the subtle language that it used, sometimes it is overt and leads the woman to doubt herself or her body's ability to birth. These suggestions either intentionally or unintentionally suggest that she can't do this, that she needs something outside of her to be able to birth, that it will be too painful,  that the baby is too big, she has health indicators that are high risk, or she's already had a cesarean and it's too risky, etc. Sure all of these variables are a consideration and the risks vs. the benefits need to be fairly weighed. When we are birthing in a culture that is at an all time high of a 40% C-section rate, isn't it time to find out why? Have women lost their inherent ability to birth? Is it because birth has suddenly become dangerous and in need of greater medical intervention or is it our approach to birth and how we view it? May I remind you, this is your pregnancy, your body, your birth, and your baby. What would you like to experience that is within your power and what will it take for you to have that experience? What are you willing to face and transform within yourself during this sacred time of initiation and what type of support will you need to access in order to succeed? The outcome of birth isn't completely in your hands, but what you choose to do prior to and during pregnancy to become more aware and attuned to your baby, to nourish, strengthen, and become healthier on all levels, and to empower yourself is.