Monday, May 5, 2014

Guest Post Lindsey: Motherhood begins in the womb

From Kellie:  I have been SOOOO whiny lately, a "Negative Nelly" if you will...frankly I am annoying myself! I am so ready to not be pregnant anymore...I'm ready for my boy to be here and to start figuring out what life with 2 little boys will be like.  The other part of me wants to relish in this last bit of life as a pregnant woman and not take it for granted....so I reached out to the person who I know LOVES being pregnant and asked her for a guest post....


“Motherhood begins in the womb.” I saw this on a poster in church this morning. Indeed, there is something deeply spiritual about being pregnant. It is one of the few, if only, times we get to directly participate with God in a miracle. A life growing inside of you, intimately in tune with all your emotions, what you eat, how you move—directly dependent, literally, on everything you do. Could anything be more beautiful, more profound, than motherhood?
It is tragic to me that we live in a world that robs women daily of the beauty of motherhood: babies taken from their mothers immediately after birth, when those first few minutes are so crucial to bonding; robbing babies of the ability to smell the mother’s pheromones right after birth and just lay on her chest, and allow mother’s and baby’s heartbeats to coincide; bombarding women with societal standards of beauty so they grow to loathe the baby bump and rounding out of the body in preparation for birth; the outside pressures of “doing it all,” and yet in all reality it takes a village…..

If I could encourage pregnant women of one thing, it would be to relish your pregnancy. Relish your pregnancy and the beauty and miracle it represents. Realize it is one of the greatest sacrifices you will make as a mother—you have to eat and drink differently, take supplements, move differently……and THINK differently. When you feel negative or have a bad attitude, your baby feels all that. In times of stress your body produces chemicals (hormones) in response to that stress, some not good. Your baby is being bathed in those hormones. Try to be mindful of the deleterious effects a negative attitude can have on a fetus. Now sure, we all have our down times, but being chronically miserable in your pregnancy is such a tragedy!! Think about what stress does to your own body. And realize what stress does to your baby. At this point I would like to put a plug in for a wonderful book and philosophy on natural birthing called Hypnobirthing: The Mongan Method, by Marie Mongan. The breathing and visualization can be used during your pregnancy, not just at birth. You deserve to take a few moments each day to breathe deeply, pray for and think about your baby, listen to soft music or read to your baby. Connect with your baby, which sometimes can be hard to do while in the womb, especially for first time moms. Call your baby by name, refer to him or her by name to others. It helps to make you more conscientious of the life inside of you.

 I remember once looking in the mirror, pregnant with my first child. I don’t remember, however, exactly how far along I was, but I noticed all these very apparent blue veins running all across my chest. My face lit up as I realized what was happening: my body was getting ready for the milk production and it had set up a factory of veins to get the plumbing ready. I was so in awe at God’s creation, how He created my body to “know” when to make changes in preparation for my baby. And while not pregnant I can agree that veins can be unsightly, they were beautiful to me for what they represented. And if you have never breastfed, you are missing out on one of the sweetest, most intimate times with your baby. I successfully breastfed my first and third babies, but my milk dried up at 4 mths on my second baby. I tried everything. Supplements, lactation consultants. everything. But I was so stressed out with balancing a 16 mth old and a newborn, and for some reason failed to trust my body’s ability to produce , that I worried myself to drought. Literally. Chronic stress dried up my milk. And I was devastated. I went into a mini depression, because although I had a deep desire to breastfeed, I couldn’t. So I know firsthand how stress can affect a baby. And there are other reasons women can’t breastfeed, and for those of you out there, I know the hurt. But there are tragically mothers out there who are misinformed and don’t want to breastfeed, or give up in the hospital because the nursery nurses have conveniently started a bottle for you.

Don’t let the world rob you of that experience if your body is able!!! Try. Let other mom’s who know how to breastfeed help you—trust me, there are tricks of the trade. Ah….I digress. Just love your pregnancy. Love the fact that your body “knows” to widen the hips—there was a time in history when being voluptuous was beautiful and a sign of wealth and health.

I am admittedly one of those women who loves to be pregnant. I am better pregnant. I wish I could be chronically pregnant. It gives me a sense of purpose. I know that I am needed. Pregnancy is not about me, but about my baby. And that intense desire to do and be all that I can for my child is the driving force behind why I am so passionate about natural childbirth. Motherhood begins in the womb.

About the author: Lindsay and Kellie go way back and have shared many adventures together. With a degree in genetics and biochemistry, Lindsay went on to enter med school as an MD/PhD student. She now holds the greatest , most difficult, most rewarding job worldwide: stay at home mother of three.

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