the feminism of birth: one woman's story of birthing new life and discovering new strength

8/17/2019 The Feminism of Birth: One Woman's Story of Birthing New Life and Discovering New Strength

1/4

115

New

Actitsism

relatives

are

so

in

love

with

you.

All

you

have

to

do

now

is

grow

and

explore,

the

world

is

at

your

finger

tips,

which

you

love

dearly

b

eat

THE

FEMINISM

OF

BIRTH:

ONE

WOMAN'S

STORY

OF

BIRTHING

NEW

LIFE

AND

DISCOVERING

NEW

STRENGTH

Jeff

Nall

N7:46eu,

Sunday,

November

16,2008,

AprilLee

Nallbirthed

our

daughter,

Mimi

Lucille

Nall-we

call

her

Lucy.

she

was

21

inches

andBpounds,Tounces.

Lucy

is

our

amazing

"special,"

as

April

likes

to

call

her'

but

she

is

not

a

miracle.

Nothing

miraculous

or

"medical"

brought

Lucy

into

the

world.

she

wasn't

rushed

to the hospital.

Her birth

dldn't

involve

forceps

or

lVs.

No

one

threatened

to

conduct

a

c-section

less

her

body

quickly

deliver

Lucy'

There

were

no

nurses

or

doctors

darting

between

a

dozen

"patients."

The

birth

attendants

did

not

need

a

file

to

know

Apr:il's

name.

There

was

no

beeping

technological

gadgetry;

no

multimillion

dollar

ma-

cninery;

no white-coated

obstetricians.

No one

forced

her

labor

pro""i.

according

to an

arbitrary

deadline.

No

one

broke

her

water

and

she

was

not

induced.

There

were

no drugs

coursing

through

her

blood

stream'

And

so

there

were

no

drugs

in

her

newly

born daughter's

bodY.

April

and

the

creative

power

instilled

in

her

by

nature

brought

Lucy

lnto

the

world.

April

birthed

Lucy

at

home'

ln

doing

so

she

beclme

part

of

the

1

to

2

percent

of

the

U.S'

population

who

choose

to

have

a

home

birth.

Home

birth

wasn't

even

in consideration

until

a

birth

class

doula named

Ruth

showed

us

Elena

Tonetti-Vladimirova's

2006

film

Birth

as

we

Know

/f.

The

film

presented

childbirth

as

we

both

had

never

seen

it. lnstead

of

an

agonizing

disease

which

men

wereluckynottogothrough,thefilmpresentedbirthasan

opportunity for women

to

experience

a

sacred

and

empowering

communion

with

nature,

showing

11

natural

births

taking

place

in various

environments.

Up

until

then

neither

of

us

knew

much

of anything

about

the

furtive

debate

raging

beneath

the

surface

in

American

society

about

how

best

to

birth.

we

began

reading

numerous

books

and

scholarly

articles.

The

more

we

read

and

questioned doctors,

the

more

we

began

to

question the

sensibil-

ity

of

conventional

birth.

we also

watched

another

incredible

film

that

put

everything

into

perspeciive:

Ihe

Business

of

Being

Born(2OoTbyAbbyEpsteinandRickiLake).lnadditionto


2/4

"fl6

BeYond

Burning

BrG

demystifying

home

birth,

the

film

shows

that

medicalized

child-

birthis

,,innJvations"

have

often

been

responsible

for

harming

women

and

the

natural

or

normal

bitth

process'

Wediscoveredthec-sectionrateintheUnitedStateswas

31 percent

and

40 percent in

Palm Beach where

we were

living.

tn

igzo,

the

c_section

rate

was

just

5.5

percent. The

leading

causes

of

maternal

death

in

the

United

states

are

complications

from

cesarean

surgery

along

with

those

from

anesthesia.

we

also

learned

that

the

uniteo

States

had

a

deplorable

infant

mortality

rate,

one

of

the

lowest

among

industrialized

nations.

ln much

of

the

rest

of

the

world,

midwives

take

care

of

the

majority

of births.

Throughout

the

majority

of

the

pregnancy and

before

our

eventual

bieak

with

the

hospital,

April

went

to

a

traditional

obste-

trician.

But

things

changed

dramatically

when

we

began

to expe-

rience

first

hanb

what

we

were

learning

about,

particularly

the

hospital's

love

of

the

serious

and

often

unnecessary

cesarean

"""iion

surgery.

April

sought

to

ensure

her

favorite doctor

could

deliver

Lucy,

iince

three

had

been

assigned

to

her'

When

she

asked

how

srre

could

make

sure

he

was

the

delivering

doctor

he

told

her,

you

could

always

schedule

a

c-section

or

an

induction

on

a

dayi,m

in.

On

Aprils

last

visit

to the

hosp1althe

ultrasound

tech

noied

the

estimated

size

of

the

baby.

The

doctor's

probably

goingtoscheduleyouforac-section,shecommented.Fiercely,

Apriisfrot

back:

"No

she's

not"'And

when

April's

blood

pressure

was minutely elevated

her

doctor

joined

in,

warning

that

if

such

numbers

peisisted

she

might

need

to

consider

a c-section.

Suf-

fice

to say,

that

was

the

last

day

April

went

to the

hospital

and

the

last

time

she

heard

the

"c" word'

Our

birth

class

instructor,

Ruth,

suggested

we

contact

a

mid-

wife

named

Lori.

over

the

course

of

1B

years

of

midwifery,

Lori

learned

to

listen

to

women's

bodies'

She

developed

a

keen

ear

for

the

sacred,

rational

knowledge

stored

in

women,

aiding

them

inbirthingmorethanl,l00babies.onlyoncehadachildnot

made

it

ihrough

the

birth.

compare

that

ratio

to

the

United

States's

infant

mortality

rate

which

is above

6

per

1,000'

Aboutaweekshyofherduedate,Loristoppedinforherfirst

official

checkup

of

April.

what

I witnessed

in

the

next

several

hours

changed

everything

I thought

I knew

about

pregnancy'

birth,

and

th1

beautiiul

power

of

woman.

By

the

small

trace

of

otoooy

show

and

the

way

April's

cervix

felt,

Lori

determined

that

Lucy

was

on

her

way

in

the

next

24

hours.

April

and

I

exchanged

cyni"uf

,

excited

glances.

April

was

looking

for

good

news

but

nei-

trer

of

us

thought

she'd

be

having

a

baby

that

day.

Lori's

predic-

tion

went

from

probable

to definite

as

April

described

her

Braxton

Hickscontractionsandthelocationofthetighteningshewas


3/4

117

Mhing

New

Actioism

experiencing'

"She's

definitely

coming

today"'said

Lori'

"l'm

going to

bring

in

"ot"

oi.y

stuff

and

stay

at

my

sister's

house'"

Her

sister's

house

was

nearer

to

our

home

than

Lori's'

Lori later returned around 5

ervr'

April

was

1'5

cm

dilated'

About

90

minutes

later,

April's

water

broke

as

I loaded

our

two

children

into

my

motner's'car'

I

walked

into

our

bedroom

to

find

loii-"t"pping

bick

netore

a

soaked

floor'

April

was

5

cm.

dilated'

Laughter

over

the

splash

her

broken

water

made

turned

to

seri-

ous

breathing.

The

contractions

grew stronger'

April

climbeO

into

a

warm

shJwer

where

she

labored

privately

forseveralminutes.ttwashereshefacedherfirstgreatstruggle.

April

let

out

deep,

primal

intonations

as

I

had

never

heard

her

make.

She

was

.p""f.ing

to

her

body'

stored

with

thousands

of

y""r.

of

nature's

evoluti6nary

knowledge'

trying

to

findi.er.way

in.ugh

the

agonizing

but

creative

wilderness of

birth'

"She's

so

in-tune

to

her

body,;

Lori

commented

as

we

stood

outside

the

bathroom

door'

When

April

called

me

in

I

sat

beside

the

tub

where

we

held

hands.

She

experienced

tremendous

pain' She

pulled

meinto

out'ilny

showei.

Fully

clothed,

I sat

gn

1l:Og"

at

the

back

of

the

tub

where

t

netpeO

support

her

weight'

When

she

turned

around

to sit

down

in

the

tuU

sne

asked

me

to

sit

behind

her'

April

gL;n"O

and

cried

ou1.

t coulOn't

empathize

with

her'

I

could

only

encourage

and

love

her.

I revered

her'

Despite

the

way

in.which

medicalized

Oirtn

nal

Oistorted reality' birth

and

the

creation

of

life

was

the

realm

of

woman'

Between

"ontr""tion",

April

managed

to

move

from

the

bath-

tub

to

the

bedroom.

lt

was

"it

"h"

couid

do

to

make

it

to

the

foot

of

the

bed.

Head

on

tfre

OeO,

knees

on

the

ground'

April.labored

intensely.

Lori

suggested

that

she

lay

on

her

side

on

the

bed'

We

n"fp"O

"ner.

stanO

anO

push forward'.April's

legs

trembled

with

linaustion.

I

hetd

her

ieft

teg

behind

the

knee,

still

holding

her

hand

with

my

otner.

Lori

said",

"You're

almost

there'"

April

cried

out.

She

felt

burning.

Positioned

with

a

view

I

watched

as

Lori

worked

olive oil into"April's

skin'

"Can you see

her"'

Lori

asked

me.

Lucy's

neaO

Oega;

to

crown'

A

full

head

of

jet-black

hajr'

Lori

gr"nO".i

April's

rrani

to

touch'

"She's

coming"'

Lori

smiled.'

April

cried

out

for

Lori

to

get

her

out.

"she's

coming

out,

but

you're

the

one

doing

it,

not

mel"

This

was

April's

bitth'

no

one

else's'

Lori

massaged

April's

perineum,

preparing

the

passage'.April

writhed

and

squealed

with

pain'

"Push

it

down

to

your bottom'

don't

let

it out

tnrough

your'mouth,"

Lori

advised'

Half

aware

of

anything

being

said,ipril

collected

the

pain and

pushed

it into

a

low

growl. Loriwatched

in absolute

confidence

in

April's

birth'

npriis

face turned

to

me,

no

anger

and

no

cry

for

help'

She

was


4/4

118

Beyond

Burning

Btzr

silently asking

if Lori

and I believed in her.

Her expression

seemed

to

say,

seriously,

am

I

going

to

have

this

baby? With

absolute

confidence

I beamed

back, "She's

really

coming

honey,

you're

doing

it."

April

pushed,

giving

a

deep

lasting moan. Lucy's

closed

eyes

appeared

over

the

horizon

of

her

mother's

birth

canal. April

cried

out. Lori expertly

oiled

and massaged the

edges

of the

passage-

way. No urgency,

just

confidence

and

anticipation,

Lori replied:

"Keep

going,

she's

almost here." April looked

to

me

once

more,

searching my

eyes

for honest

confirmation.

I replied with

a

careful,

earnest smile. Aprilgroaned. The

head

emerged.

I

moved

closer.

Lori

placed

her

hands around Lucy's

head,

tugging

with

April's determined

push.

Soft, milky

shoulders. April

pushed,

Lori

pulled.

Small drops of water touched

my face.

A

deep,

earthy

groan.

Lucy's

soft,

watery

body

poured

forth

with her legs

and

arms

compressed around her torso. Then

Lucy's

body unfolded

before

my

eyes

like

a flower bud

bursting into

bloom.

Lori

quickly

checked Lucy and

placed

her

on

her mother's

stomach.

April

looked

upon

her with

shocked

satisfaction. Her

pain

was

so

great

and the struggle

so

intense,

her

mind had

left

her

skeptical.

But April's

body knew; it

was stronger

than

she

could

have

imagined;

she was capable

of more than

she was

taught

to

believe. No

book, no

film

could convey the truth

evident

in Lucy's

cries

beneath her mother's

chin.

Exhaustion.

Pinches

of

pain.

Joy. This was the way new, innocent

life

should be brought

into

the

world.

Soon after,

April

delivered the

placenta,

and Lori

brought

April's

bleeding

to

a

stop.

When

the first feeding

was

done, I

joined

April

and

Lucy in

bed.

The

three

of

us

laid

there together

in the

serenity one could only

find

at home. I

began to realize

that

I

had

just

witnessed April bring new

life into

this

world.

Early on

April

had doubted

herself.

She

struggled to

overcome

the

years

of

conditioning women in

our society

experience,

taught

that they are

powerless

and

that their

ability to birth

new life is

akin

to

a sickness needing treatment. Before

she

birthed Lucy, April

hadn't

realized her

own creative power. But now Lucy

lay

on

her

naked

breast,

proof

of the

potency,

and the

agency of

her

body;

proof

that

she

could

do anything because

she birthed a new life.

The

word

"spiritual,"

though

loosely

bantered about,

was

created

to describe what I

witnessed

that night.

I

witnessed

April

and nature

in

sacred communion;

and

a

midwife

who trusted

women and the natural

process,

working with

it rather than

sed

the feminism of birth: one woman's story of birthing new life and discovering new strength

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