Recently I have been pouring over books and articles on childbirth and pregnancy. Excluding all of the "popular" books of today and instead focusing on books and thoughts that tap into a deeper older wisdom.
One theme continues to rise up...Birth is woman's work.
This simple phrase and seemingly simple thought is really a profound call to all women. Learning to embrace who we are is learning to embrace that the work of birth is ours. Ours to own, ours to change, ours to move and ours to influence.
Living in 2012 sometimes I wonder if I was born in the wrong century. After some of my studying I realize that I was NOT. I am grateful to be alive during a time when I can embrace the deep knowledge of women and the art of birthing and not be accused of being a "heretic", as many of our predecessors were. I am glad that I can voice my opposition or support of issues without needing "permission" to speak my mind. I am thrilled that I can walk down the street or in a mall or anywhere and see, out and about, pregnant women enjoying the day. There was a time when the pregnant belly was hidden behind closed doors and women and their "delicate condition" were kept out of societies view.
So while I yearn to learn more in order to enrich my life and the lives of the women I serve, I realize that I am in great company. There were so many amazing women who served as midwives and birthing attendants and nurses and learned about birth and passed on their knowledge to their daughters until it finally reached me...11 years ago....in a Doula Training in Pembroke Pines, Fl.
I decided then to learn about these women and their art. To study who they are so that I might glean from their knowledge and impart it on the the pregnant women I work with. The next few blog entries, therefore, will be dedicated to different women that have changed my life by teaching me to be who I am and to women who have paved the way for me to do what I do today. If you have a suggestion on someone great to include, let me know. Also, I won't be the only one contributing. Our other doulas will be putting their input in as well, sharing about the people that influenced them and writing their thoughts of birth attendants of the past.
It is my hope that by learning from these women, we can keep that spark of birth alive in all of us and use this awakening of learning to inspire others :)
Lisi Grullon, CD, CBE, LE
Mother's Care
One theme continues to rise up...Birth is woman's work.
This simple phrase and seemingly simple thought is really a profound call to all women. Learning to embrace who we are is learning to embrace that the work of birth is ours. Ours to own, ours to change, ours to move and ours to influence.
Living in 2012 sometimes I wonder if I was born in the wrong century. After some of my studying I realize that I was NOT. I am grateful to be alive during a time when I can embrace the deep knowledge of women and the art of birthing and not be accused of being a "heretic", as many of our predecessors were. I am glad that I can voice my opposition or support of issues without needing "permission" to speak my mind. I am thrilled that I can walk down the street or in a mall or anywhere and see, out and about, pregnant women enjoying the day. There was a time when the pregnant belly was hidden behind closed doors and women and their "delicate condition" were kept out of societies view.
So while I yearn to learn more in order to enrich my life and the lives of the women I serve, I realize that I am in great company. There were so many amazing women who served as midwives and birthing attendants and nurses and learned about birth and passed on their knowledge to their daughters until it finally reached me...11 years ago....in a Doula Training in Pembroke Pines, Fl.
I decided then to learn about these women and their art. To study who they are so that I might glean from their knowledge and impart it on the the pregnant women I work with. The next few blog entries, therefore, will be dedicated to different women that have changed my life by teaching me to be who I am and to women who have paved the way for me to do what I do today. If you have a suggestion on someone great to include, let me know. Also, I won't be the only one contributing. Our other doulas will be putting their input in as well, sharing about the people that influenced them and writing their thoughts of birth attendants of the past.
It is my hope that by learning from these women, we can keep that spark of birth alive in all of us and use this awakening of learning to inspire others :)
Lisi Grullon, CD, CBE, LE
Mother's Care
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