When I was pregnant with my first child, I didn’t realize was the process of preparing for birth was essentially the journey of preparing for motherhood.
Only days after having my first child, I had an epiphany. I had thought pregnancy and labor were the uphill climb to the finale of birth… I thought the end was “having a baby.” Oh no, I realized. What I thought was the top of the mountain was only the foothill.
Motherhood was now the new beginning.
Early in my pregnancy, my good friend Karen offered to be my doula. At the time, I had no clue what that meant, but walking along with her for nine months was powerful. She had been working on a book (which became an e-course) called Pain-Free Birth.
Karen has been a friend through the hardest of times and she’s endured the uphills in her own journey. It was my privilege to hear how motherhood and birth has transformed her life.
OUTLINE
For mamas who don’t have all the time to listen - check out these snippets at the minute marks.
2 minutes - Spirituality is empty without relationship
6 minutes - Birth can be a spiritual experience
10 minutes - Pushing her firstborn into independence too young
12 minutes - Learning that less than ideal births can be spiritual, too
15 minutes - Separating from a spouse in pregnancy and labor
18 minutes - Creating boundaries before the birth
20 minutes - Asking God for a mantra
24 minutes - “This is the worst time to have a baby”
30 minutes - We are powerful beyond what we believe
32 minutes - Birth is radically feminine
***BONUS***
Karen and I just had so much more to say that couldn’t fit into the podcast format. I really wanted to dig into her personal relationship with God, and how much ease she operates in. She kept re-iterating to me that she didn’t have any daily practices or rituals, and yet clearly she is in open communication with God daily.
I know you’ll enjoy what she has to say about eliminating SHAME from the spiritual relationship and how it affects our communication with the Divine.
