What do Harry and Hagrid Have To Do With Birth Preparation?!

Nothing like a good quote from Harry Potter to get you thinking about birth! But that's exactly what happened last week when I came across this quote.  It pretty much sums up how I hope my doula clients and Birthing from Within students feel after working with me to prepare for their birth.

Hagrid says this to Harry Potter and his friends when they were anxious about eminent action from Harry's nemesis, Voldmort. Harry was trying to figure out HOW Voldemort was going to appear,  WHEN Voldemort would appear, WHERE Voldemort would appear etc. Hagrid, speaking from experience, tries to get the crew to focus on living their lives, building their own courage, and taking things as they come. He didn't want them to worry in ways that wouldn't  produce this type of courage and resilience.

Now, I don't want to compare giving birth to an attack by He-Who Shall-Not-Be-Named... but I think there are some parallels in this example!  In our culture, we are taught that the more information you have the more empowered you will be.  Because of this myth, many newly pregnant women try to get their hands on as many books, articles, blogs, podcasts, stories, etc. about birth as they can, eagerly searching for a way to prepare, cope, and move through the vast unknown of labor.  These "maps" will only provide a small portion of what it is they really want to know, so one of the tasks of pregnancy is to keep on searching beyond the surface... to dig deep into what it is YOU really need to know to give birth.

What if...instead of gathering all the "book knowledge" you can about birth, you turned your attention inward. 

• How will YOU can deal with whatever challenge comes your way? (It really doesn't matter what the challenge is, it matters how you cope with challenging things!)
• How might your preparation look differently from what you thought it needed to look like?
• What might YOU do differently from your sister or bestie now that you are looking in a new direction? 
• What will you do when you don't know what to do?

Pam England writes in her new book Ancient Map for Modern Birth, "...so instead of focusing on the adage 'Trust your body', trust that you can meet whatever challenges come your way." Beginning to answer these questions is the beginning of preparing for the challenges of labor.  It is preparing you to rise up and meet your birth with courage, resilience, flexibility and compassion.

If you'd like to learn how I can help you prepare in a deep meaningful way for the birth of your child, please set up a time to chat with me!