 May has arrived. As I type this, I can hear the rain fall. I have watched as it approached from the west, taking the blue sky morning and turning it grey and cold. The blue sky will return, it is inevitable. The rain will nourish the garden, which will in turn nourish us. I discovered a panarama setting on mt phone, and captured this double rainbow at dawn. Whilst a picture may say a thousand words, to see it for yourself is immeasurable.  Life is like that too. We can admire the powerful birth images of others, and relish in their positive birth stories. But to experience it for ourselves is to take flight, to soar to new heights and feelings, to discover aspects of our being that had never been touched. In giving birth, we are reborn. We shed old identities and claim new ones. I have seen the power that Informed Birth Preparation holds. This transformative power gives women, and their partners, the confidence to stare awesome in the face and see it as their equal. The best testimonial I have been given came from Sarah:  The midwives supporting Sarah felt empowered also, as Sarah's Birth MAP allowed them to see Sarah as an individual. A mutually respectful relationship was formed. Informed Birth Preparation benefits care providers too! In this newsletter:
STORY TIME In the Dark by AA Milne
DISCUSSION: Maternal Feminism in the Brave New World Vanessa Olorenshaw's Liberating Motherhood was published last year, launching the 'purple stocking movement'. The book raises the issue of the absence of mothers in feminisim and politics. It is not enough to simply have women in leadership. Not all women are mothers and not all mothers mother the same. Society encourages us to return to paid work, outside the home, placing children into the care of others. And whilst the needs of these parents are being considered and pushed for, those that prefer to stay home and care for their children themselves are invisible and silent. Michel Odent has pointed out the evolutionary impacts our modern approach to birth could have in his book Childbirth and the Future of Homo Sapiens.  We are seeing a Brave New World emerging. The reproductive technologies and equality politics are combining to form a new paradigm. Is it need or want, chicken or egg? What does this mean for the future of humanity? Along with Liberating Motherhood and Childbirth and the Future of Homo Sapiens, these two articles have prompted the discussion on Maternal Feminism. The first discusses the technology, aimed at improving outcomes for premature babies. The second looks at the ethical dilemma we face once this technology becomes more widely available. A Brave New World, written by Aldous Huxley in 1932, sets a possible future. Is the future already here? This newsletter is sent out on the 17th of each month. There is much more to see in The Support Group, and I am adding more each month. You can access a PDF of THIS IS YOUR BIRTH: The Informed Woman's Guide to Birth Preparation. A monthly update for the Support Group is sent on the 3rd of each month. I'd love to hear from you, reply to this message and i'll respond. You are invited to share this email, or the articles within. Yours in Support and Information,   DID YOU KNOW? Catherine offers email and phone-based birth preparation support. This support then continues into your fourth trimester and even through to your baby's first birthday. Continuity in Care: I am at your service. Click HERE or on the image for details of my Mentoring Services. You will no longer find me on Facebook. However, my page still exists. This should have been deleted when I deleted my profile, but my old profile still exists in a kind of stasis. Facebook will not let me access it and I have no idea how to contact them about it. This means messages sent to my page are not going to be responded to. You can still mention the page, like, share and comment on any content, but no new content will be added. It all feels a little 'Hotel California': "you can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave".
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