Village Prenatal
Have you ever been to a village prenatal? It is not a group prenatal. Can you imagine walking with the wimyn, including the pregnant mothers, to the well or water hole each morning as did your great great grandmother?
Here on The Holyland, we reclaimed this natural wisdom. We gather around the pregnant mothers, no matter where they plan to birth, how they plan to birth or with whom they plan to birth. We gather around them because they carry the future of our species. They are the Holy Mothers. They deserve our best. We meet in the woods and shower them with our finest foods and make them a place of honor. We oil their feet and tell them positive birth stories. Birth stories that are starting to sound like myths and miracles. We hand them the talking stick and we ask them, “What is your Ideal birth? If you could birth anyway you wish, what would it look like, sound like, be like?” We listen. We support their highest ideal with our listening. We respond, “May it be so! May it be so!” Then we ask, “What is your big fear, worry, concern, doubt, anxiousness or preoccupation?” We listen. We hold the sacred space and we listen. We don’t solve the problem. We don’t let any professional hat crown the head of anyone present. We are wimyn together in this great mystery. We listen. Then we respond, “We are here for you!” We ask permission to touch and listen to baby, to paint the belly and body with mud or color. We laugh and play and talk to baby. “We are your elephant circle!” We tell mother and baby. We make a circle and sing the power songs around her. We bless her. We feast and then we send the left over food home with her.
In this way we are returning birth back to the community. Back into the hands and hearts of those who are the tribe of her belonging. I have taught wimyn around the world how to create their own Prenatal Village. I can now say, “May it be so!” and “We are here for you!” in many languages.
