Birth is earthy.

The very wonderful artist Emily Besser said something that resonated deeply with me this morning. She said that birth had become as sanitised as the hospitals in which it now takes place. And I absolutely agree with her.

Birth is earthy.⠀
It is life-changing.⠀
It is strength. Beginnings. Ripe fruit.
In birth lies sex. And power… but maternal power. Female led power.

And there is a shift of understanding, a deep and profound learning. ⠀
And all of this lies in the dim and dark of night, of earth, of deep waters. The very essence of the witch-women of old, who were burnt at the stake for heresy. For women centred care.

Birth has been wiped clean.

A Dettol wipe and bright lights to eradicate… clean away the earth that bears the fruit.

Yet still media stays in the light. The make-up. The tidy hair and the clean baby.

‘Let us take away your feelings. Straighten your journey. Clean away any experience which is not that of a polite, behaving woman. Be well behaved. Be sanitised. For we cannot understand you otherwise. You need us to cope. You cannot cope without us.’

We need to pause. Sink down. Reconsider. Breathe.⠀
See birth clearly, a new dawn.⠀
Take ownership.⠀
Lean in toward our beautiful inheritance.

Powerhouse of a photo from @coastal_life_photos on instagram.