Note: I am publishing this late. The classes I will be talking about occur on Wednesday evenings. Class Two will be this evening. (Life has been unbalanced recently, I haven’t made proper time to write things I need and want to write.)
In the late summer I was invited to attend a Birthing From Within (BFW) prenatal class (for DONA International birth doula certification) by a local birth doula, our only BFW instructor, to my knowledge. This doula, like my doula, like our community of doulas, is amazing. She’s a completely different soul from any I’ve met and I cherish her. She is warm, bright, fiercely intelligent and loyal, and she cares with her whole entity.
That caliber of person combined with my recently found appreciation and love for BFW (I wrote a book review. You may have read it already. If you haven’t and you’re interested, please click here: Birthing From Within Book Review) made my “yes, thank you!” a no-brainer.
Knowing she wouldn’t have a new class until November, I waited (reasonably) patiently for months. Until this week! We had our first class on Wednesday and it was more than I had hoped for. I was asked to help hand out small bowls of ice (because while not truly comparable to contractions, ice can be really obnoxious to hold for minutes at a time and it’s a really clever tool to practice comfort measures during labour), art boards and pastels (for labyrinth creating), and generally just help wherever I could with whatever was needed.
It was amazing. It was also so very different from the prenatal class that I took when I was pregnant with Bean. I love that. I love having experienced two completely different classes on exactly the same subject, given by two completely different, but similarly invaluable and precious, people. It is priceless to me to have these experiences. They will be very useful when it comes time to start matching clients up with prenatal classes if they ask for advice.
Beyond the beauty of watching four first-time couples and one pair of seasoned parents expecting their second child revel in their pregnancies and impending births, it was fascinating to learn new techniques and get swept up in some incredibly strong feelings of my own.
Okay, let’s just get this out there. As a precursor, you should know that I finished a re-read of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and teared up three separate times (when Ron got smashed in chess, when it was revealed that Lily’s love for Harry was protecting him, and when Neville was awarded ten points for Griffindor. …right…?). That was the beginning of my evening.
When it was time to get down and dirty with birth art, I was asked to participate. I was excited to participate, even though things like this are so far out of my comfort zone. (I’m not a visual artist and while I understand that that is hardly the point of the exercise, it still stresses me out a bit.) Our doula lead the class (mamas and their partners both) in seeding and creating a seven circuit labyrinth*. When she asked us to add the threshold and gave a few examples of possible additions, I added waves. Despite my for-my-whole-life land-locked state and fear of water, that was absolutely the correct choice for my story. (Kismet.)
After our labyrinths were drawn, we traced them with our fingers. The difference between a labyrinth and a maze is that you cannot get lost in a labyrinth. There is only one way in, it is very clear and well laid out. Then, there is only one way out, right back the way you came. When we traced our way to the centre of the labyrinth, the birth and first cuddle with the baby, we were asked to linger for as long as we wanted. To not rush out. To take the time we needed.
Even now, I’m tearing up thinking about it. I was reluctant to leave. Just like every person I exist with, I have a personal story. Mine came back like a flashbang when I traced that labyrinth and stopped in the centre. It was amazing, and visceral, and put things into different perspective for me. When I left, it was because I felt societal pressure to do so. I felt that lingering for too long, that shedding a tear in public, would make the room uncomfortable. It was an interesting reflection on the postpartum period (what leaving the centre of the labyrinth is meant to symbolize) and the pressures parents can feel.
Day two will be as engaging as day one, this is something I know in my soul. I have chosen the right class. I have chosen the right path. I have pitfalls in my life, things that are drawing me back to the beaten path, but if I can keep things like this doula and this prenatal class in my life, I will forever be drawn back to my heart.
*For more information about labyrinths as they pertain to birth, please visit: http://www.birthingfromwithin.com/blogs/birthing-from-within/15417449-labyrinth-of-birth
Arnej – The Beauty That Lies Behind Those Green Eyes (Opus Outro Mix)
UNT.
Kim Matheson, Doula 