Birth - A process of pain, endurance, beauty, and redemption that women were created for. It is a vulnerable time, sacred as some may say, that has the ability to completely change a woman. To a first time mother, it is a transition in identity or passage into motherhood. It is an experience that a mother never forgets whether it is her first child or fifth. Birth cultivates inner strength and empowers a woman to trust in her capable, competent body. I believe birth creates community among women even amidst cultural, societal, or religious differences. Childbirth holds power. Power for opportunity, power for influence, and power for change.
Through my recent travels to Kyrgyzstan for a maternal health outreach, my perspectives of birth have widened. I’ve experienced childbirth through a different lens and saw the reality women worldwide endure. Instead of the beautiful process birth was designed to be, it has become a broken and fragmented system. Significant distortion surrounds the core aspects of birth and there is a lost understanding that a woman’s body was simply made for it. Fear and uncertainties dominate pregnancy and childbirth. This is why I decided to write...to share perspectives, experiences, and thoughts on the reality of birth and provide a raw, honest platform of birth ideology. My hope is through simple truths and words, the fear and misunderstanding gripping women and birth can be lifted and birth can be restored to the beautiful process it was designed to be. Jane Weideman stated, “giving birth should be your greatest achievement, not your greatest fear”. This simple truth captivates what I wholeheartedly believe should be true in every woman’s birth story worldwide.
This is the beginning of several blog posts by Allie Beezhold who recently returned from serving in Kyrgyzstan.
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