The birth of a baby is also the birth of a mother. Because she herself is being born as a mother, what is really needed is love, support and compassion for her and her journey, no matter what that journey looks like. My journey as a new mother began after a long labor followed by a C-section. The very words ...C-section make me cringe today. Not only did I have little time to adjust to the reality of major surgery PLUS the simultaneous birth of my child, but I had to endure the long, unbearable pain of recovering from surgery. Sure, I was brave and made the most of it at the time, but looking back I remember the experience as traumatic and invasive. It as an emotionally conflicted experience of giving up and giving in that I carry with me today.
Cesarean Birth Healing Circle with Ellen Chuse
By Ellen Chuse
A woman’s experience of birth is often diminished in our culture. Even when a woman has had a positive labor and birth there is rarely any real interest in her experience of the process. When a woman has had a difficult or traumatic birth it is often dismissed as unimportant. “After all, you had a healthy baby! ” is the usual response and the mother is made to feel doubly bad that she still carries confusion, anger or grief. With the increase in cesarean births in our culture more and more women are having birth experiences different from those they planned for. Even when a cesarean is the perfect birth for a particular baby, it may not be the perfect birth for the mother.
As a childbirth educator and birth counselor I became increasingly aware of a need for women who had cesareans to come together to explore their experience. Not all women who have cesarean births are troubled by them. But for those who continue to struggle - often long after the event - there needed to be a safe place to share their stories, heal remaining emotional scars and to celebrate themselves as birthing woman. So the Cesarean Birth Healing Circle was born.
Just knowing that she is not alone can be a tremendous relief and affirmation for a woman who struggles with her birth experience. Coming together with others in a safe and supported environment, having the time to tell her story, participating in gentle rituals and a guided relaxation and visualization can begin the healing process. For those women who may want to have another child at some point in the future, information about VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean) and planting seeds for different birth experience can also be helpful.
The next Cesarean Birth Healing Circle will be held at Bend and Bloom Yoga in Park Slope on Sunday, March 29th from 12 noon to 5pm. The cost is $125. Each Healing Circle is limited to 6 participants so pre-registration is required. Visit www.bendandbloom.com for details and registration.
Ellen Chuse has worked with pregnant womenand their families since 1984. She is a Certified
Childbirth Educator and Pregnancy & Birth Counselor.
For more information or to contact Ellen directly,
please visit www.ellenchusechildbirth.com
or call 718.789.1981
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