Birth is Universal

We sat around my living room, the three of us.  We laughed about the ridiculous things we had seen and heard in hospital birth rooms.  We gushed about the awe and wonder of a woman giving birth in all of her glory.  We opened up to one another and shared our concerns and asked for input on how to be better - in both the hands on and business aspects of birth.  We ate scones and hummus and thousand-layer cake and chocolates.  We nursed babies and re-directed school-age children, and sent them upstairs to find their own entertainment.  The three of us, though not knowing one another well, we clung to one another's words, experiences, souls.

Three different women, three different continents, three different cultures.  Together we represented a very broad range of beliefs and ways of life.  But we convened for the purpose of discussing something universal.  Birth.

I have found that this profession - the profession of being with a woman through her birth - is one that is unlike any other.  While bankers, mechanics, graphic designers can all gather together and talk about their lives, their work, their difficulties and successes, nothing can compare to the sisterhood that is created in sharing this work. 

No matter where I go in this world, no matter what ethnicity or culture or continent I am with, I have found that birth is universal.  Every child from the beginning of time has come from a woman's body, and to witness this everyday miracle is such an honor.  Everywhere on earth, from the beginning of time, other women have gathered around the laboring mother to help her, love her, cherish her through the transition of motherhood.  It is an amazing privilege to be able to share this experience with women all over the world and throughout time.

After the get together at my house, we all went our separate ways.  Three different religions, three different lifestyles, three different households, and yet this love of birthing women connects our souls and leaves us with a feeling of unity that cannot be described.