With women, not a system
When the world changed in 2020 it was made quite clear to me that I would never again follow a system or governing body when it comes to bodily autonomy, or following the rules for the sake of following the rules.
I found myself on the phone last summer talking to my mom and looking for direction and wisdom. I was at a crossroads in my life and I knew that whatever choice I made, it would change the trajectory of my life.
“I can continue with my professional program and dedicate another 4 years to this training that is not aligned”
(another story for another time.)OR
I can continue to pursue my time at the feet of truly wise elders, in all things childbearing continuum, homeopathy, etc., while being in full integrity. This would mean forgoing formal accreditation and navigating my professional life outside the system.”
"You need to follow your heart and follow your peace."
was her response.
A few days later I went on to enroll in a holistic and authentic (quantum, if you will) midwifery program.
I completed the first year as of the end of September, and I can tell you that there is no going back.
I have heard so many well-meaning student midwives, nurses, and doulas all claiming the same thing
"I'm going to fix the system from the inside out!"
(I naively said the same thing when I took my first official doula training in 2018)
After attending a few births (in all spaces) it didn't take long to realize that the system is not broken.
It is intricately designed to work exactly as it does.
So this is my official statement,
I am with women, not a system.
Birth has always belonged to women - and when we (as a collective yes, and primarily women) have been conditioned to outsource our critical thinking from our own birth, it sets us up to further perpetuate the cycle - until we choose to break it.
We are told that we can not trust our bodies, that birth is painful, and that we need to be rescued from it (this can manifest in so many ways). We forgot that this is literally what our bodies are designed for. This is why our pelvis is structured differently than the male pelvis.
Modern-day obstetrics has a horrific origin and came into existence because the powers that be saw it as a way to be done with the wise woman and any other healers not sanctioned by the Catholic Church (while making money, and lifelong customers along the way).
I will end this blog post here for now, as this will be a recurring topic of conversation…
Everyone on this planet can learn something from HERSTORY: WOMANIFESTO by Jane Hardwicke Collings
“Do you know why unassisted/autonomous birth is so frowned upon?
It’s because the system, the “powers that be” is predicated on the submission of women. Women meet their most powerful selves in autonomous birth…
The system (whatever you want to call it) needs women to be broken in childbirth because if they’re not, if they meet their most powerful selves they will arrive in motherhood empowered and dangerous.”