Birth Story Medicine Sessions
for parents
An Indispensable Ritual of Return:
Finding the Medicine in your birth story
Throughout the childbearing year, you crossed invisible, unexpected personal thresholds. With each crossing, you entered new territory, the Unknown, which was unknowable before living through your rite of passage. But, because birth is a rite of passage, there was at least one unexpected moment during your ordeal that left you feeling shocked, confused, betrayed, ashamed, or powerless. You may be asking yourself, Who Am I? or How did this happen to me?
Many people think tincture of time, trying to brush it off, or telling their story over and over is enough. Although these strategies might bring temporary relief, what is often needed is having your story deeply explored in a completely different way. To have a transformation it's necessary for you to realize that the unwished-for moment was an inevitable part of your soulful initiation.
A Birth Story Medicine® session
provides a guided process that
brings insight, resolution,
and healing when you need to understand what happened
in the body, birthplace,
or managed care.
When listening to women's birth stories over the years we began to see that they were not static but rather evolving during the postpartum year, or longer. Envision your birth story passing through a series of Gates, each Gate a different version of your story. At each story Gate, you have to see, feel and hear the story as it is, before you move into change work. Then can begin the process of sorting, putting events in order, gathering lost bits of information, forgiving yourself or others and finding some peace of mind.
Some birth stories are primarily relationship stories; at this story Gate the task is to explore who you feel was there for you, who didn’t show up the way you expected them to, or abandoned you, and also how what happened is affecting your relationships with your baby, partner, or birth attendants.
Another birth story revolves around the relationship with yourself and your body;
at this story Gate the mind is dwelling on a moment that caused birth shock;
a moment you regret and wish you could do-over; sorting through "losing control" and what was not in your control; going back and forth between blaming yourself and blaming others to make sense of what happened.
Not all birth story work is about
emotional or psychological
healing. Many birth stories focus
on the medical account; at this
Story Gate the storyteller brings questions about how the birthing
body typically works or why it
didn't, or about hospital birth culture, routines, terminology, or a particular intervention.
There is also a quest story Gate; at this stage, the storyteller is making connections between what was expected and what happened, and searching for new meaning.
By the time you reach the last story
Gate, the gateless Gate, you will
have deconstructed, digested, and reconstructed your birth story.
When you cross this threshold,
you will no longer need to tell, your
birth story to gain sympathy, advice, reassurance or praise. Rather then
telling your whole story, you will
share with others only what might
be helpful to them.
About your Birth Story Session
Birth Story Sessions are private, confidential, and about one hour long. You may meet in person (if you and your mentor live nearby), on Zoom, or over the phone (your choice). You may need one session or several. Your session will require single-minded focus—to get the most out of it, please arrange childcare. Choose your birth story listener from the directory, where you will find her contact information and session fee.
Regarding Couples Sessions:
We discourage beginning your birth story work with a couple-session. Instead, we suggest you and your partner begin with private sessions to receive your mentor's full attention for the hour. Later, a couples-session may be helpful.
I’m ready to transform the meaning of an experience I lived
or a belief/story am telling myself about birth
"We cannot remain the same."
~ Marcel Proust
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