Is it a betrayal to speak the harsh truth that childbirth can cost a mother’s body in ways that will never fully repair? To speak only of the wonderment of a new human?
I thought it was stupendous, giving birth. I felt like an Amazon, pushing out those wonder-children – long and hefty, smooth pudgy skin, so tender under my hand. It was a miracle of world-making to see a whole human unfurl from my womb. But this other shocking reality: torn flesh, lumpy stitches, burning urine, painful pooing. A visceral damage – but one I thought would be short-lived.
When I had my two children over 30 years ago, I was a fan of the policy of the public hospital birthing centre: 24-hours-then-home-you-go. I thought I only needed an overnight or two in hospital before I whizzed home with our newborn. I didn’t see any sense in medicalising birth. It was, after all, a natural process. There was little awareness of or planning for the time a body needed for healing and repair.
Continue reading… Is it a betrayal to speak the harsh truth that childbirth can cost a mother’s body in ways that will never fully repair? To speak only of the wonderment of a new human?I thought it was stupendous, giving birth. I felt like an Amazon, pushing out those wonder-children – long and hefty, smooth pudgy skin, so tender under my hand. It was a miracle of world-making to see a whole human unfurl from my womb. But this other shocking reality: torn flesh, lumpy stitches, burning urine, painful pooing. A visceral damage – but one I thought would be short-lived.When I had my two children over 30 years ago, I was a fan of the policy of the public hospital birthing centre: 24-hours-then-home-you-go. I thought I only needed an overnight or two in hospital before I whizzed home with our newborn. I didn’t see any sense in medicalising birth. It was, after all, a natural process. There was little awareness of or planning for the time a body needed for healing and repair. Continue reading… Women’s health, Childbirth, Pregnancy, Health & wellbeing, Life and style, Women
