ElementalMom

Trust Birth Conference — Reflections

Whew. Did you read the last few entries? You’d figure that I’d fall into bed and sleep, sleep, sleep, right? Wrong. Good thing I habitually leave a notepad by the bed to collect those blinding 3:00 AM brainwaves. It’s been over a week since the Trust Birth Conference, and I’m still having them!

First, the pregnant chick reflections. Friends, even as much of a birth geek as I am, it was so incredibly cool to be able to walk around for four whole days and not have a single person ask me what gender my baby was. Everyone assumed I didn’t know. I didn’t have to choke back my lecture about the evils of ultrasound even once; and most of the folks I talked to probably would have given it better than I did anyway! Not one person asked me for a due date; they asked me how far along I was. It’s such a subtle difference, but makes such a HUGE difference in how we think of pregnancy, and how the mother feels. And you know, I am rock-solid about how I feel about this stuff, but when you’re out in the world, it gets soooooo tiring having to have the same sad conversations over, and over and over. Every single time I walked into the bathroom, I got ushered to the front of the line. How cool is that?

Second, the birth geek reflections. For all my talk, I am really pretty new to all of this. I was oblivious to the world of birth advocacy just six short years ago. Granted, the intervening years have been quite intense, and I’ve thrown myself into the reading, the researching, and the exploring with more than even my usual fervor. But even so, getting to hang out with people who have lived in this headspace for years, and just soaking up their vibe, was amazing. It’s one thing to read the words, it’s another thing entirely to be in their presence, really getting a feel for the emotion that the printed word just won’t convey. I feel so humbled, and so inspired, at the same time. “Life changing” is not too strong a term to use.

I am really running the risk of running out of superlatives. Bear with me if I get repetitive, OK?

• I‘d like to thank Carla Hartley. Not only did she trust me sight unseen, she was unfailingly graceful under pressure. I’m familiar with conferences, and I’m also familiar with the people running them spontaneously combusting. Carla was utterly unflappable, and I admire that hugely. I also just want to say that it takes a ton of courage for a midwife, let alone one running a school of midwifery, to stand up for unassisted birth, with the logic that “either birth works, or it doesn’t, you can’t say it only works with the right careprovider.” Having been attacked by a prominent midwifery advocate once in my life for daring to plan an unassisted birth, Carla’s trust of birth itself is hugely inspiring. Trust Birth? You betcha.
• I‘d like to thank everyone who supported Carla. It was obvious that a ton of time and work went into, well, everything. You guys must have put in the mega-hours, and it totally showed.
• I‘d like to thank the families of everyone who supported the folks running things. Behind every woman on a mission, is a partner and kids who believe in what she’s doing, and their sacrifice of her time is nothing short of remarkable.
• Along those lines, of course, thanks to Jason, Rowan, Kestrel, Marc, and my Inlaws Allen and Terri.
• I have this idea that there is something so uncontrollable and unpredictable about birth that it keeps the people who support it humble. I was not expecting the Birth Luminaries at this event to be so approachable, let alone so welcoming, encouraging, and positive. I’m still riding the high.
• Thank you, Melissa. It was all your fault for suggesting, prodding, encouraging, and connecting all the dots in order to make this happen for me. You rock. But you know that, and are probably sick to death of hearing it from me.
• Thanks, ICAN. I want you to know that I am going to use what I picked up here to make the world a slightly better place. How? I’m not quite sure yet, and you’re welcome to hold me accountable, pop in, and ask me from time to time.

Tags: ICAN, Trust_Birth, Trust_Birth_Conference