Pregnancy - anything but uneventful

I am confused.  When did we start referring to pregnancy as 'uneventful' and mean this as a positive medical diagnosis?  Instead of googling my heart away on this steely winter morn, I will exercise my own subjective logic to answer this question. 

Actually, I will rewrite the question and provide my own answer.

When a practitioner reports to expectant parents that "everything looks good" and "you seem to be having an uneventful pregnancy", what they are really saying is that you are normal and your body is doing everything it knows to do.  Instead of relishing the fantastic mystery of this fact, we refer to the woman and her experience as 'uneventful'.  Even 'normal' would be better if you ask me.

Although this may seem like an inconsequential detail in the arduous task of reproduction, I believe that the language we use to describe pregnancy and birth can reflect our innermost feelings towards these events.  Are we placid and 'uneventful'? or are we 'normal' and trusting?

Obviously, there are endless variations of belief systems relating to pregnancy and birth.  It would be futile to describe the complexities here.  Nevertheless, I am obliged to support a language of deep honor and respect for our mothers and fathers who are already overwhelmed by the experience.  A sacred tone which exemplifies the power of their process and their abilities not only to birth in their own rite, but to love, guide, protect, lead, and sanctify tiny new, precious lives.

Why a birth blog?

I am a nurse, a doula, and an aspiring midwife.

Most importantly, I am a 30 (almost 31) year-old woman.



Now if that does not qualify one to create a birth blog, the cows must be sitting down under a sky of flattened clouds. Or something like that.



Actually, this is much more than a ‘birth’ blog, but I wanted you to find me so now here we are.



This blog was created from a conversation I had with a dear, also 30 year-old friend of mine. She, freshly returned from her Australian honeymoon, and I, estatic about my recent acceptance into a nurse-midwifery program, dove headfirst into our mutual new obsession -- fertility. We discussed interesting facts and supplements id discovered through personal research (I am my own nutritional guinea pig). We shared in the comically emotional upheaval of our feminine 30s. The synchronicity of our thoughts and feelings concerning the mysteries of fertility and the wantedness of maternity was divine, yet human and ordinary. My friend suggested I begin a blog in order to share my apprenticeship with birth.



This might work out to be an aesthetically pleasing forum for me to share my growing knowledge of fertility, conception, birth, and midwifery with my own women friends. Or it might expand to reach you, an interesting new friend with your own circle of ladies and wealth of experiences. My intention is to provide useful information in a poetic manner, an interactive midwifery journal of sorts.



I believe every woman has pondered the intricacies of motherhood in her own unique way. All stages of this journey are rich with precious lessons to be shared. May we enjoy a sense of community in these wild times as we dive into a thoughtful exploration of our own power to birth. Thank you for joining me. I look forward to the ride.

I am convinced that whenever we exaggerate or demonize, oversimplify or overstate our case, we lose. -b.obama.