Letting Go
When it was my turn to give birth I had to learn to let go –
To let go of my mum’s voice telling me it’s the worst thing ever,
To let go of the images in my head of trauma and pain,
And being told what to do as I lay there in terror.
I wanted to be in control. I wanted to remain whole
And be present when she arrived. To hold her skin to skin.
To give her the gentlest entrance I could into this world
So she wouldn’t be scared, when she emerged from within.
Because when we birth undisturbed our hormones naturally relieve pain,
Contractions come at intervals to give us respite from the strain –
When we’re on our own time we know this, there’s so much we could gain
From listening to ourselves, being listened to and not needing to explain.
Like a marathon runner trains for that one big race
Mind and body can be prepared and your birthing space
Techniques can be practiced to keep your breathing calm
Making choices that you feel can keep away the harm
Because while we can’t always absolutely guarantee
That birth will stick to the exact plan that you want to see
We can stack the odds in our favour to help us create
A calm space to free our wisdom, our knowledge that’s innate
From maiden to mother, a journey like no other
Trusting the process, allowing the progress
Accessing that innate wisdom inside
Our instinctive power that acts as our guide.
Words by Kati Edwards and Ben Mellor
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