Sometimes I have wondered to myself, "What's the big deal with birth stories? Why are so many women fascinated with hearing the stories of others and retelling their personal story?" It's not that I don't enjoy hearing other women's birth stories. I teach childbirth classes and one of the special aspects of teaching the classes is that I get updates to include birth stories. All the little details about childbirth are so interesting to me. I do wonder what makes birth stories so powerful, though. The stories of how I met my husband and how he proposed to me are stories I am certain to tell my children someday, but soon after the engagement the stories are not as relevant to the general population. Those stories have a very short shelf-life. I am very unlikely to tell a newly engaged woman my engagement story when she shows me her ring. Birth stories are different, though. A woman who has given birth sees a pregnant woman, and sometimes the birth story uncontrollably comes tumbling out. When I was in labor with Lucy the midwife recounted to me two of her mother's birth stories. Her mother gave birth to five children. One child she delivered in a New York City taxi cab, and her fifth child she delivered alone because no one believed she was in labor. I do not know the midwife's mother, but her stories quickly became some of my favorites, and the fact that I was told these stories while I was in labor adds so much richness. I don't know why, but it does.
This past week I gave birth to our second child and I was reminded of what makes birth stories so captivating - they are all so unique, and no matter how you look at it, giving birth is a big event. Not only is giving birth a big event, but it is a big event that quickly gets swept away with the realities of caring for a new little life. At least after a wedding there is a honeymoon period to soak up everything that happened on the wedding day. Everything after labor and delivery is such a whirlwind that it can be difficult to process what happened. Numerous times in the past week I have looked at Lucy and thought about the fact that less than a week ago she was inside me, and that concept blows my mind. When did everything become so real? After about the fifth time of contemplating Lucy's physical existence in my life I realized exactly what makes birth stories so sacred - they mark the threshold when a life was just something inside of you to when it becomes real. A birth story is a story about the finish line of pregnancy and the starting line of a new life. It's kind of a big deal.
love this.
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