Funny Thoughts on Birthwork

When the midwife was sewing me up afterward, she told me to rate the pain where she had to sew in areas that a numbing agent wouldn't work. She told me to rate it on a scale of 1-10. With a smirk she said, 'Childbirth is a ten.'

Mantras & Affirmations

This is happening through me, not to me. 

Thoughts & Quotes On Life After Birthwork

I personally was well prepared for life and caring for my baby, but not the physical end of being postpartum. I wish I had been prepared to act like and believe it was okay to slow down & be taken care of. My midwife repeatedly had to tell me 'You just had a baby!'

"...parents are hungry for other kinds of information. They want to know what to do after the baby is born. I realized that childbirth preparation should also be parents preparation."

Pam Englund, Birthing From Within

Thoughts & Quotes On Birthing Positions

If you want to have an unmedicated birth, get out of bed... Unless that is what your body tells you to do.

"I specifically wanted to avoid strengthening cultural images of laboring women lying in the hospital bed practicing stylized relaxation techniques."

Pam Englund, Birthing From Within

Quotes & Thoughts On Classes

"My first small step on the journey was to banish comfy pillows from the teaching room. The medium is the message: I wanted parents to understand that not only was labor hard work, but it wasn't something they should do lying down."

Pam Englund, Birthing From Within

Thoughts & Quotes On Intensity

On knowledge of physiology & stages:

"This kind of knowledge is fascinating, but irrelevant to a mother white-knuckling through a contraction."

Pam Englund, Birthing From Within

Thoughts On Preparing for or Coping With Cesarean

Summarized from a quote:

There is something profoundly beautiful and sacred about perfect strangers doing everything in their power to save your baby's life.