The Birth Empowerment Course:

Session Three
Links & Extras

Now that you've read Session 3's eBook and watched the videos, it's time to get creative! Whether you've got a fully-stocked art studio or you're borrowing your toddler's Crayolas, the art you create during pregnancy can speak volumes to us both now, and years after your child's birth. Even the simplest artwork can hint at the deeper emotions and longings of your inner self, so it's always good to save your creations. You can make note of anything that stands out in your picture (perhaps jot it down on the back of the page) and what you think it might mean for you. Also, write down the date.

Someday, you and your child may both enjoy looking at the art you created "together! Calming a nervous partner For those who have husbands/partners who are on the fence about your birth preferences, or nervous about "knowing what to do", I'm including a few links on "labor land" and the emotional-signposts method of tracking one's progress in labor. Emotional signposts, originally a concept from the Bradley method's childbirth teachings, seem to be more able to accurately assess labor progress than the 1 - 10 centimeter scale of cervical dilation is by itself.

The quiet-alert, intensely inwardly-focused state that we go into as we approach

transition (the last part of the first stage

of labor from about 8 10 centimeters) is sometimes called "labor land". Some mothers stay in that state for nearly the entire time they are in active, first-stage labor (while dilation is occurring), while others stay there for only a short time. Most women agree, however, that it feels like time is being suspended. If mama can still smile for pictures, be worried about her makeup or hair, and answer questions thoughtfully, she's probably not in labor land - yet!

This feeling of time-suspension is usually something that works in our favor when we're in the depths of labor-land, riding the waves of contractions and doing all we can to focus on getting through each one, moment by moment. Women can go on this way for many hours, never realizing how much time has passed until baby has arrived and we shift back into the typical pace of things. Birthing happens on its own space-time continuum, it seems! Hopefully your partner is also taking time to expand their awareness of what a healthy + typical birth experience is like. The information in the following links may prove very helpful to the both of you, when you're both second-guessing whether labor has really begun! (on next page)

http://yourbirthcoach.com/2011/11/25/gettingto-labor-land/ ...and... http://thebirthbug.wordpress.com/2011/06/2 7/the-emotional-map-of-labor/ This last link touches on stress and its adverse affects to your developing baby. Stress seems to be ubiquitous in the modern lifestyle, and it doesn't let up just because we're expecting a baby. I hope including this article isn't going to stress you out even more! Instead, let it be a gentle reminder that you can always _shift_ your perspective ...and turn down the stress levels.

We all always retain the power of choice to choose how we will process and digest our experiences, and what sort of meaning we will assign to them. There is no objective truth to our emotions - they are by nature what we've decided to feel (either consciously or unconsciously!). Many of our reactions are conditioned responses, either from our upbringing or the wider culture - but we can choose to override that response and select a different one if the initial, knee-jerk response isn't serving us well. You may have heard the old adage that holding on to anger is like taking poison and waiting for the other person to die....

It's important to remember that our feelings and beliefs mainly affect ourSelves. If you're upset about an argument you had with your partner, for example, your partner isn't being punished by your upset-ness, but you -and your baby- may be suffering from it. . If there are measurable differences in the physical and emotional baselines of children born to mothers who were suffering from high levels of stress, that's all the more reason to be gentle and loving toward yourSelf while pregnant.

Love your body Nourish your mind Protect your spirit

In the next two Sessions, we'll be exploring different hands-on techniques to reduce your stress levels and take charge of your emotional well-being. There's no reason to be a victim to your feelings.

Acknowledge them, certainly...

Feel them fully and deeply, but don't let them imprison you. http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2007/m ay/31/childrensservices.medicineandhealth Have you written any birth affirmations, prayers, chants or mantras yet? Sometimes you only need one really good one but you might not know which one is going to be

The One

until you're in that moment.

You may then find yourself repeating a line over and over that you didn't even know you'd memorized! I spontaneously made up my own I had never even heard of birth affirmation when I was in labor with my first child. affirmations at that time, but I just knew that if I kept repeating this to myself, everything would be all right:

"My body is made for this my body knows what it's doing"
I must have said that a thousand times as contractions washed over me silently, in my head.; whispering it; singing it; and even yelling it out at times. Those are the words that helped come into the world. I never had to write them down; I still remember, 13 years later. me open the way for my firstborn son to

Water Imagery in Birth Art You may notice that I often speak of childbirth and even contractions in terms of waves - rushing; flowing; swaying; rhythmic movement; fluidity; gracefulness:

~ Fear and pain are washed away~ In the ebb and flow ~ of these cosmic waves ~

Water as a symbol for birth is a common archetype. All life on the planet spawned from the oceans, and in many mythologies, the ocean is depicted as the great mother goddess. The flowing of a river, the rhythmic falling of rain, the rolling thunderclouds...all are excellent metaphors for the slow buildup and repeated, rhythmic intensity of labor and birth.; the breaking of waters and culmination of baby sliding out... It's common to dream of water elements during pregnancy, and most dream interpretations characterize water and water animals as symbolic of birth or rebirth.

If you have any recurring symbolism in your dreams (or daydreams!), it can be helpful to do a bit of searching to discover the archetypal or underlying meaning behind them. Sometimes this can be yet another path towards making connections between our conscious awareness and our deeper, subconscious feelings, emotions, and memories. Until next time--sending love and joy!

--Krystal