When my husband David and I first decided in 1977 to have our baby at home without medical assistance, we had no idea how unnatural hospital birth had become. We knew, however, we didn’t feel comfortable putting ourselves in someone else’s hands, and we thoroughly believed in my ability to give birth safely and easily without outside intervention.
We had both read Grantly Dick-Read’s book, Childbirth without Fear (David had actually lent it to me the night that we met!) and we knew that the problems in birth were generally caused by interference from the mother’s mind or the assistant’s hand. Giving birth at home by ourselves, we decided, would eliminate any outside interference, and dealing with my own fears and apprehensions would prevent me from standing in my own way when it came time to give birth to our child.
Equally important, were the books by Jane Roberts (The Nature of Personal Reality was the most helpful) which dealt with the concept that we create our own reality according to our desires, beliefs and intentions. What we think becomes real. Each of us is infinitely more powerful than we realize. The problems come when we give our power away out of fear and doubt.
By the time I conceived our first child, John, we had already experienced the power of belief and knew there was no reason to doubt ourselves in childbirth. If we could imagine a safe, painless home birth, we could create one. That is, of course, if we were willing to do the inner work.
Everyday during my pregnancy I visualized giving birth easily. I said belief suggestions that I wasn’t afraid to give birth, nor was I ashamed of my body or my sexuality. I told myself that I loved and forgave myself completely and knew I was deserving of a good birth.
In addition to using affirmations (belief suggestions) and visualization, I also worked with my dreams. In the beginning of my pregnancy I dreamt of being in a hospital surrounded by my father (a physician) and other doctors. I was afraid and in pain. As my pregnancy progressed, however, my dreams changed and soon I was dreaming of a painless, easy home birth. By the time I went into labor, I felt as if I had literally done it before. The dreams had allowed me to practice this most important, life-changing event.
