In honor of launching this new, consolidated website and blog, I thought I’d share again the very first blog I ever posted.
From September, 2015
My plunge into the world of blogging will begin with a post a client of mine put on facebook this morning.
“There was a time when Facebook wouldn’t let you go back to see every post you’d written; it would only share what it deemed most important. I know because I tried to find something my midwife had written regarding my Harrison’s birth. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, but, wouldn’t you know it, I didn’t think to copy and paste the text. This morning I decided to try again using Timehop and Facebook Memories, and, lo and behold, by scrolling through 2012 from December to April (boy, do you post a lot, Kim!) I found the words I was looking for, and I cried just now when I found them. Kim and her daughter, Hannah, have attended all three of my sons’ births in one combination or another (as well as apprentice, Anna, who was present for Charlie!).
On to the quote! The way Kim writes this, there’s no wonder I have the bond with Harry that no one quite understands, lol:
‘Such an amazing birth early this morning!
I read something only last night (in a book unrelated to birth): “A child’s emotional bond with his mother (initiates) all sorts of physiological, psychological, and neurological processes within (him). He begins to develop physically and emotionally as he’s nurtured. God’s ordained the mothering process to literally ‘call the infant to life.’ The connection of their spirits woos the child into the land of humanness, and the child develops a sense of belonging to the human race.”
Henry Cloud.
The mother “calls the infant to life.” Yes. Yes, she does.
And I’ve the privilege of creating the sacred space for that summons to occur, as well as the responsibility to refrain from interfering with it.
So, a gorgeous, 9lb 8oz, 23.5” long baby boy was born just before sunrise, and he gave me a real scare as he came. But Mama knew he was okay, and knew exactly what to do with him. She brought him forth in a surge of power on her hands and knees upon the bed. I passed him to her between her legs, and she instantly set to work on him. He coughed and he sputtered, and he woke to the primal call of her voice and hands without either me or Hannah touching him till a full two hours after.
Again and again and again, I’m in awe.'”
I was blessed to read what my client posted this morning, and I found it working to renew my love for my calling. It reminded me of something I read earlier this summer as well.
“…Compassion extended to a woman throughout the childbearing year has a transformative quality that can impact her for a lifetime. Her infant will benefit as well. Compassionately welcoming a newly born infant who’s just emerged from a quiet and individual place of dreaming into a world of sound, smell, touch, breath, light, and people, and who is just beginning his Earth Walk, is immeasurably important. This very first threshold contains the seeds of everything that follows.”
Geradine Simkins, CNM, Into These Hands, page 334
Many thanks to Lindsay and her family, both for allowing me to use their story and their photographs, as well as for inviting Hannah and Anna and me to serve them as midwives. We’ll never be the same ♥
Thank you so much for the gift of your time!
If you enjoyed this article, let’s stay connected! I welcome you to subscribe to my blog, and to join in the conversation by commenting below! And be sure to poke around here a bit, as there are lots more stories awaiting you.
Kim Woodard Osterholzer, Colorado Springs Homebirth Midwife and Author
Books by Kim:
Homebirth: Commonly Asked Questions
A Midwife in Amish Country: Celebrating God’s Gift of Life
Nourish + Thrive: Happy, Healthy Childbearing
One Little Life at a Time: Recommendations + Record Keeping for Aspiring Homebirth Midwives
