Monday, September 1, 2008

Fear

Fear is not a reason.



Birth today is surrounded by fear - those "what ifs"... the idea that babies need to be delivered - rescued - from the mother's womb, that dangers are present through it all and mother and baby are in need of saving. Fear is the ruling factor.

So often fear decides the course of action - but fear is not a reason. Decisions should be based on reason, on facts, on the instincts of the mother. Fear is not bad or wrong. Sometimes fear can alert someone to a problem. It tells you to investigate further, to look at all the facts, to delve deeper, to get quiet and tap into the inner knowledge. Fear can be a wonderful tool... but unsupported by other facts or intuition it is just an emotion that should be acknowledged and felt, but not acted upon.

One of the most powerful things anyone ever said to me was "Fear is not a reason." In birthing, fear is not a reason to make any choice. By itself, fear is nothing.

4 comments:

Rebekah Costello said...

Yes...fear is the mind-killer.

TOMAS said...

Hi, what a wonderful blog. I would say your articles are the record of love - the inscription that lead to the wonderland of serenity. I greatly rejoice over the goodness of your heart. While reading your posts, I have sensed myself smelling the flowers and...became afraid to spot everything by leaving my comments. What if they would sound rude? Would my words not twist the meaning of the hearty sentences? ...
Fear... I can name her stupid and everything alike, but it isn't nothing. Fear is the deliberate state of mind that reject spirituality, don't accept any eternal values and worry just for personal bodily needs. So fear is the disability.
Yet the situation isn't hopeless. I have read your other post and enjoyed the picture of motherhood - the awe inspiring example that helps to unlock the heart for to lift up the eyes to heaven and so you give us the keys to the secret of peace. Thank you.

Anonymous said...

Hi. Could you tell me what that picture is of? ie. the brown swirly mass with the light in the middle?

I like it a lot. Thanks.
Mardi

Midwife International said...

Yes! Thank you for posting and starting the conversation around fear in the prevailing culture and attitude around birth.

At Midwife International, we work to counter this idea of fear by allowing the woman to be more in control of her birth experience, through the framework of the midwifery model of care.

Our work revolves around train midwives who are equipped to work in resource-constrained regions where maternal and child mortality is high and the need for professional midwives is greatest. For more information on how to become a midwife, please visit: http://midwifeinternational.org/how-to-become-a-midwife/

Thank you for all that you do!