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.