What “Empowered Birth” Means To Me
As my business name suggests, I care a lot about creating empowering birth experiences for my clients. But what does that even mean?
You can feel empowered in a variety of situations and circumstances that you might face throughout your life. It’s not birth-specific, but rather birth can be a catalyst for further empowering experiences in your life.
When you feel empowered through a very intense and emotionally involved experience like birth, you know it’s possible to feel that way through other challenging circumstances.
Merriam-Webster’s definition of ‘empowered’ is; having the knowledge, confidence, means, or ability to do things or make decisions for oneself.
To me, feeling empowered means that you are in control of your actions, you feel grounded in your body and space, and are making informed decisions based on what feels most right to you. It’s a belief in yourself and conviction that you’re strong and more than capable of navigating what might come your way, even when it’s scary or unknown.
The biggest impact on making or breaking an empowered experience is the people around you. If you are confident in your decision then someone you look up to and trust dismisses or diminishes your choice, that doesn’t feel very good.
When you’re in the vulnerable space of labor it can be too easy for one off-base comment to send you into second guessing yourself. Just the same as how one reassuring, supportive comment can reinforce feeling empowered in your ability to make decisions for yourself.
Feeling empowered doesn’t mean that you won’t feel any fear or anxiety, it doesn’t mean that events unfold in the way you plan them to, and it doesn’t have anything to do with the outcome of events. It’s feeling completely supported, heard, seen, respected, and informed during the course of your journey.
By leaning on other people and giving yourself permission to ask for and receive help when you need it, you’re choosing to put your needs first. You’re only human and shouldn’t have to do the hard bits of life alone. Intentionally creating your support team is setting yourself up for an empowered birth and postpartum.
When you hire a doula, like me, you're choosing yourself. You’re acknowledging that your experience matters!
It’s summed up perfectly in my favorite quote by world-renowned trauma expert, Dr. Peter Levine. “Trauma is not what happens to us, but what we hold inside in the absence of an empathetic witness.”
Check out my conversation with Natalie from The Resource Doula Podcast for more on the topic!
