Sigh!.. There it is! My daughter’s birth story! Believe it or not – it’s the most wildish and the most wonderful story that I have lived to date. It’s so wildishly wonderful that it cannot even be compared to that other one when a few years ago we arrived to Angola and my work colleague was arrested in Luanda airport! Or that time when I saw the Iguazu Falls in Argentina, or the peaks of the Himalayas in Nepal. But I digress while shamelessly boasting about all my wonderful journeys. This story is about my most amazing journey so far – a journey to the world of the souls – in order to bring back the soul of my baby daughter. Or at least that’s what old South American tales say about women giving birth.
This story is very important to me also because our daughter was born in our home, just like we wanted, expected and imagined. With complete freedom to my body and soul to touch that ancient subterranean magic, thanks to which babies have been arriving to this world for thousands of years. It was a night of a full moon when in complete darkness I met my inner she-wolf. Her growling and raised fur I can feel to this day.
A huge thank you to Debra Pascali-Bonaro, a Lamaze International childbirth educator, doula trainer, author and director of the groundbreaking documentary Orgasmic Birth – The Best-Kept Secret. Debra’s work (see the links below for more information), including the Pain to Power online course created by her for expectant parents, was a huge inspiration during my pregnancy. As we prepared for our baby’s arrival, I found so much comfort in her positive vision that birth does not need to be feared but rather embraced as one of the most empowering – and possibly even ecstatic and pleasurable – experiences of a woman’s life.
