Empowering Birth Book Launch

Zaslavsky at launch

On the weekend I attended the launch of A modern woman's guide to a natural empowering birth, a new book by an Australian author. The author, Katrina Zaslavsky opened the launch by talking about why there was a need for her book: the need to counter negative representations of birth and the overwhelming fear (or "terror" as she reported most women stated) Western women hold for birth. Then she handed over to guest speaker Shivam Rachana, a birth worker who has been attending births, training other birth workers and tirelessly fighting for maternal and infant health for thirty years.

Rachana spoke about why birth matters, that birth is about more than just "healthy mum/healthy baby", why fully informed choices are the only choices,  how modern women give away their power when it comes to birth and motherhood, the need for a new paradigm of birth and the centrality of doulas to this new paradigm.

I particularly enjoyed Rachana's insight into the link between medicalised, abnormal births and rates of mental health issues, allergies, diabetes, autism and general lack of community. She spoke about the focus of Australia's medical system being on ill health, rather than health: "we don't have health, we have illth!" She posed the rhetorical question: "what mammal herds their females into the same space as the sick and dying to birth their young, I ask you?"

Rachana talking about how our society has "illlth" not "health"

Rachana  spoke about limited definitions of health and when it comes to obstetrics "healthy" is merely defined as "live mother" and "live baby". Health, she argued, is far more encompassing and holistic than this, and quite often what an Obstetrician will call "healthy mother and healthy baby" is actually a severely traumatised mother and a baby whose health has been compromised. She stated that it is very important for mothers and babies to feel transition and the baby being squeezed out the vagina because these experiences act as a blueprint for that child's life. She spoke about a generation of women subjected to drugs in labour at the point when the babies were engaging with their mother's vaginas, and this leading to a generation of people who have struggled to engage with life.

Birth trauma was central to her talk and the discussion which followed. Rachana spoke about her own expreinces stating that while she was an informed woman the first time round, prepared to have a natural birth, what she was not prepared for was how her own birth would come up psychologically and energetically, triggering her as she tried to birth her first child. As she spoke I could feel my own stuff bubbling up from my very drug-addled "delivery" in which my mother's genitals were mutilated in the name of creating space for me.

One of the attendants asked Rachana what women can do to heal from birth trauma. And thank heavens we do have routes to take for healing, because it's safe to say that everyone alive today in Western culture has been touched by birth trauma in some way, whether that be their own entry into the world, witnessing assaults upon loved ones giving birth, or surviving "horror story" births first hand. Rachana mentioned breathwork/rebirthing (a method of healing I've witnessed and is phenomenal!) and bodywork, which I have had first hand and it changed my life. These two methods of healing are part of the training doulas with ICSM complete.

Discussion time

After the talks Zaslavsky signed purchased copies of her new book and attendants had the delicious pleasure of sampling her birth book cake:

Yes, that is chocolate cake!

There was also a draw for a few free prizes and I was fortunate enough to win the latest copy of Lotus Birth, a collection of articles about lotus birth edited by Rachana.

Now, it's time for me to read this new Aussie birth book, which according to the website is "[m]ore than just a random collection of stories, the author Katrina Zaslavsky, takes you on a powerful journey of discovery and gives you the keys to transforming your birth experience."

To find out more about the book (and to purchase your own copy) check out the website here and the Facebook page here.

With the author: my daughter seems to think all these birth books are in fact cake