"...ere with the help of Eleithyia, the nurse of childbirth, she could bring her babe to the light of day." -Pindar, Pythian Ode 3.
I'm a full-time mother of two girls, who were born at home. I have a background in feminist academia (my area of interest being women's reproductive health). I enjoy writing, particularly about women, birth, breastfeeding and motherhood and have been published in parenting magazines as well as academic journals.
Ilithyia (Latin) or Eileithyia (Greek) is the goddess of childbirth. Her name means "she who comes to aid" or "relieve", from the Greek word elêluthyia. When invoked she used her powers to ease a woman's discomfort during birth (from here)
Ilithyia Inspired is the website and blog of Sarah Langford, an Australian woman who is answering the call to become a birthkeeper (attendant or servant). See below for links to services, testimonies etc.
Bio
I'm a full-time mother of two girls, who were born at home. I have a background in feminist academia (my area of interest being women's reproductive health). I enjoy writing, particularly about women, birth, breastfeeding and motherhood and have been published in parenting magazines as well as academic journals.
In 2008 I completed the Dial-a-Doula program with the International College of Spiritual Midwifery (ICSM). Underlying this training was the philosophy that the birth servant's primary role is: "mothering the mother." The course involved foundational doula classes which included subjects such as: birth choices, preparing for birth, pregnancy support, doulas and fathers/partners, support strategies for pre, early and active labour, waterbirth, homebirth, pain relief, interventions, natural alternatives, caesarean surgery and unexpected outcomes, labour's 3rd stage and the placenta, lotus birth, the first gaze and the first hour, breastfeeding, life with a new baby, sleep, and post natal relationships and emotions.
This course also included: written assessments, completing level 1 of Shivam Rachana's Spiritual Midwifery course, childbirth preparation classes, early parenting discussion sessions, a five day women's retreat and individual healing sessions. Course coordinators emphasised that birth serving is "being with" the mother but that one "cannot 'be with' someone else until she can 'be with' herself". This is why ICSM includes individual sessions in their course and maintain a support network for their graduates.
I now enjoy serving families throughout pregnancy, birth and the postpartum period. I have found that what services I provide are entirely dependent on what the individual woman and her family want. I have helped write birth plans, hosted blessingways, sewn heat packs with a birthing mother, made women laugh through contractions, advocated women's wishes as stated in their birth plans in hospitals, hand crafted birth announcements for friends and family of the new baby, cared for siblings at homebirths, scooped poo out of the birth pool, taken birth photos, provided counter pressure to sore lower backs, to name just a few services I can think of. I believe the relationship between birth servant and those she serves will grow organically and as a need arises I meet it as best I can.
To read about some of my birth support work from the woman's point of view see:
Sunny's Birth Eloise's Birth
Oscar's Birth
Relevant links:
My Birth PhilosophyThe Services I OfferTestimonials
My Library
My Sling Library
My Birth Pool
Contact: sarah at ilithyiainspired dot com
