Birth Story Medicine Sessions
After Birth
An Indispensable Ritual of Return:
Finding the Medicine in your birth story
I see the childbearing year as a journey of initiation. When it is said that “birth is a rite of passage” it means the initiate will be prepared for—being born into their new role and knowledge. Preparation for this social and soulful transformation requires the initiate to experience an emotional shock, a “little death” of a belief or identity, and a fall from certainty to humility. In nearly every labor, even fairly normal labors, an unwished-for, turning moment is an inevitable, unavoidable part of the transformation and soulful initiation—that is what brings storytellers to the temenos of transformation that is my sessions. The price for knowledge is the loss of innocence and trust. In completing your story you will complete your journey of initiations and step fully into your next passage and potential in life.
A Birth Story Medicine® session provides a guided process that brings insight, resolution, and healing when you need to
understand what happened in the body, birthplace, or managed care.
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When listening to women's birth stories over the years, I saw that they were not static but evolving during the postpartum year or longer. Envision your birth story passing through a series of Gates, each Gate a different version of your story.
At each story Gate, before you move into change work, pause to see, feel and hear the story as it is. Only then can you begin the process of sorting, putting events in order, gathering lost bits of information, forgiving yourself or others, and finding some peace of mind.
Not all birth story work is about emotional or psychological healing. When there is a need to understand what happened in the body, birthplace, or management, drawing from my background as a nurse-midwife, I may help bring clarity.
“We cannot remain the same.”
—Marcel Proust
By the time you reach the last story Gate, the gateless Gate, you will have deconstructed, digested, and reconstructed your birth story. When you cross this threshold, you will no longer need to tell your birth story to gain advice, sympathy, reassurance, or praise. You will feel complete.
About your Birth Story Session
I offer private, individual, and confidential one-hour sessions to mothers, fathers/partners, and birth professionals. We may meet in person (if you and your mentor live nearby), on Zoom, or over the phone (your choice). You may need one session or several. Your session will require a single-minded focus, so to get the most out of it, please arrange childcare. My fee is a sliding scale from $120 to $75; payable by check or through Venmo.
Call to make an appointment: 505-377-8282
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Regarding Couples Sessions
I rarely lead birth story sessions with couples because, although you were in the same room, in a way, you were not in the same labor/birth. Each storyteller needs different Medicine. So, rather than beginning your birth story work with a couple-session, I recommend you and your partner begin with private sessions. Later, a couples session may be more helpful.
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I’m ready to transform the meaning of an experience I lived or a belief/story am telling myself about birth