Welcome to the Second Edition of the Black Birth Carnival. Hosted by Darcel of The Mahogany Way Birth Cafe and Nicole of Musings From The Mind of Sista Midwife.
The Topic: Not Without Our Fathers. So often we talk birth in women circles. We celebrate birth within the feminine community and forget that without the fathers our birth experiences would be non existent. June 17th marks the day many will celebrate fathers in this country. With that in mind we came up with our topic for this installment of the Black Birth Blog Carnival.
This post you will be updated with live links by Noon, linking back to the other participants posts.
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When you think of birth, you automatically think of mother and
baby. Birth is all about the woman’s journey and transformation. We talk about how the woman can prepare her body mind and soul for birth, but we rarely think about the men. They need to prepare, and they go through a journey as well. Men have an idea of how the birth will play out just like women do.
Not too long ago men weren’t allowed to be in the room during birth. Now it’s expected for them to be present. Obstetrician Michel Odent said that a man has no place at the birth. I understand some of his theories and observations, but I don’t agree with him.
I think it’s great that so many men want to be involved in the birth process. They have the choice to be as hands on or off as they choose. Some men want to catch the baby, while others prefer to simply be a presence in the room, or fall in between. It’s up to the individual couple.
Do you ever wonder how a man feels if the birth wasn’t what he expected? What about when a woman has a traumatic birth? Men are affected by that! They just may not talk about it like we do.
Birth is so powerful and spiritual…. magical even!
I loved Charles being present and participating more and more in the births of our children. I relied heavily on him, especially during the last two. He was really great. I loved knowing that he was there for me no matter what I needed. You can’t witness a birth and leave the same way you came in before that experience.
Have you ever listened to a father tell the birth story from his perspective? The joy in their eyes, the excitement in their voice, the look on their face….you know the one…they can’t believe they were witness to such an event.
I believe that if a man is able to, he should submerge himself as much as he’s comfortable with in the pregnancy and birth. This is a great post on why men are needed for more than support during labor and birth.
We all know that Fathers are important in our day-to-day lives, why wouldn’t they be equally as important during a birth?
What do you think? Are men at birth important, or should they leave it all up to the women?
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Please take the time to read and comment on the other participants posts.
Shahmet at Adia Publishing: A Father Before Birth
Reggie at WhatrUWorkinon?: They’re All Miracles
Nicole at Musings From The Mind of Sista Midwife: #BlackBirth Not Without Our Fathers
Darcel at The Mahogany Way Birth Cafe: Are Men at Birth Important?
Alexis at The Ivy Expansion: A Fathers Love
Mavhu at F.W. Hargrove: I Birth At Home
Twitter Hashtag #BlackBirth
The Mahogany Way Birth Cafe 