Given that there really is no scientific evidence to focus a discussion about beauty in birth on, let’s just speak from the heart shall we. That sits nicely anyway because beauty and birth are very heart orientated things. As a midwife I have had the privilege to be present at many births, and as a mother I have birthed four of my own babies.
The beauty that encases birth is a swirling pool of hormones, love, anticipation, power, vulnerability, trust and so much anticipation. This is the day when you get to meet the whole new human you have made. You already know the depth of love you feel for the little baby growing inside you. Since you first knew you were having a baby you have felt love like nothing else you may have known before this time. Beauty grows in the many months of forming a relationship with your baby, sometimes in the business of life, but also in the small quiet moments when you speak softly to your growing tummy and whisper “I love you”.
One of the most touching moments that I see beauty in, when in a birthing space is the tenderness and support between couples. You cannot watch a woman in the power of birthing and not feel totally in awe of her capacity to bring a new life into the world. Seeing a couple care for each other in the midst of this power is a true privilege. The tenderness of simple acts like holding a glass of water or retying a ponytail, that a loved one does for a woman deep in her power of birthing is beautiful.
The creation of a space where pretence is lost and the pure raw honesty of humanity is held in complete trust and honour between those in that space is a beauty that is present in birth.
The most precious moment when each baby comes into the world is beautiful beyond description. There’s rarely a dry eye in the room when parents see their baby for the first time. My own experience with my first baby being born is so special in my heart. My husband was standing watching our daughter emerge and he was so excited and in awe. He kept saying wow, wow, wow with each moment she came closer to being seen, until she was fully out and then he pronounced she’s so beautiful just like her mummy. That’s beauty in my mind.
I felt beautiful at that moment too. Not in a conventional sense of the word, but in a way that I had found such depths within myself, and known a moment of accomplishment like no other. I was a new woman I hadn’t known before; I was now a mother and I knew with every fibre of my being what love was. To hold my baby in my arms, while being held in the arms of my husband was a moment of love and unity in a whole new universe we had just entered. The universe of parents. It was a time of beauty.
