Hello Friends!
February has flown by! As many of you know, I was in Mexico City and Oaxaca for 11 days on an Advanced Birthwork Training.
This experience was more than I ever expected, and the skills learned have already been utilized in my first, post-trip birth!
What did I learn, you may ask? WELL, LET ME TELL YOU!
The first few days were spent in Mexico City, where 12 other birthworkers and I were able to swap stories and tips. Many of the women were from other parts of the globe, and in talking, one thing is certain: this work matters everywhere.
Everywhere Doulas, nurses, and midwives are facing the same struggles. We are fighting for women's rights to informed consent, fighting against obstetric violence, and fighting for women to be heard, held, and supported.
Unfortunately, too many of us (myself included) have witnessed inappropriate touching, harmful procedures, and disrespect done to women's minds, emotions, and physical bodies - it has to stop.
And yet, as sad as it was to learn that this is happening everywhere, it also gives me hope... There are more birthworkers and more women like yourselves striving for and DEMANDING involvement in your own birthing process, and this is shifting the narrative for women everywhere. One. Birth. At. A. Time.
That's pretty powerful.
But back to the training! While in Mexico City, I had the opportunity to participate in a traditional Temazcal ceremony.
A Temazcal is a small, round dome made of clay with a hole in the center where hot, volcanic rocks called Abuelas are placed. These sweat lodges were once used (and still are in some communities) as a place to heal and a form of medicine. It's thought to be Mother Earth's Womb.
The door is small enough that you have to crawl through it and find a seat on the mud floor as 20 other people file in behind you. Rocks are then added, and the door is closed.
It was so dark that I truly could not see my hand in front of my face and had to touch my eyes multiple times to figure out if they were even open or closed. We then spent 2 hours in the space as different rituals and songs were performed by the guide. It was incredible and intense all at the same time.
But why do this on a birthwork training?
Women used to (and still do in some areas) give birth in Temazcals. THAT'S RIGHT! Birth in these small, dark, hot structures. In some ways, it makes sense.
The belief of giving birth in Mother Earth's womb in a dark and secluded environment creates a sense of safety that is key to oxytocin protection.
The Temazcal also asks you to surrender. Much like in birth. I would be lying if 2 hours in a dark and hot environment didn't elicit fears in me. Yet, I didn't leave, even when I felt like I "couldn't do it anymore."
It was a time for me to do what I ask many of you to do in labor... surrender.
In birth, you're asked to surrender to the process - the need to control your body, the timeline, the procedures, and the outcome. Birth asks a lot of you. It's both the birth of your baby and a rebirth of yourself.
It's no wonder that women used to give birth in this space built to honor and emulate the womb. A place to return to for rebirth and solace. A place that had me saying, "holy shit, women can do the impossible while doing the impossible."
Beyond the Temazcal, we travel to Oaxaca, where I had the opportunity to learn from various Parteras (midwives).
One of the Parteras was named Dona Queta, an 87-year-old midwife and herbalist. She has been catching babies since she was 17.
What's even more miraculous? She has never lost a mom or baby in childbirth.
That's right. This Traditional Midwife (with no medical background) has used only plants and movement as her official birth/labor treatment and has helped birth transverse, OP, and breech babies vaginally... skills that are becoming a lost art.
She taught us how to make a salve from plants for pain and inflammation that can be used for healing postpartum tears. How to make cough syrup from plants, and my personal favorite, a tea used to support postpartum nourishment and healing that can be consumed or added to the bath.
But my favorite part of meeting with her was getting to ask the question:
What wisdom would you give to a birthworker?
Here answer: no fear. "You cannot invite fear into the birth space. That's when you invite trouble."
With Partera Yu, we learned how to use a large scarf called a Rebozo to reposition a baby in the uterus, create comfort in labor using various shifting techniques, and finally, use it for the Closing of the Bones Ceremony.
The Closing of the Bones is a ceremony performed after childbirth that is used to physically and energetically close the body (specifically the pelvis and hips). It is a beautiful process that involves massage and wrapping the body tightly to help it release and align itself.
I both learned how to give the ceremony and was lucky enough to receive it myself. Not only did it feel amazing, but I was awestruck by the ritual's intent.
In the US, you're discharged and seen once at a 6-week follow-up focused on birth control prescriptions.
Here, your body is given a massage and love, gentle touch, and holding - what a beautiful way to honor yourself and all you have both physically and emotionally given on your journey to motherhood. And the best part - it's never too late to receive this.
Partera Yu recommends we offer this to moms about 2 weeks postpartum, but shared she has offered it to women who gave birth 40 years ago. Why?
Because postpartum is forever.
You are not who you were before birth, and you are forever intertwined with the life you created. It's never too late to help your body come back to itself once more.
Which leaves me pondering... Is this something you're interested in? Let me know.
There is soooooo much more that was learned and to be shared, but alas, I have already created a novel in what was meant to be a quick email.
So if you have made it all the way here to the end. Thank you, and I cannot wait to continue to share this wisdom and carry the skills learned in and out of our appointments and labor rooms.
With alllllll my love,
Kyndrick
P.S. If you're looking for postpartum recipes that can be made ahead and packed with nutrients that help with healing. I got you
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