For the past nine months, I have been physically cooperating with God in bringing a new life into this world. Pretty soon, I will get to see, hold and take care of this new little one. In like manner, for the past fourteen months or so, I have been cooperating with God in bringing new life to my own spirit.
Not only is this is my third pregnancy, I haven’t given birth for over eleven years. I chose to do things a little bit differently this time around. Well, actually quite a lot differently. I chose to have care through a midwife, and if everything goes “right,” I will have this baby at home instead of through inducement in a hospital. I’ve learned a lot about my body, the baby and the process of cooperating with God in bringing this precious little one into the world.
One of the most significant changes with this pregnancy is having my midwife talk with me about nutrition, most importantly, the amount of protein I need to help the process of creating all these new cells. When she first told me I needed to have “a lot” of protein, I felt pretty proud of myself that I was getting 35 grams a day. But, when I found out that I needed 80-100 grams a day, my mouth literally fell open. I don’t even eat that much food in one day! But, I began following her advice, and I noticed a huge difference between this pregnancy and my other two. Protein helps with nausea, is the key to steady energy, keeps swelling down, helps me sleep better and keeps nasty conditions like toxemia at bay. People keep telling me I look great, which is a great compliment when you’re forty-one! More importantly though, I feel great too.
Knowledge is often the key to success, whether in pregnancy or in handling life. Thankfully, I’ve had the knowledge of the power of forgiveness for a long time, but what I didn’t realize is that there are other things that work together with that forgiveness to bring about healing. In my blog entitled “The buck stops here,” I talked about the role that taking responsibility played in my life. When I took the effort to put certain principles into action, it was like my “Aha” moment with the protein intake. I realized that yes, I had something to be proud about, because the first step I took in reacting to hurt was forgiveness, but I needed more “protein” in my spiritual diet to become a healthy, functioning, life-giving woman of God.
Another area in which I had no previous knowledge was in regards to the position of the baby and how that can greatly effect labor and delivery. Though it is pretty common knowledge that you don’t want to head into the last few weeks of pregnancy with a breech baby, I had no idea that because my baby was lying with its back on my right side, instead of my left, that it could prolong labor as the baby moved over or that it might cause “back labor.” I also did not know that going to a chiropractor, to have my neck, spine and pelvic bones aligned and my uterine ligaments stretched out would actually encourage my baby to get itself into optimal position for birth, which in my case, because I’m having a home birth without any drugs, seems like a pretty good idea!
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Life is pretty busy, and we need to make every effort, every day to get ourselves into optimal positions to be able to handle what the thorns and thistles of life throw our way. Andy Andrews calls these things the seven decisions of effective people. I have shown up at my appointments with Andy, done my homework through journaling; and therefore, these principles have made a huge difference in my life. Briefly, these are how successful people get themselves into optimal positions: they take responsibility; they seek wisdom; they make a choice to act on their decisions; they have a purposeful, decisive vision; they choose to be joyful; they choose to forgive, and they choose to persist in their goals.
I have one more observation about cooperating with God in bringing this new life to the world (1). I learned that an unmedicated baby, while the mother is pushing, will turn its face toward the mother’s spine as it moves down the spine and through the pelvis. As its head emerges, the baby will turn its head to its original position so it is once again in line with the shoulders. Amazing! The harmony of the baby with its built in reflexes, the uterine muscles flexing and the mother pushing effectively all work together to safely bring new life into the world (2).
God created us to live in sweet fellowship with Him, to live healthy, productive lives and to tend the garden that He has given to us. Sin and hurt, though, are often like medication to a mother and her baby in the womb. We can forget our purpose and not be able to cooperate when life literally squeezes us.
I have no doubt that giving birth at home will be a physically painful experience, but I also know that joy and pain sometimes do a sacred dance together. It is sometimes through our deepest pain that God can bring about the greatest joys and areas of ministry to others. Would I trade the pain if I could? Yes, of course. But God has an amazing way, living in this broken world, of teaching us to cooperate with Him in bringing new life to the world.
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