Wisdom one of the most important traits to employ when choosing your place of birth!

And here’s the catch: you don’t have to “know what you’re doing” to employ your wisdom. Wisdom comes to us in various ways: through research, experience, intuition, and connections. When I say that you must employ your wisdom when making choices, I mean that you must enter into the decision-making actively, with your eyes and ears wide open.

Rarely is this discernment more important than when you are selecting the sacred space in which your child will enter the world.

The first thing to do is to clear your mind. No, I mean really clear your mind–Take a moment. Now imagine the future birth of your baby. Imagine the feelings, the atmosphere, the room (or area) around you. What does this look like?

Chances are, you just imagined a space that makes you feel safe and secure. This safe space looks like different things to different people. For some it is their own bedroom filled with lit candles, for others it is a hospital room with low lighting and their partner holding their hand, still others might imagine being outdoors and feeling the sun on their face.

Whatever you imagined, you can work towards making it happen! Your birth place might not be the vision of your dreams, but it can at least fulfill the same sense of peace and safety that you imagine.

I hope that the title of this post doesn’t mean that you expect me to answer the ultimate question: Where should you give birth? At a hospital, a birth center, at home or elsewhere?

I can answer this question about my feelings for my own birth (more about where I plan to give birth in a future post), but I can’t tell you that there is one right, best answer for everyone.

Please know that your place of birth and the atmosphere of your birth are variables that you (almost) totally control! I shouldn’t have any say in the matter. You alone have the power to choose your best fit. For example, you don’t need to assume that if you are considered “high risk” by one medical care provider that you can’t birth where you choose. Speak to folks. Do your research. Use your intuition about what fit works for you. Find out as much as you can about each topic that matters to you. Demand the birth you desire!

Of course I’m not advocating making birth choices that are contrary to medical advice, but only through your own corroboration of medical advice you receive from one source can you truly get at the heart of the matter. Embrace your power to decide, embrace your own sense of agency. Revel in your decision-making prowess, and then get to work. Because deciding where to birth will be work indeed, but entirely worth it!

Use your wisdom as your ally. Your wisdom has already gotten you this far in life, let it carry you into motherhood.

Life and love,

Emma