Teen midwives to the rescue!

As someone who has not experienced childbirth personally, I sometimes wonder if it's legitimate to become a midwife. Especially in the early days, when I first began attending births as a doula, I felt very aware of my lack of childbearing. I didn't think anyone would want me to be present with them during labor and wasn't sure I had much to offer. And, I felt waaaay too young to provide assistance to women in their late twenties and thirties...after all, I was only 21 when I attended my first birth as a doula. Luckily, the woman I worked with was uncertain if her husband would be present at the birth and ended up being completely grateful for any and all support. Age, it turns out, is not all that important. Check out this story about the work Afghan teen midwives are doing to curb alarming maternal & infant mortality rates.

After witnessing five, ten...fifteen...thirty...seventy (and on upwards!) births, I now believe I bring a rich base of experience (and an increasing amount of knowledge) to the table as a birth attendant. It's remains true that I have yet to go through the physiological birthing process myself. Therefore, I can't empathize with a pregnant woman about the sensations of labor. I don't know what the urge to push feels like. Nor have I nursed a sweet babe at my breast. However, I can attest to giving birth psychologically to ideas and creations. I understand the birthing process is one that requires trust, surrender, and a belief in the spiraling nature of manifestation. A birth, on whatever level, happens on its own time and, though some details can be controlled or planned, each idea/baby/project arrives to the beat of a wonderfully unique drum.