Poem - Woman to Child

Young Mother by Charles Fred

Woman to Child

You who were darkness warmed my flesh
where out of darkness rose the seed.
Then all a world I made in me;
all the world you hear and see
hung upon my dreaming blood.

There moved the multitudinous stars,
and colored birds and fishes moved.
There swarm the sliding continents.
All time lay rolled in me, and sense,
and love that knew not its beloved.

O node and focus of the world;
I hold you deep within that well
you shall escape and not escape -
that mirrors your still sleeping shape;
that nurtures still your crescent cell.

I wither and you break from me;
yet though you dance in living light
I am the earth, I am the root,
I am the stem that fed the fruit,
the link that joins you to the night.

- Judith Wright (1915-2000)

I love how this poem illustrates the beginning of the lifelong mother - child bond. It does start with the mystery of conception and pregnancy doesn't it?


Here are a couple of audio links for your listening pleasure:

• A new book on the history of childbirth has just come out entitled,"Get Me Out: A History of Childbirth from the Garden of Eden to the Sperm Bank" by Randi Hunter Epstein MD. You can listen to an interview with the author here. Many of the callers have had home births. The author presents compelling historical evidence for change in maternity care brought about through women themselves. Something to ponder!

• And to illustrate the above author's point, we have an interview from a Portland, Oregon radio station KBOO with two birth advocates from South Dakota. South Dakota is in the midst of a grassroots movement to legalize midwifery care and home birth in their state. They discuss midwifery and the politics of birth. The issue is framed and presented as a reproductive choice, similar to the abortion debate. It's fascinating!