I am ever so pleased to be able to share this poem, written by Nadia Raafat (one of the contributors to Musings on Mothering), on this blog. Thank you again Nadia for giving me permission to publish your thought-provoking poem here.
If, for Childbirth
If you can keep your faith when all about you
Are losing theirs – instilling fear in you
If you can trust your body’s path to birth when loved ones doubt you
And know that this is what your body’s meant to do.
If you can plan a due month not a due date
Remembering babies come at their soul-appointed time
So that at your 41 week appointment
You do not feel ‘overdue’, or ‘past your prime’.
If you can wait and not grow tired of waiting
For a posterior cervix reluctant to dilate
And despite two sleepless nights of cramps, frustrating,
Ignore a negative or fearful mental state.
And if you finally transfer in, and are inspected
And find you still have many hours left to go
Can you find the trust and strength to still be patient
And to epidurals and syntocinon, still say ‘no’.
If you can close your eyes and turning inward,
Surrender to that mighty force inside
As it throws you to the edge of your existence
And let perception, bone and sinew open wide.
If you can follow your instinct into positions
Which enable good descent and pelvic space
You’ll have no need for ventouse or obstetricians
To mar the crowning of your baby’s head and face.
If you then fill the birthing room with grace and presence
As your newborn crosses worlds with searching gaze
And with warm and tender whisper guide her gently
To your naked warm embrace, your heart ablaze.
And if, from here, you fill each post-natal minute
With sixty seconds worth of loving run.
Then you have honoured Birth and the Spirit in it.
And your journey as a mother has begun.
NADIA RAAFAT
Nadia wrote this poem when she was pregnant with her third child – who is now three and a half years old.
Nadia is a Mother, Yoga Teacher, Birth Educator, Doula
www.batterseayoga.com
‘Letting Go’ and moving into spring
Winter seems to have no intention of loosening its grip on the UK.
Although spring must surely be here soon, having successfully convinced winter that the time is right for warmer weather, daffodils and birdsong…
I really enjoyed spending the Easter weekend with family and knuckling down to some serious chocolate eating. We’ve been busy at play during the days, but I’ve been quietly getting on with work in the evenings; fine-tuning the design of some greetings cards, selling books via various sales channels (it was a pleasure for me to send out some books to La Leche League New Zealand recently), and making plans for the next book to be released from Mother’s Milk Books.
I am very, very excited to be able to announce that I will be publishing a book entitled ‘Letting Go’ by the immensely talented Angela Topping which contains poems about childhood, daughterhood and parenthood (more about Angela here on Wikipedia). One of my most favourite things about editorial work is the ‘first reading’, and when I first read her manuscript I shed a tear (or two), as well as laughing, smiling in recognition and sighing with bittersweet joy.
I am so looking forward to the coming months for Mother’s Milk Books; it’s going to be great to get another book ‘out there’ and some new products too. I’d love to get more talented writers and artists on board, yet it’s still very much down to the finances (or lack thereof!) as to how much can be done. So any support you can give Mother’s Milk Books is very much appreciated; whether it’s buying a copy of ‘Musings on Mothering’, leaving a review on Amazon, or the Mother’s Milk Bookshop, following the blog or my twitter account, or liking our Facebook page. I’ve got a pretty good memory, and remember the kindnesses bestowed upon my little fledgling press! I just hope that it will continue to grow, and one day really take off and fly…
So that’s the latest news. Wishing you all sun-filled days and much spring happiness!
Mummy, I love you because…
At a recent La Leche League meeting I went to, romance was in the air… well, it was more that mother love was in the air…
Some meetings focus on breastfeeding challenges and difficulties, and how to overcome them, but this February’s meeting the focus was on us, as mothers. We got little chocolate hearts with a label that said “I love you mummy because…” and we had to fill in what we thought our baby or toddler would say. It was lovely to just reflect on what we, as mothers, mean to our children and to take a pause from the daily hubbub of life.
“I love you mummy because…”
hmm… perhaps a good start to a poem?