Birth Story Processing – words & resources for new mamas

I recently took up needle felting and made a crown for my sweet one’s first birthday this month. As I sat down to create the crown, images of mushrooms and foxes danced in my mind. Then after making the crescent moon, which he was born under, I realized I wanted to tell the story of his birth – in felt.

Of course this was the simplified and beautiful version of his birth, but that is what wool felt lends itself too. He was born in the winter below the snowy rocky mountains, starting in the night of a new moon, laboring to be born in the wee hours of the faintest of crescent moons, becoming a family of three, connected, and the light and joy his spirit brings into the world being signified by the rainbow, beams of light, and new growth of spring.

I did this for both of us.

For him, to honor his birthday and perhaps give him something he can use for imaginative play later on. I also did this for me, to support the ongoing work of processing my birth experience.

This is a joyful expression of how I have processed the experience of birth. Joyful, yes, but it was also therapeutic. I believe talking about, feeling into, expressing in art form – the experience of birth always involves a therapeutic element.

Birth is unpredictable. Messy. Beautiful. Powerful. Intense. Incalculable. Transformative. Mesmerizing. Trying. And unpredictable again.

I find there are hardly any words that can touch this experience, but I think it’s important to try. I think it’s important to share our experiences as mothers, and as parents, to both normalize and support others on their journeys.

Birthing a baby requires bodily processing.

Processing that is allowed in its own time and space. The mother, who is stretched emotionally and physically beyond imagined capacity, must also find space and time to process her birth. Both alone and together with her dear baby.

Support is crucial to this process. Support of a therapist (somatic based if possible), support of a community of like-minded mothers, support of your partner if you have one.

Trust too. Everything always comes back to trust. Trusting in your body and mind that you can process and heal from anything that happened in your birth. Trust in your baby to do the same.

On a walk shortly after my first 40 days I was lucky to stumble upon a podcast about birth processing that I will forever be grateful for. For all you new mamas out there, here are some resources (save this post somewhere for later when you might need it):

• The Aware Parenting Podcast: #2 The Power of Birth, and #13 Emotional Support
• The work of Eliza Parker of Conscious Baby- she has many resources on her blog and interviews about this topic
• Modern Mamas Podcast – #80 – baby’s birth experience

Will the processing of birth ever feel complete? I’m not sure, however the ways I process it will evolve and change. I am committed to staying present to feelings that may arise around this deeply transformative experience that also has elements of trauma.

This is also why it requires our precious attention. When we care for ourselves, we are also caring for our baby. For those wanting support, I’ve included a ton of resources for new moms in my eBook “Preparing for Postpartum & Baby for Natural Mamas.”

A gentle reminder: always coming back to trust.

Trust your body. Trust your baby.

The body is remarkable. The body knows what to do. The body has an incredible ability to process our life experiences if we can mindfully give our attention to the process. Perhaps take a moment to put your hand on your heart, touch into this feeling, and notice what arises without judgement. As always, please share any other resources in the comments for other mamas out there.