No Animals will be Harmed in the Making of this Ritual

Yesterday, I saw my midwife. The girls and I drove to her home in a neighboring city about an hour away for my prenatal visit. We had a pleasant visit, about 45-60 minutes long. The girls listened to the baby's heartbeat and made various comments about the jigglyness of my belly which I won't quote. We all took turns getting weighed. Then we just chatted about the upcoming birth. When asked by the midwife if they would attend the birth, my pragmatic and nonplussed bunch said only if it would get them out of school for the day! We also talked about the upcoming ritual. The midwife and her assistant will attend the birthing ritual next week. I'm flattered that they wish to be a part of it. All to quickly, it seemed, the visit ended and we piled back into the car and headed to our next appointment. It just goes to show you how everything is relative.

Warning: Soapbox moment coming...

I just came from a meeting this morning in which a physician complained about how managed care changed how she did prenatal care and how she had to squeeze folks in at 15 minutes per visit. Her hospital-based nurse-midwife colleague practically swooned as she told the audience of the generous and attentive 30 minute visits she was able to have with her clients. (actually the midwife gave a great presentation- she really made a great case for midwifery care) It made me soooo grateful that I have the resources and the stubborness to seek out a provider to give me the kind of care that I want for me and my baby. I do want women to know that they have choices. A common theme of the program this morning (which was a panel including a physician, a midwife, two doulas and a birthing mom) was that women don't know just how many choices they have. It's so true. And as I always say, if you don't know your choices, you don't have any. Most women are programmed to believe that they have to take what they can get, or whatever their care-provider offers. This is so not true, women can and should change their careproviders as they need to, in order to access the philosophy of care they want.

Putting soapbox away...

After my midwife visit, my girls and I went with my friend, Liza, to pick up the fabric for our ceremonial robes. Liza had scouted out just the perfect fabric. I also found the notions I needed to embellish the neckline and hemline. I purchased Liza's pre-selected lovely deep plum rayon/cotton blend with a really nice weight and hang to it (at a steal for $4 a yard). I also got black and gold piping for the necklines and black beads for the hemline. My girls and I took the fabric to my friend LaDonna, who helped us cut out our caftans. (She was a wonder to behold- she had her tape measure in one hand and a calculator in another, never making a cut until she had computed the precise amount of fabric needed for each garment based on our individual measurements- not a single scrap of fabric was wasted. She handed me the meager scraps to make headbands for the girls and the 3/4 yard that had been set aside for my head wrap. Her eye for precision was really impressive.) When we finished, I dropped the precut and labeled garments off at the home of my friend Julie, who will help us sew them together next week. I felt very rich and so lavishly cared for to have such lovely friends so eager to help with this project (even when they kept asking, "now what kind of ceremony is this?"). I assured them all no chickens or goats will be sacrificed in the process!