Mother knows best - Haaretz - Israel News ›
The gift of childbirth
Lev’s decision to give birth at home, unassisted, began to take shape after her son Elhi, 5, was born in hospital. “The lack of intimacy bothered me very much,” says Lev, a graphic artist who in recent years has been engaged in spiritual astrology (which draws upon kabbalah for spiritual growth, not fortune-telling). “A midwife I don’t know shows up. I am with my legs apart, writhing with pain. She told me, ‘Stand up, sit down,’ and I transferred the responsibility to her. I didn’t feel right being in this exposed state in front of strangers just at the very meaningful moment when I was about to become a mother. I decided that the next birth would be a healing event. I was in control of everything and was not dependent on anyone. I decided that I had to create a positive, relaxed state of mind; to believe that I have the ability to listen to my body and that it knows how to give birth. And that’s how it was.”
Read the rest of Lev’s story, and more, at Haaretz.com
