After I gave birth to my three older children, I wrote a detailed summary of their birth story. This helped me process the experience and also record the day’s events so I could share the story with each child in the future.
However with my last child, born a few weeks ago, my husband actually took video footage which I edited into a short montage that is embedded towards the end of this post. The video has most of the details from the day, so I don’t feel compelled to write up the story in words.
Instead, I decided to pen a short poem about the experience to help me record the less tangible parts of my labour. Over the years I have found writing poems to be quite therapeutic and a creative process which I always appreciate undergoing. If you haven’t tried it, I recommend giving it a shot. The idea is not for the poem to be print-worthy however to help express deep emotions sometimes difficult to share in complete sentences. It feels a bit vulnerable sharing my poetry however I hope it might speak to other new mothers who are still processing the emotions from the huge life changing experience of giving birth. Maybe some will be relatable and maybe some will not… that is the beauty of sharing experiences.
Rebirthing Myself as a Mother
© Chelsea Lee Smith 2023
How can I express my joy
My worry, my excitement, my awe
Of growing a baby within me
Body bursting, sore and raw
How can I understand
Months upon months of connection
Ready to undergo radical change
To make way for a new form of affection
How can I put into words
The mystery that is giving birth
The opening of oneself for another
To follow in the footsteps of Mother Earth
How can I measure the pain
The waiting, the aching, the surges
The intensity increasingly growing
Until it peaks in pushing urges
How can I share my feelings
About the miracle of that first breath
Unable to comprehend the rush of love
Swelling in my heart from its depths
How can I appreciate this truth
That my life is now tied to another
That I am beginning a new, unique journey
Rebirthing myself as a mother
Giving birth was a magical and unique experience, as I have found with all four of my children… challenging but oh so worth it. I am incredibly grateful to our team of midwives for accompanying us through the pregnancy and that final homestretch to having our daughter in our arms. I am also eternally thankful to my amazing husband who supported me in all the ways I requested throughout my birthing experience.
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