birth unites

Earlier, in the post called "Feminism and Women as Birthers," I talk about the tension between feminist and traditionalist views of women as birthers. The funny thing is, I have found that the "natural" birth movement is one place where feminists and traditionalists, liberal and conservative women, unite. The participants of my doula training workshop represented these two groups that are often considered polar opposites. The same goes for the participants of my childbirth education class. Maybe tension does exist, but I think the commonality is much more interesting--and much more overlooked.

In a study of an evangelical women's prayer group, Marie Griffith found that feminist and conservative Christian women actually have a lot in common; one shared belief is that "social and cultural tasks, traits, and affinities traditionally coded as 'female' or 'feminine' ought to be accorded greater respect and value than they have been."

In chapter 4 of Blessed Events, Klassen juxtaposes two of her informants. One spent her third birth at home, surrounded by sculptures of Goddesses and a women friends. She wanted to "honor and explore her developing fascination with feminist spirituality and empower herself in the process. The other gave birth at home with only her husband's help, because "she wanted to follow the commandments of her Christian God." Klassen makes the point that while their religious traditions and beliefs are very different, their religiously informed approach to childbirth is the same. They both see birth as "not simply a bodily process to undergo, but an experience to be chosen."

If you are interested in how this overlap manifests in Orthodox Judaism, specifically in the Chabad Lubavitch movement, check out this list of inspirational articles on pregnancy and birth. Some of the article titles are: "The Most Joyous Pain," "A Spiritual Delivery," "Midwives," "The Torah as a Process of Birth," and "The Power of the Mother." Almost all of the articles are written by women. All of them view birth as a spiritual experience that empowered them and brought them closer to God. Of course, Orthodox Judaism has been criticized for being patriarchal and sexist, and is often pitted against feminism. These articles make such a simplistic distinction much more nuanced.

In a journal article called "Sifting through Tradition: The Creation of Jewish Feminist Identities," Lynn Resnick Dufour identifies three types of Jewish feminists: inclusionists, transformationists, and reinterpretationists. I consider the authors of these Chabad articles reinterpretationists. Reinterpretationists are comfortable with practices that others might view as non-feminist or even sexist. They reinterpret traditional practices as in line with their feminist beliefs. Unlike inclusionists, they often view men and women's roles as distinct but equally important and valuable.

birth plans and videos

Last week I was looking forward to my second Bradley class. When I decided to take the course, I was excited to learn more about childbirth, but I still feared that a weekly two-hour class would just become one more thing on my to-do list. To give you an idea of how busy I am: this semester I’m working two part-time jobs, writing my senior thesis, taking three college courses, applying to a teaching assistantship in Spain, participating in Hillel activities, and serving as a representative for student government. Enough about me—the point is that I couldn’t wait to go to the Bradley class last Thursday night. Like I mentioned before, it feels really special to observe someone’s pregnancy. But on top of that, I think the class is so pleasant because the instructor, in keeping with the Bradley Method philosophy, makes it really relaxing and positive.

The topic of the class was birth plans. The instructor strongly recommends creating a birth plan—a plan that you give to everyone on your birth team. You outline all of your wishes for the birth to ensure that your team knows what you want. We looked at a bunch of different examples, which I’m sure you can also find online. Aside from the content of the plan itself, the main question to consider is: “would somebody actually read all of this?” You may want to use a bright-colored sheet of paper, limit the plan to a single sheet, use bullet points, put some of your medical information at the top so it looks like an official medical form, or separate the points into different categories. Here you can select options from a checklist to create your own birth plan.

In the beginning of the class, we watched a video of a really beautiful natural homebirth. I will find out the title so I can share it with you. [ETA: It was called Birth Day.] The video itself was beautifully done—it featured music, artsy camerawork, and good editing, unlike the ones I’ve seen online. The mother, who happened to be a midwife herself, spoke poetically about birth as a creative process. I can’t remember what exactly she said, but it made me realize that not only do we ascribe religious meanings to birth, but also we constantly use birth metaphors to talk about religion. Just as birth can be a religious experience, religion is often described as a birth experience. I realized that nothing she said was explicitly religious, but I read religion into it. Creating life—that’s a pretty literal definition of birth, but it conjures up associations with creation stories, innocence, conversion, spiritual rebirth, renewal, and oneness with the universe. In Orthodox Judaism, women are considered closer to God because we have the ability to create and sustain life.

Breastfeeding

I just completed the breastfeeding class requirement for DONA certification. Yay! I was planning to attend an in-person class, which are often offered in conjunction with the birth doula class, but I just discovered that there is a free online option, called the "breastfeeding basics class." You simply register at breastfeedingbasics.org and read through the seven different sections on childbirth. There is a pre- and post-evaluation, in the form of a short multiple-choice quiz, for each section. You print and save your evaluation score upon completion of each section as documentation for the certification. Taking an online class might seem easier, but actually the in-person course is three hours long, and it took me longer than three hours to finish this one.

I really enjoyed taking it; I learned so much about breastfeeding. The course dispels many widespread misconceptions about breastfeeding. For example, many women feel incapable of breastfeeding. They are afraid that they won't be able to produce enough milk, or they think that because their sister had trouble breastfeeding, they will too. In reality, any amount of breast milk is better than none for the infant--and breastfeeding problems are not hereditary. Usually the mother just needs more guidance if she is having trouble; she may be feeding in a bad position, not feeding often enough, or not soothing her breasts properly.

The course also tackled the controversial issue of breastfeeding in public. Even though the practice is legally protected in 47 states, breasts are so sexualized that people feel uncomfortable around women who are breastfeeding, and the women sometimes feel embarrassed. The course recommended assuring the woman that breastfeeding is legal and important for the baby. You can also suggest the woman find a discrete area and use a blanket to cover her breast if the she feels more comfortable that way.

Orthodox Jewish women, among other women, adhere to strict standards of modesty (tzniut), so I began to wonder what the halakhic (Jewish legal) view was on breastfeeding in public. I did a quick Google search out of curiosity. I am no expert on halacha (Jewish law), but it appears that breastfeeding in public is fine as long as the mother covers herself with a blanket. Now, even though it seems to be halakhically permissible (at least according to some people?), it still makes a lot of people uncomfortable, and women are sometimes afraid to do it. The really heated debate, though, concerns whether a woman should be allowed to breastfeed in the synagogue. Some feel that the woman's access to religion is at stake, but some people feel strongly that it disrupts everyone else trying to pray, that it is immodest to do in a sanctuary, or that it shouldn't be allowed because eating is not allowed in a sanctuary. A "mother in Israel" addresses the issue of tznius and breastfeeding on her blog. "Orthomom" discusses a Conservative ruling that women may breastfeed in the sanctuary.