Birth HERstory Blog
Celebrating the HERstory of Black women in BIRTH in the 21st Century
|
|
"Having a baby is the only 'well ' thing that happens at a hospital, so why should I have my baby at this place where sickness is going on? " ~Tanita Fadyeyola
Listen to the Podcast:
2/24/2019
Birthing in South AfricaZinzile Seepie, the Zulu Doula, shares her insights and experiences with birth in in South Africa"I don't know if I would say having an unassisted birth was a decision. The more I learned about birth and the more I reflected on my first birth the more I realized that, even though it was this amazing experience, I was not free. It was a gorgeous birth, but the more I learned about birth and the more I grew in the birth world, the more I remembered my own experience as a child in rural KZN (KwaZulu-Natal), the brighter the discrepancies were in what I understood in terms of how free I was in that birth."
Prior to my unassisted birth, I had the opportunity to meet a number of women who'd had an unassisted birth. One in particular is a good friend of mine. She's had five or six unassisted home births. I'd watched a few of the home videos that her husband had made of her birthing their children. At first I thought she was crazy, but i also knew she was an incredibly spiritual person. And i recognized even then that that was not something she had done of her own human capacity or reasoning that she had. You have to be inspired and I definitely recognized that she was inspired by something than herself to make that decision.
Zinzile's First Birth The birth of my first son was a beautiful water birth in a very well-to-do birth center. It was majestic. There was a huge king size bed, a huge birthing bath, and candle light. It was dim. It was everything that you would want. It was the perfect environment - almost romantic. And I was so fortunate to have an amazing midwife. She was young and African. I remember getting to the hospital at night. There are flowers on the bed there was candlelight. It was dim. It was dark. It was beautiful.
Do you have a birth tradition or story you would like to share from an elder? |
Dr. DoulaMy work is informed by my background – experiences, expertise, exposure, education & environment – as a woman, mother, wife, sister, educator, researcher, scholar, advocate, birth ally and legacy builder. #IAmTheAnswer #WeSaveOurselves Archives
December 2022
CategoriesAll African Women BirthHERstory Black Midwives Black Women Breastfeeding DrDoula Home Birth Postpartum Pregnancy |