more birth & the convention

So I watched a big chunk of the convention last night - missed Ted Kennedy & am kicking myself, but I'll watch it on Youtube.

My take away from Michelle Obama's speech was this,

And one day, they — and your sons and daughters — will tell their own children about what we did together in this election. They'll tell them how this time, we listened to our hopes, instead of our fears. How this time, we decided to stop doubting and to start dreaming.

Of course that's what I want for this country, but it's also what I want for birthing women. That we might set our sights a little higher than just making it out alive. Of course that's the point, but it doesn't mean we have to plan our births, or our lives, only to avoid disaster. Birth, like life, can be full and beautiful and powerful if we make room for that possibility. Of course there are some births that will need to be about survival. But most births do not come down to that and do not need to come down to that, especially if we choose our birth team well. That means finding care providers who trust that birth works most of the time, if we let it.

Let's listen to our hopes, instead of our fears. Stop doubting and start dreaming. And then do whatever we can to make those dreams happen.