The word Christmas comes from Cristes maesse, or “Christ’s Mass.” It is the time when Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus.

As it does not say in the Bible, no-one knows when Jesus was born, neither which day nor even year. One reason for this is that at the time Jesus was born people used the Roman calendar which was different to ours. It is now believed that Jesus was born between 7BC and 4BC.

Around 350 years after Jesus birth, Pope Julius 1 chose 25 December as the date of the Nativity. This date seemed to be a good choice because many people had from early times celebrated other winter festivals around this time. There was the Roman Saurnalia where Saturn, the god of Harvest, was honoured by merrymaking. In Northern Europe, Yule, giant logs were trimmed with ribbons and green plants and burned in honour of the gods who it was hoped would make the sun shine more brightly.

Both of these festivals were around the time of the winter solstice which is the day in Northern parts of the world that is the shortest of the year. With our modern instruments we now know this to happen on 21 December.

Christmas Day is a public holiday in Christian countries. Festivities include the exchanging of presents. To children this is probably the most exciting day of the year when if they have been good they can open the gifts left by Santa Claus.

For more stories and Christmas activities follow this link:
http://www.topmarks.co.uk/Christmas/ChristmasDay.aspx

The traditions surrounding birth include many different forms of ritual and ceremony. We can celebrate love, conception, welcoming the incoming soul, the woman’s pregnant state, and birth as a woman’s rite of passage.

After the birth we can celebrate the new arrival, hold a name giving
ceremony, baptise the baby, have a special burial ceremony for the placenta and also celebrate the woman as she takes on her new role as a mother. All of these occasions and more are worthy of such ritual and ceremony.

Candles, essential oils, smudge sticks, mandalas, chants, drums, music, special beads, cloth, crystals or gifts, are often used as ceremonial objects to help create the right energy for such an occasion.

A ceremony which is particularly enjoyable and becoming quite popular is the ‘blessing way’. This is held in the weeks leading up to the due date of birth. It is held to welcome the child and bless and honour the family that is bringing the child to earth. The family and circle of friends come together to welcome the baby in and show support for the parents by creating an environment of readiness, love and acceptance.

This is an excerpt taken from the ebook ‘Childbirth Preparation’, written by Faye Read, available at:
www.childbirthpreparationebook.com

While the parents have the primary responsibility for raising a child, they cannot do it alone. The village is a metaphor for the people and environment surrounding the child.

Much as parents might want to exclusively nurture and protect their child, they cannot live in isolation, and must prevail upon the community at large to have the moral fiber and nurturing spirit to be the child’s village.

In the primitive African villages where the proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child,” originated, the phrase could be taken literally. Each village was a separate entity and the children of the village were free to roam in safety and security. The village had an established code of morals and values which were passed down from generation to generation. Those who did not adhere to the code were cast out. Life was simple; outside influences, varying philosophies and oppositional agendas were not an issue. Children were nurtured, educated and protected in the womb of the entire village.

Today’s world is far more complicated. A couple has a child, provides food, shelter, clothing and plants the seeds of moral values. The greater the desire of the parents to provide opportunities and advantages for the child, the more the child is exposed to surroundings and environments outside of the family unit.

Teachers, sport coaches, religious leaders, neighbors and the community at large, all have input into the child’s life experience. They become the child’s village. These are the individuals who have hands on responsibility for the welfare of the child.

There is the larger village of social responsibility. Public servants, political figures and leading citizens in all walks of life influence the raising of the child by their platforms, their commitment to issues and their votes.

For a child to thrive, the family must thrive. Therefore, the leaders in the community, the state and the country must act as an extension of the village; in the best interest of families, thus impacting each individual child.

Children are the future. As stated in The Prophet, they are life’s longing for itself.

Individuals who parent a child are doing more than creating a family, they are making a commitment to the future. They are entering into an implied contract with the universe to contribute to a better world through the conscientious raising of their child.

Everyone who comes in contact with that child becomes a partner in that implied contract. They become a link in the chain of the child’s village. They have as much moral and ethical responsibility for the well-being of that child of the future as the parents. Metaphorically speaking, while we may not be “Our brother’s keeper,” we are our brother’s child’s keeper.

Each child has a unique village. It is a tight-knit community made up of all the individuals encountered in that child’s life journey. A child comes into the world a clean slate. Each person who writes on that slate takes up residence in that child’s village. There are permanent residents, temporary visitors and transients.

It is the duty of the parents to monitor, to the best of their ability, who comes in contact with their child; who makes up the child’s village. It is the duty of the rest of us to be a positive presence in the life of any child we encounter.

It does indeed take a village to raise a child.

To find out more about Carol Gioia, the author of this article, visit:

http://www.helium.com/users/161704

Or to read more articles on this topic, visit:

http://www.helium.com/items/1461914-assessing-it-takes-a-village-to-raise-a-child

Maha Al Musa is a mother of three gorgeous children – two sons and a daughter, writer, human rights activist, dancer, doula and lover of all things connected to the divine ‘feminine’. She is of Palestinian / Moslem and Lebanese / Christian background and was born in Kuwait and migrated to Australia in the early 60′s.

In 1996, whilst pregnant with her first son Kailash, she reconnected to her cultural roots through the “bellydance”.

When her son was six months old Maha began facilitating Bellydancebirth® classes in Byron Bay, Australia after being introduced to the dance by a local midwife, Annie. The classes were extremely popular with pregnant women and Maha developed a keen rapport with many of her students and midwives. She began working as a doula (birth assistant) with local home birth midwives and encouraged women to embrace their pregnancy journey with strength, empowerment and courage. She realized many modern women were estranged from not only their physical but also their emotional and spiritual body in this most powerful feminine cycle.

Through her classes, Maha presents Bellydancebirth® as a means for women to explore these most primal movements, drawing on her cultural heritage for its wisdom, healing and ancient knowledge. She weaves together the ‘old world’ with the ‘new world’ through the belly dance creating a joyful and uplifting experience for all mothers to be.

After the birth of her second son Tariq, at home in the water, she realised her dream in writing her book “Dance of the Womb”. Then to give birth a third time round at the ripe young age of 46 to her beautiful daughter Aminah (how lucky I was to have a girl!!) gave Maha an opportunity to make her long awaited DVD – to share with all women the positive power of her native dance in pregnancy and birth – all an incredible gift.

It further solidified her understanding of Bellydancebirth® in an even more powerful and holsitic way – she was able to refine many of her ideas around dancing in pregnancy and gained even more experience of it’s use in labour. Maha really felt that her third labour was enhanced by the belly dance in a way that was different from her first two births.

“I really felt that the belly dance gave me a very strong focus for my breath in my labour with Aminah……rather than just ease and dissipate the intense sensation of each contraction, the circling and spiraling movements helped to ground me deeply into my pelvis as I breathed through each wave……..I was able to let go, surrender and remain free of fear and thought … I really used the belly dance movements as a beautiful meditative guide through first stage…..it was really incredible to experience these new ways of utilizing the dance in my labour. I am so grateful as a facilitator of Bellydancebirth® to have been given this wonderful opportunity to test out my work again!!”

Maha’s book and DVD are two fold in their message, both as a valuable manual for women and an expression of the essence of Middle Eastern women’s instinctual creative “feminine” expressed in an authentic and profoundly positive manner. Maha has always felt that most images, both visual and written about Arab women are usually one dimensional stereotypes that she, nor many of her sisters do not resonate with.

She hopes her book and DVD will shine a light on the positive aspects of Arab women’s culture and take belly dance the dance of birth to a deeper realm for all women worldwide to have access to….

Maha’s DVD and book will soon be available to order through the Soulbirth website.  If interested in pre-ordering, please email me at: faye@soulbirth.com as I am in the process of ordering some in. I had a beautiful conversation with Maha this week and we are planning to bring her over to Perth in Aug/Sept 2010 to run a training program for us here in the West. I can’t wait, as I have always been a huge advocate of bellydancing throughout pregnancy and birth.

To visit Maha’s website, follow this link:
http://www.bellydanceforbirth.com/

KEEP IT SIMPLE. Avoid making life more complicated than it needs to be.

PREGNANCY IS A TIME OF GROWTH – not just the tummy. Work through the emotional stuff that comes to the surface.

INTELLECTUALISING WON’T HELP.  It hinders birth. Get real and be honest!

PLENTY OF REST. Plenty of exercise and good food.

DON’T GIVE AWAY YOUR POWER. Honour the goddess!

TRY TO HAVE AS MUCH TIME AS POSSIBLE on your own with the baby for at least three or four weeks after the birth.

HAVE HEAPS OF CUDDLES with your man or a close friend.

USE YOUR INTUITION. You know what to do.

BE IN THE MOMENT. “Catch-life-as-it-flows.”

MAKE TIME FOR SOME ZAZEN each day. It is revitalising.

DON’T TRY TO BE SUPERWOMAN. And for God’s sake, keep your sense of humour. Otherwise, you are done for.

REMEMBER, we are all sisters on this amazing journey through life.

An extract from Helen Laing’s wonderful book “Birthing in Paradise – An alternative approach to child birth”

The birth environment needs to be such that it allows the most natural birth to take place. It should allow you to relax, feel comfortable and safe so that you can release endorphins naturally in this environment, allowing for a good flow of energy and a natural, positive, empowering birth experience.

So how do we re-create an environment similar to one you had when you first got the baby in there? Try to think about how you would like a room to be or to feel during conception. Do you like a room to be nice and quiet, dark and intimate, with candles burning, nice music playing, comfortable cushions or bed linen, or anything else you would like to have in the room to help you feel comfortable and relaxed? This is what you need to have in your room during birth in order to help you become relaxed. We want to prevent the fear/tension/pain syndrome and the “adrenaline” reaction. We want to increase endorphin release, so it is really important to have a relaxing birth environment in order to do this.

You are able to move furniture around and create the environment you want. If you are birthing in a hospital, you may not be aware of this. You can actually move the room around to suit yourself and bring in things from home to make you feel comfortable. You are perfectly within your rights to create whatever you like that is going to make you comfortable. This may change however, if you have a high risk pregnancy where you need to be monitored more closely, and will probably need all the equipment around. Otherwise, you should be able to push the bed to the side and place the mattress on the floor if you so desire. This is a good way of preventing you from feeling that you have to lie on the bed. Just push the bed to the side and put your bags on top of it. Then it is really difficult for anyone to come in and ask you to get on the bed for an internal examination or for any other reason. These can be done (if needed) with you in any position.

Most labour rooms these days have dimmer switches so you can dim the lights. You cannot actually use candles in the labour ward because of the oxygen on the wall, but you can usually ask for a vaporizer, which is kept in a storeroom. So you can bring in your own oil blends from home if you like and use the hospital vaporizer, or if they don’t have that you can always put essential oils on a handkerchief so that you have got some nice aromas from home as well. You can also bring in photos and flowers, your own pillow, your own doona if you want. You can also bring in your own CD’s from home. Most labour wards have a CD player now, so all you need to do is bring your own music from home so that you can put it on and listen to that during labour or bring your own MP3 player, whatever suits you. You can play the music of your choice because music makes a huge difference to how well relaxed you will feel.

Just remember that, however the environment is, you can change it around and create whatever space you need because BIRTH IS A SACRED EVENT so you really want a nice SACRED SPACE for the baby to be born into. Create whatever suits you!

It helps to write a list ahead of time too, of all the things to take to the birth so that when you go into labour, it is just a matter of gathering them together and taking them with you. It is your birth, so create the birth experience that you want to have by starting with the environment. Create the environment that you want on this special day.

When I use the term “ecstatic birth,” I am referring to a birth experience that is filled with extreme joy, supreme satisfaction, deep love, and spiritual bliss.   Ecstatic birth is a life-changing, cellular shifting, consciousness-altering event.  Some women describe their ecstatic birth experience as transcendent, i.e., an inter-dimensional journey that activates union with the divine. 

Ecstatic birth is deeply empowering for both mother and child (and dad, if he is present) and provides a memory of absolute victory for the entire family that can be referenced again and again throughout time.  Ecstatic birth activates the neurobiology of love in both mother and child (and dad if he is present) and lays the foundation for the preservation of love in families forever.

Mothers who have experienced ecstatic birth speak of the deep, exquisite feelings of love they experience at birth – for their babies and their partners – a bond of love that persists throughout life and seems to create immunity to the dysfunctional types of relating we see so often in mainstream parent/child interactions.

An ecstatic birth is usually bestowed upon families that have prepared themselves physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.  Technology is typically not part of an ecstatic birth, and very often the parents have worked on resolving their own negative birth imprints before they give birth to their babies.
_______________________________

Jeanice Barcelo, M.A., is a sociologist, independent childbirth educator and birth trauma prevention specialist.  She is the host of a weekly radio show entitled “Love, Sex, Pregnancy, Childbirth & Parenting” which is dedicated to the education and empowerment of teenagers and young adults.  She has written several articles about conscious birth including “How to Have an Ecstatic Birth” and “Understanding the Difference between Sex and Love.”   Jeanice currently lives on Maui in Hawaii and is writing her first book entitled, “From Trauma to Ecstasy:  The Path to Ecstatic Birth.”  She can be reached through her website at www.ecstaticbirthmaui.com or by e-mailing jeanicebarcelo@yahoo.com

Dear All

We have just (and yes I mean in the last 24 hours) been advised that Nicola Roxon will put amendments to the midwifery legislation that will REQUIRE a midwife claiming Medicare to work WITH either an Obstetrician or GP. It is not work FOR (ie in their office) but it will be to demonstrate that you work WITH.

As we all know this spells the end of midwifery practice as we know it, and IT IS THE ABSOLUTE END OF PRIVATE HOMEBIRTH.

I have been feeling that something very bad was around the corner and that is why I knew I had to re-invigorate What Women Want. In my heart I believe the only way we will win this is to unite like never before in a formal political force and meet these pathetic politicians AT THE BALLOT BOX.

We are now furiously contacting politicians for support and the response has not been overwhelmingly positive. The Libs seemed to think this would always be the case.

After an excellent campaign by so many wonderful women, we are in such a desperate position.

I have pasted the details for joining WWW below. We need 500 members by the end of the week (Today!!!) We have half so if you want to be part of a federal election campaign for women’s rights please join us.

In solidarity

Justine Caines
Founder – What Women Want (Australia) Inc
 
WHAT WOMEN WANT (POLITICAL PARTY)

To maintain our registration as a political party, WWW needs 500 members by October 30, yes very soon!

Are you interested in joining?

Membership is $20 per year

Proceed directly to our site

Then “send Money” tab then send money to a friend and type in this address: paypal@whatwomenwant.org.au

Then send a membership form in if you are new. If you are renewing just send an email to wwwmembership@gmail.com

1. First of all relax if you can.  When birth is so rapid, nature is usually at its most efficient and by simply allowing things to evolve, problems are very unlikely.  If driving, pull over and stop the car.
2. If there is time, summon a neighbour or phone for an ambulance.
3. Go to a convenient place that is warm and quiet – the bathroom is ideal.  Wash your hands thoroughly. If you’re in the car, don’t worry, you probably won’t have the time or the facilities!
4. Attend to your partner, making her comfortable and helping her to relax.  If her contractions are very strong and rapid suggest that she use the all fours position, as this will help her to feel in control and slow down the contractions a little.  Give her a cushion or beanbag to kneel against if possible.  Spend a few minutes relaxing and breathing together.
5. Once your partner is relaxed, try to warm the room as the baby is used to body temperature and can chill easily.
6. Find a few clean towels, sheets or newspaper – whatever you have at hand – to keep the baby and mother warm.  Place a clean towel on the floor between the mothers’ legs.
7. Get a bowl of warm water, a toilet roll and a bowl for the placenta.
   Now get back to your partner and help her to concentrate on her breathing and the contractions, using massage and lots of encouragement if she needs it.
8. As the baby’s head descends through the birth canal you will see first a round shape bulging around the vagina and then the head will appear through the opening.  There is nothing for you to do apart from waiting for the uterus to do its work and keeping your hands nearby, ready to catch the baby who may come out very rapidly or else slowly and over several contractions.  Get your partner to ‘breathe the baby out’.  Allow the baby’s head to hang down naturally as it emerges and gravity will help to ensure perfect rotation.  Once the head is out, first one shoulder, and then the other and finally the whole body will slither out.
9. If it is not born with the next contraction, check to see if cord is wrapped around the baby’s neck.  If it is loose, slip it over.  If the cord is tight it may need to be cut to allow birth to proceed.  Tie two lengths of tape/wide shoelaces (nothing too narrow) tightly around the cord, and with clean scissors, cut in between the two ties.  Unwrap the cord from around the neck to allow the baby to be born.  Make sure there is no bleeding from the cut ends.
10. If the membranes haven’t ruptured, baby’s head may be born inside the bag of waters.  If this is so, the membranes must be ruptured and removed from baby’s face (carefully with fingernails, nail scissors etc), so that baby does not inhale fluid.
11. Hold the baby with your hand palm up under its chest with the face downwards to allow the fluids to drain.  Wipe any mucous from the baby’s nose and mouth.
12. Place the baby on its side, on a clean sheet or towel on the floor for a few moments and then help your partner to sit down and pick up her baby.  Do not cut the cord.
13. Both of you can now relax and enjoy the baby.  Make sure that the mother is sitting in an upright position to facilitate contact between her and the baby and that they are both warm.  Wrap the baby in a towel immediately and wait for the placenta.
14. Encourage your partner to start breastfeeding, as the suckling of the baby will stimulate the uterus to contract and expel the placenta.
    If the placenta is coming out ask your partner to squat over a bowl and keep the placenta beside her without cutting the cord.
15. Give her a drink of warm milk and honey, or tea, as she will probably be a little shocked if the birth was very rapid.
16. After a while the mother could squat over a bowl of warm water to wash her genital area to prevent infection.  Place a clean towel or sanitary pad between her legs.
17. Contact your doctor, midwife or hospital to let them know what has happened.  When you are ready, make your way to the hospital, where the baby’s cord will be cut and any tears will be repaired.

A fast delivery, which catches you unprepared, is more than likely to be perfectly normal, natural and easy – Enjoy it!!

There are a number of relaxation techniques available. Yoga is particularly advantageous during pregnancy as it also helps stretch and strengthen the muscles to assist in labour and childbirth. Many people find meditation helpful and again this can also provide a benefit during labour.

Relaxation breathing is a very simple technique which can take 2 to 20 minutes and can be practiced anywhere – lying down, sitting up or even in the car. Preferably sit in a comfortable position and close your eyes. Think about your breathing, concentrate on breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth. Busy people often take short, shallow breaths with their chest. Focus on using long, deep breathes in through the nose and down into the abdomen. Let your muscles in your lungs and ribcage fill your abdomen and concentrate on it swelling and then contracting as you breathe out. As you improve, and as time permits, increase your relaxation breathing to 20 minutes.

Progressive muscular relaxation is a method which enables you to relax the large muscles of your body. It is also a wonderful technique to put you off to sleep at night as it works on the theory that a relaxed body means a relaxed mind.

Progressive Muscular Relaxation Technique:

• Simply lie down, close your eyes and breathe naturally.
• Begin by clenching your fists tightly and then tense your arms.
• As you breathe out release the tension in your arms all the way down to your fingertips.
• Say the word ‘relax’ to yourself.
• Imagine the weight in your arms being drawn by gravity into the bed (or floor, or whatever you’re lying on).
• Next do the same with your feet and calf muscles and in turn with your thighs, bottom, stomach, back and head.
• Try tensing the muscles of your face last and as you breathe out saying the word ‘relax’ to yourself your entire body should feel heavy and relaxed.
• As you improve try imagining a peaceful scene and put yourself there. It may be a boat on a calm ocean or a beautiful clearing in the bush.
• Let yourself stay there for a while.

Whichever relaxation technique you decide works best for you try to do it as a regular routine.

Prevention of stress is better than a cure.