2011 - Talk Birth

”I have almost given up on the government and the country but I have not given up on birth. I believe
rabidly. It is not enough to hold the space for one woman at a time. Peace on earth begins with birth.”
–Arielle Greenberg/Rachel Zucker (in [2]Home/Birth: A Poemic)
”In giving birth my attention was pulled inside forcibly by something naturally wild, hot, raw and
primitive—something so powerful that my only choice was to surrender.” –Kristin Luce
”Now I see the secret of making the best person: it is to grow in the open air and to eat and sleep
with the earth.” Walt Whitman
”A new baby is like the beginning of all things–wonder, hope, a dream of possibilities.” Eda J. Le
Shan
”Birth isn’t something we suffer, but something we actively do and exult in.” –Sheila Kitzinger (from
promo for new One World Birth film)
”Many women have described their experiences of childbirth as being associated with a spiritual uplifting,
the power of which they have never previously been aware … To such a woman childbirth is a
monument of joy within her memory. She turns to it in thought to seek again an ecstasy which passed too
soon.” Grantly Dick-Read (Childbirth Without Fear)
”Childbirth isn’t something that is done to you, or for you; it is something you do yourself. Women
give birth. Doctors, hospitals and nurses don’t.” Lester Dessez Hazell
”Whether she chooses to birth at home, a hospital or a birth center, it is the right–in fact, the
responsibility–of every woman to plan her own baby’s birth with the information, honor and freedom to
which she is entitled.” –Cynthia Overgard (in [3]Pathways to Family Wellness Magazine)
Life, love, and laughter - what priceless gifts to give our children. – Phylis Campbell Dryden
”A mother’s joy begins when new life is stirring inside... when a tiny heartbeat is heard for the very
first time, and a playful kick reminds her that she is never alone.” Author Unknown
”Growing, bearing, mothering, or fathering, supporting, and at last letting go…are powerful and
mundane creative acts that rapturously suck up whole chunks of life.” –Louise Erdrich
”Perhaps we owe some of our most moving literature to men who didn’t understand that they wanted to be
women nursing babies.” –Louise Erdrich
”Labor is about finding your threshold and learning you can go beyond it.” –Rose St. John
”...the labor with which we give birth is simply a rehearsal for something we mothers must do over
and over: turn ourselves inside out, and then let go.” –Susan Piver (Joyful Birth)
”The minute my child was born, I was reborn as a feminist. It’s so incredible what women can
do…Birthing naturally, as most women do around the globe, is a superhuman act. You leave behind the
comforts of being human and plunge back into being an animal...” –Ani DiFranco
”The health of mothers, infants, and children is of critical importance, both as a reflection of the
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