The following was recently written by Jennifer Williams, a certified nurse-midwife, on the American College of Nurse Midwives blog. You can read it here. I liked it so much I thought I would also share it on my blog
When I was a little girl, I always thought there was a problem
with our Nativity set. I could never figure out why the baby was barely dressed
and separated from his mama, laying in a bucket of hay. He looked pretty cold
and lonely to me. When I was in middle school, I looked at the Nativity set and
thought, “Wow, Mary looks pretty good for just having given birth in a stable.”
As you can see, my fascination with birth greatly preceded my plans for
midwifery school.
Even now, one of my favorite parts of the Christmas season
is seeing all of the images of Mary and her baby son, Jesus. Throughout
history, artists have been compelled to illustrate the Madonna and her newborn.
Christmas as a celebration of birth captures my imagination. I love the
Christmas card aisle at the store and, even though I am a notorious slacker at sending Christmas cards, some years I am
tempted enough to purchase a pack just because I love the images. I love the
cultural interpretations of the Nativity that are prevalent in my state, New
Mexico. A Pueblo Nativity is a work of art and love and draws my mind through
cultures and time. Pregnancy and birth is a universal experience for mothers,
often joyous, sometimes tragic, occasionally both.
There is a joke about what would have happened if three wise
women had shown up at Jesus’ birth instead of three wise men. It goes, “Three
wise women would
have asked directions, arrived on time, helped deliver the baby, cleaned the
stable, made a casserole, and brought practical gifts.” I wonder
if perhaps a wise woman did attend that
young mother in the stable. I always hoped that Mary had someone around who
could support her, dry off her baby, help her get started breastfeeding, keep
an eye on her bleeding—these are the same things I wish for all women, but unfortunately
many lack this very basic care.
As midwives, we come from a rich variety of cultures and
beliefs. However, if the image of a birth in a stable captures your imagination
the way it captures mine, I would invite you to reflect upon the conditions and
circumstances surrounding birth around the world today. Whatever your personal
beliefs, I know that we all wish for safe births attended by loving and
supportive hands. I know we wish for all children to be educated, valued, and
fed. I know we all wish for peace on earth and goodwill for humankind.
