We now live in a time so close to the second coming of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World, that we are crying and asking for it with sincerity of heart. There is so much contention, political and economic upheaval (a violent or sudden change or disruption to something), and it is affecting all of us! Peace and balance seem like rare treasures that we must put more focus on obtaining, guarding, and keeping.
I'm a birth worker. I help women in labor. The Bible tells us that this time shall be as a woman in travail. I see where we are in that process. We are most certainly in a time of transition, and have been for a few years I think. I believe that our spiritual journeys (labors) are personal and that our paths can all be different and still lead to the same place: Happiness and bliss, basking in the light of the love of Elohim (plural: male and female). The Divine Whole.
But here, I will tell you some similarities I see in most laboring women when they are transitioning from active labor to pushing (or breathing) the baby out of her womb. See if these traits and qualities match up with how you observe yourself or other people feeling and acting today.
They all seem to get into a way of handling things that they have either practiced before with a birth prep mentor, or have never practiced before and are just doing the best they can with what they have. Sometimes this looks like panic, screaming, crying, anger, blame, demanding, praying…
Most do not like to change positions very often, but they need to in order to keep progressing comfortably, even though the initial change of position is not comfortable or easy to make.
Most will make a lot of noise. And rightly so. This is definitely (IMO) ALMOST ALWAYS the hardest part of labor.
When they are properly supported (with affirmations of love, trust in God and the divinely created process, and that they are doing their best) women in transition seem to progress more comfortably and even more quickly. Though labor still does get more intense, they know they can rely on their support people who are there for them and cheering them on.
They will get quite sad and irritable or even angry if someone tells them to do anything contrary to what is working for them right now. In fact sometimes the support people need to get extra supportive during those moments in supporting the mom with what she knows is best for her body and her baby. Sometimes this takes some creativity and working with the flow and groove the woman is currently experiencing.
A woman in transition who tunes out the noise of the world, to tune into her body and go deep within to find her inner guidance system transitions more calmly, safely, and more quickly.
Labor, in general, is filled with surges of intensity, followed by restful periods of time. During transition however, the surges of intensity get more intense and last longer, and the periods of restful time in between get shorter in duration.
The highest priority for a woman in transition is to breathe and relax during the intense surges (or periods of time).
Some women feel like holding their breath during contractions in transition, but this only limits the health of the baby and the mom, as oxygen is necessary and vital to life. Think "The breath of Life"...
The less oxygen the mom gets because of panic, the more intervention she will need, if available. If interventions are not available, she will not get all the oxygen she needs and therefore not function top notch. The baby as well, will not be getting all the oxygen it needs to function well right after birth.
All women in transition are very sensitive. Anybody allowed in their space needs to honor them and their space by making it all about them and supporting them in the ways they need support; easy to digest nourishment, including water or something with electrolytes in it that can help the nervous system function better.
If a woman senses that there is a threat to her peaceful environment, it can impede progress or put the woman on edge. Fear will inhibit progress.
There comes a point in time where many women in transition don't know what they need and it really is hard to not panic even if they have prepared beforehand. But, once again the space and the laboring woman need to be honored and respected in whatever suggestions are given to help.
Getting rid of waste during transition is sometimes very uncomfortable, or hard to remember to do. However, doing so will make the labor easier.
Often in later transition, women may burst out things that seem quite rude. Sometimes the person they were yelling at said something with good intentions, but it was not what the laboring woman needed. Usually this doesn't mean that the woman doesn't like the person, it just means they weren't being helpful in her labor.
A lot of times it helps for the laboring woman to remember what she's working so hard for. To remember that she is bringing into the world a new human life, a piece of heaven, that she will get to serve and take care of, and love and admire.
Most laboring women in transition need, or at least very much appreciate, continuous love and appropriate support from their husbands.
When a laboring woman addresses fears with a mentor that she trusts, and is able to trade her fears for trust, love and faith, then peace, safety, and reassurance follow and her labor can progress more easily and gently.
I could go on and on, but I think you get the point. We are a society of "laboring women in transition". We have intense waves followed by somewhat mild periods of rest… followed by a more intensive wave, and then a less lengthy period of time where we get to rest. We need support that focuses around us. We need support from our "Husband". We need to address our fears with the Wonderful Counselor, who can replace them with faith. We need easily digestible nourishment (or gentle nudges and advice that first affirms to us that we are doing or best - scriptures are great for this). This goes for both the BODY AND SOUL. If we have prepared beforehand, we are probably fairing a lot better than those who have not. Those who have not prepared beforehand are most likely panicking, especially if they don't have a support system, or they have not been taught to see/acknowledge it. We can support these people by giving them what they need, such as a quiet environment, good and simple nourishment, and surrounding them with affirmations of love. We are all going to be a little more stuck in our ways than we usually are and it is going to be harder to change our positions on things or encourage others to do so, even when doing so would help us labor more comfortably or effectively. Same with getting rid of what we don't need anymore. It can be really undesirable to release waste - things that are getting in the way of our progress and comfort. But it is only helpful when we are able to do so. We are making a lot of noise, which is totally normal when something is really hard. It even helps us deal better with it! Sometimes we have no clue what we need or want, or things get confusing. It is then that we reach out to our support people. We need to respect each person as if they were a laboring woman in transition who needs our support and cheering on. We need to remember how sensitive they are right now, how sensitive we are right now. It is so much easier to give or take offense when people are vulnerable and sensitive. We need to tune out the noise of the world, and tune into our inner guidance system. We need to make it our highest priority to breathe deeply and with great focus on relaxing and allowing God's design to work for us, not only during the intense times, but during the restful in between times as well. This helps us preserve our energy for the times it is most needed.
We need to remember what we are working so hard for. We are working to usher in the second coming of the Savior of the World, a piece of heaven, whom we will get to serve, admire and take care of.
