with No Comments
One of my favorite comforting memories of my mother is when she would trace my face. I would lay down to sleep and she would sit by my side and with her finger trace around my lips, nose and eyes.
There was just something about that soft touch that gave me peace.
I find myself doing this with my own children and they’ll trace my face back.
 
Touch can certainly be a comforting action. Of course in labor there are times when being touched is definitely not wanted. But I remember one time when I was close to the pushing stage, the nurse that was with me at the time just held my hand. That simple gesture of touch meant a lot to me. It didn’t lesson my pain or make me more comfortable, but it let me know she cared and wanted to help.
 
I suppose that was what my mother’s face tracing meant to me also. There is peace in a touch that means that someone loves us.

 

Follow Rachel Leavitt:

Rachel has worked as a register nurse (BSN from University of Utah) since 2004 with a work history in Labor and Delivery, NICU and Postpartum Care. She is also the founder of New Beginnings Doula Training which she organized in 2011. When she's not busy being a mother and grandmother, she can be found reading research papers related to some aspect of childbirth.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.