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My husband has been working on some short films lately and we’ve discussed the importance of stories in our lives.  It got me to thinking about our birth stories and how many women feel compelled to share over and over again the stories of our children’s births and how that has shaped us as women.  I still love hearing birth stories and I’ve heard a lot.

Why are these stories so important to us and what meaning do they hold?  Could we possibly do without them.  Below is a list of reasons why our stories are essential to tell and share with each other.

1) It helps us to give meaning to our birth experiences.

2)  Birth stories are women’s mythologies and serve to explain the world around us.

3)  They give us inspiration.

4) They can bring us entertainment and joy.

5) Stories communicate what we value.

6) They connect us to each other.

“Telling stories is as basic to human beings as eating. More so, in fact, for while food makes us live, stories are what make our lives worth living.” — On Stories, Richard Kearney

“To be a person is to have a story to tell”. — Isak Dinesen

 

So go ahead.  I give you permission to tell and retell your birth story.    This is good for you to do as a doula and also to encourage your clients to do.  Hopefully you’ll find meaning by so doing.

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.

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