Women have sat in circles for centuries. There are accounts of women getting together to bleed in women’s circles called red tents or just gathering around fires on full moons.
Generally we come together to celebrate being women, to be heard, to heal, to understand the powers behind our cyclical nature and our menstrual cycles; but also we sit as a rebellion, as a way to transform society through non-hierarchical, non-competitive, compassionate female relationships. Because circles are not just about the freeing talking we can do but also the transforming listening.
Why sit in pregnancy?
Out of all the physiological events that happen in our female bodies, there isn’t one quite like pregnancy, birth and the postpartum period. Whether you want it or not, whether you are ready or not, childbirth will transform you in ways beyond what you imagined. And this is where a sisterhood of women come in handy. Mainstream society and mainstream maternity services understand childbirth as a pure medical event, one where hormones act together to sustain and bring forth a healthy child. However, there is also a deep transformation at a spiritual, mental, emotional and energetic level, accompanied by a profound identity shift. In a world that pathologises and medicalises womens’ “problems” (think menopause, menstruation, birth) where can we find frameworks to understand what is happening to us?
At a pregnancy circle we aim to do this
- We know from our own personal experience that talking to a dear friend, a skilled listening therapist or just to ourselves through journaling can be extremely effective at helping us find our own solutions for our problems. The circle does this.
- We know that holding space for an esteemed friend, listening without interruptions, can arouse our compassion and lessen our egos for our own benefit. The circle does this.
- And finally we know that preparing for birth is not about learning all there is to learn about birth, let me tell you as a pregnant midwife I had to do a lot of unlearning. In this circle we believe that the best way to prepare for birth is to welcome the inner transformation early on and develop something that comes on at strides in pregnancy; intuition.