Joyous Childbirth Changes the World by Dr. Tadashi Yoshimura

Author:Dr. Tadashi Yoshimura
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: childbirth, midwifery, women's health, spiritual, pregnancy, obstetrics, japan, yoshimura clinic, natural, mystic beauty, ina may gaskin, midwife
Publisher: Seven Stories Press
Published: 2014-04-29T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 4

Childbirth is a Spiritual Experience

Childbirth Is a Spiritual Experience

As my hobby is photography, I often take photos, with their permission, of birthing women and their partners who have just welcomed their child into the world. Seeing these photos later, I sometimes find the scene strikingly holy and am once again moved by the wonder of childbirth.

There is one photo I like the most. When I am invited to give a talk, I always show the audience this photo. It depicts a mother hugging her newborn just after birth and the baby’s father cuddling up to them.

Holding the baby in her arms with a hint of a smile on her face, the mother looks just like a Bodhisattva. Her dignified expression inspires a sense of awe in my mind. I have never seen such a serene, awe-inspiring expression on someone’s face. I am surprised to see how close to God a woman is through the experience of true natural childbirth. The peace of mind induced by the strong mother-child bond is almost the same as Buddhahood.

The baby’s father in the photo also has a noble expression like prince in ancient times. He is staring at his baby with tears in his eyes, as if he is feeling overwhelming love for the baby. His profile is full of nobility which also makes me feel like bowing my head.

They are actually an ordinary couple that we could come across anywhere. But through the experience of natural childbirth, they have been transformed into a Bodhisattva and a noble prince. True childbirth changes ordinary people into Gods.

Childbirth using medical interventions has no link with God. God will never deign to participate in medical childbirth in which a doctor tinkers with a woman’s body like a plastic model. But from the experience of attending tens of thousands of cases of completely natural childbirth with no medical intervention, I have come to feel the presence of God as the source of life.

I have no religion in the usual sense. But I have come to believe in the power of God. Whether it is called the Universe or Mother Nature, this power is beyond that of science or intelligence. All we can do is to bow our heads before this power. Only people who have witnessed the power of life can understand it.

Many times I have witnessed the Bodhisattva in birthing women’s faces. Actually, some of the women who have experienced natural childbirth do really become compassionate women like the Bodhisattva. One example is a woman who is serving as a volunteer in our clinic now. She is one of the women who changed her way of life completely after giving birth in our clinic. As she has a nursery school teacher’s license, she now provides childcare service at an affordable rate for pregnant women who attend The Old House activities.

We always admire her for loving all the children equally, including her own, and wearing a happy smile on her face. Looking at her Bodhisattva-like smile, I

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