Creating Birth Art can help women and couples prepare for birth. This purposeful art has been known to provide strength, discovery and vision to women and couples for their relationship, self understanding and birth experience.
Birth Art is not the kind of art we did back in grade school and you definitely do not need to be an “artist” to create it. There is no one teaching color theory or critiquing your work. Birth art is more of an intuitive experience. It gives the birthing person or their partner a space to create a visual representation of whatever is going on in their subconscious in order to prepare for the birth of their new baby. It is focused on the process of making the art itself without a focus on what it will look like at the end.
- Living in the Moment– When parents create birth art they are practicing being in the present moment. This help them to figure out what to do when they don’t know what to do, and accessing their creative, unconscious mind. Just like you need to be in birth!
- Birth Art is created by you and provides you with exactly what you need in the moment and in birth. The art can be literal, such as, what early labor looks like at home and who is there for support. But, it can also be abstract and evoke certain feelings.
- Provides a focus in labor– Some may create a piece of Birth Art to be their visual focus during birth. This can act as a visualization or can unlock the feelings of excitement, hope, calm and love that you experienced while creating the piece.
- Helps to understand and overcome fears– Some say they create in order to unlock fears or other unconscious feelings that if not allowed the freedom to be and be examined and overcome could potentially have a negative effect on their upcoming birth.
- Reminds you that birth is a unique experience– Each person experiences labor and birth in their own way. We all bring ourselves into this amazing experience.
Pam England writes in the book “Birthing From Within”, “ One kind of learning comes from books. But the learning necessary for you to participate completely in your birth must come from you.” Birth Art gives you the potential to discover more about yourself in preparation for a happy, healthy birthing experience.
Join us Sunday December 4th, 2016 for the next Mama Art Mingle.
Written by Christine Malesky, birth doula, postpartum doula and childbirth educator
