What Babies Want
Maybe it’s not just babywearing. Maybe it’s not gentle parenting. Maybe it’s not cosleeping and breastfeeding. Maybe attachment starts at birth.
I had two natural hospital births. The first was empowering, a group of women cheering me on while I pushed. For the second, in the 10 whole minutes I was pushing, I was instructed to stop so they could get a read on his heart and prep the room. I can only imagine what fun we would have had if I’d been there longer.
For both, I thought I could run a marathon afterward, if I didn’t have to breastfeed immediately! I was strong and able.
But I’m one of the lucky ones. I was given a good birth legacy, a “Your body is capable. It can do this!” (Thanks, Mom.) Many are not so lucky. They are told that labor and delivery will be scary, painful, unmanageable without medications.
I think for most people birth is a nightmare
It hasn’t been what a baby would want.
In our births, is it only about us? When are we going to start asking, “What does baby want?”

