Fearfully and Wonderfully Made...

I have many concerns about the current obstetrical practices in our country today. One of my concerns is the way in which pregnancy is "compartmentalized," often times treating mother and baby totally separate from each. Before I go into further explanation, I should clarify that I believe that mother and baby are two, unique individuals, and that a baby's life begins a conception, not birth. Even though mother and baby are two separate individuals, they share an amazing and unique intimacy during pregnancy. During that time, a baby knows nothing other than the serene environment provided by his/her mother's womb. They share the same space with one another 24 hours a day. They know one another's movements intimately and are comforted by the movements of the other. Many women speak of knowing their baby, even intimately, before they are even born. Such a gift could only come from our Creator, who has not only knit us together in our mothers' wombs, but knows and loves us intimately, too.

But far too often, obstetrics plays a role in disrupting this intimacy between mother and baby during pregnancy. For instance, many doctors and sonographers tell mothers that, in addition to its diagnostic use, an ultrasound can help them "get to know their babies." The mother's focus is then turned away from her growing tummy to the ultrasound monitor. While I believe that ultrasound does have some valid diagnostic uses during pregnancy, my concern is that modern mothers are becoming dependent on that ultrasound image to foster intimacy between them and their unborn babies. This is just one example among many.

What a blessing, then, it was for me to come across this delightful video clip from the Bellies and Babies blog. Here's Nicole's description of how this clip was created: "My First Home was created by three sisters, the Glasner girls. The college age daughter, Jessica, painted the pictures and came up with the story, the high school aged daughter, Emily, composed the music and the 5th grade daughter, Madeline, is the narrator." I must confess that after reading the description of it, I was expecting the video to verge on the side of cheesey. But instead, what I saw was a beautiful work of art that perfectly expressed the intimacy that exists between mother and baby during pregnancy. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did...and if you do, feel free to pass it on!