Our vision is a world in which every person is able to start life and develop from a deep sense of trust, able to express his or her soul’s full purpose for this lifetime, and able to live in harmonious relationship with themselves—and all life—on this earth.
We know, and there is ample evidence to prove, that:
- Every baby is a spiritual being first
- The continuum of processes involved in birth—from pre-conception to the first birthday—are designed and refined for success, and they are necessary to our full development and lifelong health and resilience
- The time from pre-conception through the first birthday is different from any other time in the lives of a mother and baby, because during this time they are biologically dependent upon each other to fulfill their innate needs
- Full development and optimal health always involves our thoughts, emotions and spirit, as well as our physical body, and this is as true for mothers as for babies
- When a mother and baby are able to have the most natural, normal experiences during this time, and when they each feel fully loved and secure, they are most likely to be empowered—as individuals and as a well-bonded pair
- Being well-conceived, well-nurtured in the womb, well-born, and well-nurtured during the first year afterward fosters full expression of a person’s potential
- Each mother and baby are innately competent yet also exquisitely vulnerable during this ‘primal’ period of time, and the people around them can have a profoundly positive or negative effect upon their wellbeing
- It is the quality of each mother-baby relationship that shapes all future relationships and deeply colors the way the woman mothers
- From conception through birth all babies —at the cellular level —experience their mother’s perceptions and feelings about her life and then develop all their organs (including their brain and nervous system) either in a state of trust or defense
- Being continually exposed to too much stress (physical or psychological) from conception on is harmful to a baby’s development and shapes its lifelong health and immune system
- Being supported and protected by her family, community and society is what childbearing women need in order to welcome a new being into their body and heart
- There can be true choice for childbearing women only when the normal natural processes are valued and protected and when all women and their families are given full information about the importance of these processes for their own and their babies full development
- Childbearing women who receive full respect, honor and support from those around them, when they know the importance of listening to the natural process and their inner voice, make wise choices on behalf of themselves and their babies
- Whenever any outside intervention (medical, social, etc.) appears necessary for the well-being of a baby and mother, it is safest and most effective to resolve the problem and then return as quickly as possible to following the natural biological process
- Even a baby or mother who appears healthy after birth can be carrying some shock or trauma, and a generally positive experience may include some trauma
- Parents who have not addressed and healed wounds they carry (especially ones from the beginning of their life) find it difficult to respond with unconditional love and respect to a child and to meet that child’s needs
- Some babies and many mothers spontaneously self-heal from birth trauma because our whole system (body/mind/spirit) is designed for healing and health
- For those who need help in healing birth trauma there are many fine therapeutic approaches
- Healing from most early trauma is possible at any time—even decades later— if the trauma is understood and released (obviously, the earlier it is addressed the better)
- Mothering styles differ widely—as do fathering styles—but the physical presence of her baby, right from birth, helps the woman’s innate ability come forth. Her close physical contact with her baby in the first hours after birth and for many months—especially skin-to-skin and eye-to-eye is vital for both of them
- There is a difference between what a baby expects from its biological mother—or mother surrogate—and what it expects, and biologically needs, from any other person
- Babies need mothers who are both fiercely protective of them and able to respond to their many needs comfortably and with a generous heart. To do this a mother needs support from her community as well as her partner and/or family
- When a mother is in any kind of conflict or torn between having to make a living and being with her baby, both she and that baby do suffer
- When a mother or baby experiences shock or trauma during the time from conception through the first birthday, their innate ability to bond harmoniously can be severely interfered with and can hinder or delay healthy growth and development
We at Birthing The Future believe that the health and well-being of the planet, as well as our human species, in large part depends upon how the primal period is conducted and whether women and babies are empowered or dis-empowered by their experiences during this time.
At a time when this earth and all life on it are experiencing many threats to survival and health, it is important to do all that we can to birth the best possible future by helping all mothers and babies experience the best start.
This calls for policies and practices that safeguard mother and baby while honoring them as highly sensitive and vulnerable, conscious and innately competent. We need families, communities and helping professionals, who offer tangible support that does not compromise the mother and baby or their burgeoning relationship.
Everyone has a vital role to play. Fathers, other children, friends, grandparents, and elders are all vitally important. The focus during this primal time must be the mother-baby pair. Any unmet needs, hurt or trauma can hinder their well-being long into the future. However, the good news is that healing is always possible.
Each arriving human spirit needs to feel fully welcomed to this world. Every childbearing woman can benefit from reaching the heights of ecstasy and empowerment that are possible in birthing. Both childbearing women and their babies deserve environments for labor and birth which are sanctuaries of calm. They deserve people around them who offer help only when needed, given in a way that maintains the dignity of the woman and baby and the transcendent as well as physical dimensions of birthing to be fulfilled.
Birthing The Future aims to promote all of this by casting a wide net, across time and the world’s diverse cultures, to gather the best information, distill it, and make essential principles understandable to all audiences. We will work by projects, both in North America and internationally, gathering people together in various formats for education, community-building, sharing wisdom, and offering of positive models. We work with an active board of directors, a vibrant advisory board, and the participation of our members.
Our projects focus on informing and inspiring young people, prospective parents and helping professionals, creating an international community of vision and practical solutions to the problems that today plague birth. In addition, we aim to inspire and enlist the support of grandmothers and all elders. We also help train leader-educators who will travel widely and promote the principles that guide Birthing The Future.