"Birthing is the most profound initiation to spirituality that a woman can have." ~ Robin Lim

I have loved this quote for years, and found it such a soothing comfort to me when I was pregnant and preparing for my unassisted birth.

I had never been so in touch with my feminine side as when I was expecting. I felt primal, fierce and tender at the same time.

Pregnancy brought forth major doses of hormones, and more curves than I'd ever had in my life. Suddenly, I saw myself differently...not as a submissive, demure girl - and also not as a mechanical vessel containing new combinations of DNA strands. 

As a Pagan, it also gave me strength to think of myself as physically manifesting a portal between the spirit realm and Earthside, where our physical bodies dwell.

Giving birth is one of the hardest things I've ever done, but drawing on the strength and connection I felt as a woman was significant in my journey with every one of my births.

Birth is an alchemy of pain-into-power, and I believe this happens via our connection to womanhood.

However - my beloved quote is now considered ‘problematic’ by so-called progressive birth pros, because it uses the word 'women' and is therefore ‘un-inclusive'.