A sacred circle

You must read Jill's recent post, which was spurred by her seeing an image of a heavily draped woman, legs splayed apart in stirrups, about to give birth. She concludes her narrative with a drawing of her recent birth, a HBAC (home birth after cesarean). She writes:

I'm not just catching the baby, I'm also protecting my vagina. I'm in a sacred circle, just me, no one else. The midwives are there, but I didn't draw them, because they weren't inside my circle. My hand is there guarding the gate to this world. Nobody else interferes. In fact the only time anyone other than me touched my vagina during labor was right after I started pushing, to make sure I was fully dilated. Just one time, and permission was asked, and granted. And I knew all along that my vagina wasn't broken, but I proved it right then. I didn't need anybody's help. I didn't need drugs or monitors or scalpels to get my baby out. Just my vagina. Yup, mine.


I love this drawing. I've been searching for inspiration for a new silk painting to create during this pregnancy, and I think I've found it! (If that's okay with you Jill.)