Birth amnesia. It’s what brings us from “Who in their right
mind would do this again?” to “Aw, maybe just one more!” in a disturbingly
short period of time. But how much do you know about this concept that seems to
impact us all?
1. Birth amnesia has
a biological purpose.
Truth be told, most of us forget a lot of what happened in
childbirth. Details become fuzzy, and you may find yourself asking others who
were there (your partner, doula, mother) to clarify and fill in the blanks.
Nearly all mothers get to a point in labor where not only
does she want to just be DONE, she definitely doesn’t ever want to do this
again. Who would? It would be downright sadistic.
But then a few months (or years, each mama’s experience is
different) have passed since the arrival of your beautiful bundle of joy, and
baby fever is kicking in with a vengeance. Was it really so bad? I mean, labor
pains might have been the pits, but they were pain with a purpose, right? And
even though they felt eternal in the moment, there was definitely an end. Oh,
and those sleepless nights and days at the end of your rope? Those seem less
concrete now, too.
It’s all about the mommy hormones. Continuation of the species relies on this amnesia! Instead of remembering pregnancy, childbirth, and having a newborn as it is – really freaking hard – our memories are filled with a softened, sweeter version of events. You know, a version that makes us willing to do it again! (Or at least to consider it, in passing.)
2. You can counteract
birth amnesia through storytelling.
OK, so probably none of us wants to remember exactly how it
felt to push a nine pound baby from our bodies or the intensity of 36 hours of
contractions. But there is so much we do want to remember.
Whoa mama, were you ever strong! You were a rock star. You
did things your body was meant to do, even if you had no idea that was power in
there!
Amnesia impacts your story. The birth story you tell at
three days is different from the one at three months, which is not going to be
the same as the one at three years. Rather than allowing your experience to be
lost in a haze, writing your story can slow the process.
Organizing all of those thoughts flying around in your head
into sentences and paragraphs can make all the difference in preserving your
story.
Watch this page in the coming weeks to learn more about the
value of your birth story and how to tell it.
