Book of the Month: August

Reclaiming the Spirituality of Birth: Healing for Mothers and Babies by Benig Mauger was a book I picked up three years ago while pregnant. I was searching for pregnancy books that spoke to the spiritual side of the process I was going through. Birthing books tend to be technical, some speak to the emotions but rarely do you find one that delves into deeper soul searching areas.
Benig Mauger is a practicing psychoanalytical psychotherapist, a lecturer, a mother and a writer. She lives in Ireland and her research for this book was extensive, based on many of her own clients and her experience in years of helping women deal with birth aftermaths. Some women felt disappointment after the birth of their child even though their child was healthy. Mauger lets the reader know that you are entitled to your feelings and that it is important to work through them especially if you plan on having another child. She also talks about how your emotions effect your child in the womb, and how your own birth experience can effect your life and how you live it.
One of the messages that stayed with me from this book is that the process of labour is as important for the baby as it is for the mother. It lets the baby know that something is changing, that they are transitioning from the world they know and moving into a new realm.
I would recommend this book for anyone who needs to process some internal issues surrounding birth whether it be their own or their child's but also as a preventative measure for those who wish to prepare themselves on a soul level for the powerful change that the birth process initiates.