of life until the answer to all of these is a confident yes.
Instinctively, we know that birth should be a joyous and happy event, and we can see its beauty — from a distant standpoint, at least. Can we dare to step a little closer and choose not to be scandalized by the sheer physicality and rawness of it all? Can we continue to see its beauty in God’s plan? Just as womanhood is beautiful, marriage is beautiful, conception is beautiful, and motherhood is beautiful, so the end result of all those things — the act of birth — is also beautiful. Really. When we view birth as the natural result of the divine plan for marriage and family and a reflection of the value we place on human life, then we can see why it is entirely appropriate and fitting for Christians to care … and to do so deeply.
“The history of every human being passes through the threshold of a woman’s motherhood,” wrote John Paul II.14 This means that the entire history of humanity, every person made in the image and likeness of God, passes through the rite of birth. There is not one human being on this Earth who is excluded from the issue. Physical birth is the avenue through which God himself chooses to continue his divine plan of love to multiply the human race. The more we acknowledge and reverence the beauty of birth, the more we will create a society where every life, every baby, every mother and father, and ultimately God himself, is revered and celebrated. Transforming how we view and approach birth affects the individual lives in front of us, and indeed, it can also transform the world.
Over and above such outstanding moments, there is an everyday heroism, made up of gestures of sharing, big or small, which build up an authentic culture of life.…
Part of this daily heroism is also the silent but effective and eloquent witness of all those “brave mothers who devote themselves to their own family without reserve, who suffer in giving birth to their children and who are ready to make any effort, to face any sacrifice, in order to pass on to them the best of themselves.” In living out their mission “these heroic women do not always find support in the world around them. On the contrary, the cultural models frequently promoted and broadcast by the media do not encourage motherhood. In the name of progress and modernity the values of fidelity, chastity, sacrifice, to which a host of Christian wives and mothers have borne and continue to bear outstanding witness, are presented as obsolete.… We thank you, heroic mothers, for your invincible love! We thank you for your intrepid trust in God and in his love. We thank you for the sacrifice of your life.”
— Pope John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae, 86
The Feminine Genius of Birth
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”— Genesis 1:27
A woman can certainly have a great birth experience without choosing to delve into the deeper meaning behind it all. But understanding more about God’s original design for us as women allows us to appreciate his plan more fully and integrate it more intentionally into our lives. As we make ourselves more available to the mystery of it all, we are better able to be who he made us to be, women created body and soul. It might be tempting to skip over talk about the spiritual significance of birth, but I encourage you to enter in. Understanding the deeper meaning of birth allows us to experience and integrate our unique births and motherhood in a powerful way. If we are hoping to approach our births as women of faith, it only makes sense to see what the Church and Scripture have to say about it. (And both have said a lot!) Perhaps God has something to share with you as you come to a better understanding of his design for birth and the amazing design that is you.
We have different gifts than men, and it is beautiful to acknowledge and celebrate that fact. The Catholic Church, especially through Pope Saint John Paul II, has spoken clearly and often about the “feminine genius.” God imprinted on our souls something unique and beautiful, and our uniquely feminine souls glorify God and are a gift to the world. While it is becoming culturally unacceptable to say so, we know he created us differently, and he did so intentionally, out of his infinite love. That difference is both physical and spiritual.
The physical differences in our bodies teach us something about who we are, who we are meant to be, and what God’s design is for us. Of course, the most significant difference is our ability to conceive and bear new life. Our wombs, our breasts, our organs, our hormones, our genitalia, our menstrual cycles are designed to bear and nurture new life.15 Whether or not she ever becomes a physical mother, a woman is designed to bring new life into the world, and our bodies are a reflection of that soul-deep reality.
We also differ from men in our souls. Women are often more in tune with others. We bring tenderness to situations. We tend to be stronger multitaskers. On the whole, we are more intuitive than men. While there is much diversity in how we reveal these feminine gifts, women are created by God to love in a unique way, and we offer gifts to the world that our men cannot. Womanhood reflects unique characteristics of the love and care of God.16 In her essays on women, Edith Stein (Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross) speaks of a woman’s stronger tendency to sympathize; to serve another life; her more acute sense with children; her greater drive to cherish, guard, and preserve rather than fight and conquer; and her greater awareness of the needs of the creatures around her.17 Women possess within themselves a unique and powerful strength that can change the world.
Physically and spiritually, every woman’s femininity, by its very nature, points to motherhood. We know instinctively that there is no other relationship like that between a mother and her child. Motherhood calls for great sacrifices, and it holds a place of honor and distinction not only in the Christian tradition, but also in many other cultures. This respect for motherhood is written deep in the soul of mankind. As Saint John Paul wrote in his 1994 Letter to Families: “On the human level, can there be any other ‘communion’ comparable to that between a mother and a child whom she has carried in her womb and then brought to birth?”18
As the tiniest seed of a person grows within her, the mystery of that union is soul deep, and she is forever changed into a mother, called to love, protect, guide, nourish, and give life. Not only do we acknowledge this transformation on a spiritual and emotional level, but researchers have recently discovered that the cells of an unborn baby, containing his or her DNA, can be found in the mother for the rest of the mother’s life.19 Even in the case of miscarriage, abortion, or the mother placing her baby for adoption, motherhood has transformed her down to a cellular level, and she is forever united to that child.
Our feminine souls and bodies are intrinsically united, and together they fully reflect our feminine genius as we become mothers: birth is a necessary part of that.
While he was on Earth, Jesus made clear in his actions that women are equal in dignity to men. In his apostolic letter Mulieris Dignitatem, Saint John Paul writes, “It is universally admitted — even by people with a critical attitude towards the Christian message — that in the eyes of his contemporaries Christ became a promoter of women’s true dignity and of the vocation corresponding to this dignity.”20 Christ responded to the needs of women. He looked them in the eye and saw them for who they really were: beloved and precious daughters of his Father. Saint John Paul goes on, “Jesus of Nazareth confirms this dignity, recalls it, renews it, and makes it a part of the Gospel and of the Redemption for which he is sent into the world.”21
We can and should demand that every single woman in the birth room be treated with the dignity that Christ himself has bestowed upon us. She should never be shamed, manipulated, coerced, lied to, laughed at, ignored, or disrespected. Quite the opposite, she should be reverenced, deferred to, cared for, and treated with the utmost respect.
The Lord wants
