Standing in Our Places

Last week, I read the great story of Gideon in Judges 7, and it reminded me of us. Us meaning me and you who are reading this blog. In a nutshell, Gideon is going to battle the Midianites and has gathered an army of 32,000. But the Lord tells Gideon to send some of the men home. Gideon is then left with 10,000 men. God leads him through another selection process until his army is reduced to 300 men.

300 men is not a lot against the host of Midianites which were "like grasshopper" covering the valley. And yet, God said, "by the 300... will I save you, and deliver the Midianites unto thine hand."  (Judges 7:7)

And He did it. How? God had arranged some things in advance to spook the Midianites and then all the men had to do was follow His instructions. "And they stood every man in his place..."  (Judges 7:21)

I realize that our numbers are small compared to the dominant cultural views about birth in America. I also realize that many passionate people have been fighting for change in the maternity care system in America for a long time, with only a little progress. However, as seen in Judges 7, a very small number of people, "standing in our places," and guided by God, can change everything:

"And they stood every man in his place round about the camp: and all the host ran, and cried, and fled." (Judges 7:21)

Spirituality and Birth in the News

Just this week Lamaze International published a press release with the headline: New Data Show Connection Between Childbirth and Spirituality. They cited a study co-authored by Lynn Callister R.N., Ph.D., who happens to be a professor in the College of Nursing at BYU.

Lynn is a fantastic writer and has been studying the spirituality of birth in different cultures for more than two decades now. A few months ago, one of my collaborators discovered an article she wrote and made contact with her. She is a friend to this project and will hopefully be involved in our documentary on the spirituality of birth throughout the world. I can't wait to read the whole study, and I am glad that the Childbirth Education Community is taking notice. Hopefully the medical community will, too. Here is a quote from the Lamaze press release:

The just-published research shows that women across diverse cultures correlate having a baby with “growing closer to God.”

The study, published in the spring issue of the Journal of Perinatal Education, found that understanding the spiritual dimensions of childbirth is essential in clinical settings. As such, authors of the study recommend clinicians include the question, “Do you have any spiritual beliefs that will help us better care for you?” during their clinical assessment.

“Childbirth and motherhood provide many women with an ideal context in which to recognize the spiritual aspect of their lives,” said Lynn Clark Callister, R.N., Ph.D., FAAN, a professor of nursing at the Brigham Young University College of Nursing and study co-author. “Our research illustrates that for most women, childbirth is a deeply spiritual experience. As healthcare providers, we need to recognize and support this evidence, and listen to women’s voices to guide their care.”

In their study titled “Spirituality in Childbearing Women,” authors Callister and Inaam Khalaf, R.N., Ph.D., dean and professor of nursing at the University of Jordan Faculty of Nursing, discovered five themes in a secondary analysis of the published and unpublished narrative data collected over the past 20 years from about 250 culturally diverse women.

“This study is both insightful and intuitive,” said Sharon Dalrymple, president of Lamaze International. “It’s no surprise to see a woman’s spirituality is an important part of her well-being, but it’s interesting to consider how this information can be used by women and their healthcare professionals to enrich and further empower women when they are giving birth.”

The themes that emerged in the study included: childbirth as a time to grow closer to God, the use of religious beliefs and rituals as powerful coping mechanisms, childbirth as a time to make religiosity more meaningful, the significance of a Higher Power in influencing birth outcomes and childbirth as a spiritually transforming experience

To read the entire release, visit here.