The term Ecstatic Birth refers to a wide range of positive birth experiences that lay the foundation for empowered motherhood. This term is trademarked by Sheila Kamara Hay who launched the global Ecstatic Birth movement in 2011 with a series of events that brought together leaders in female health, sexuality and childbirth, weaving each teacher's body of knowledge into a consciousness raising digital program for expectant moms and practitioners, now known as the Ecstatic Birth Training Sessions.
In the introduction speech to Ecstatic Birth Training Sessions, Sheila Kamara Hay says "An ecstatic birth is a childbirth experience that is full of ecstasy. Ecstasy is a feeling of overwhelming bliss, overwhelming pleasure, and it has a lot of different components to it: it can be physical ecstasy, physical pleasure; it can be mental, it can be spiritual as well. So, emotional, mental, spiritual, physical, all of these different components are part of ecstasy. An ecstatic birth can be any or all of these."
In the rest of the speech, we can find more details about what Ecstatic birth is and what it is not. Ecstatic birth is not necessarily an easy birth, although it may be easy. Ecstatic birth may be painful and may be painless. It may include sexual pleasure and orgasms and may not include it. Ecstatic childbirth is a fairly broad concept that includes a fairly wide range of scenarios in childbirth. It even includes a cesarean delivery. Yes, a cesarean can also be ecstatic if approached with the right attitude.
Ecstatic birth is the most natural thing that may happen to a woman when she and her birth team treat the nature of the bodily processes and birthing woman's sexuality with respect. While having all of it in mind, it is important to remember that total euphoria from birth and beautiful birth full of pleasure is ideal. It is an ideal for inspiration, and not a standard to be judged upon, because in birth like in any area of life even the best plans may fall apart.
At the same time, Ecstatic birth to a large extent is primarily determined by our ability to see it as ecstatic. And the difference between a traumatic experience and an ecstatic experience may simply be in how you react to it and how you perceive it. Ecstasy is present in every difficult life experience: the only question is whether you can find it or will remain a victim of your circumstances.
You can learn more about how to create Ecstatic Birth experience from a lecture of Sheila Kamara Hay below:
It is also important to mention that Ecstatic Birth is a synonym of the term Orgasmic Birth that is trademarked by world-famous doula Debra Pascali-Bonaro. Contrarily to the common misconception that unfortunately still seen even among birth workers, the term Orgasmic Birth does not refer only to those rare fascinating births where women experience something called birthgasms - spontaneous orgasms during labor. In their book, Orgasmic Birth: Your Guide to a Safe, Satisfying and Pleasurable Birth Experience, Elizabeth Davis and Debra Pascali-Bonaro define Orgasmic Birth as "broad enough to include those who describe birth as ecstatic and specific enough to give voice to those who actually feel the contractions of orgasm and climax at the moment of delivery." Debra Pascali-Bonaro and Elizabeth Davis attended many births and talked to many women about their experiences. They say that many of their interviewees spoke of astounding pressure and sensation in the vagina as birth approached, followed by a flood of release and emotion as the baby emerged. So according to them, orgasmic birth refers to any birth experience "whenever a woman can look back on these moments with joy when the physical and emotional aspects of birth are fully experienced as pleasurable".
If you have not watched an amazing documentary Orgasmic Birth: the Best Kept Secret, we highly recommend you to do it soon, especially if you plan to have children in the near future. We, the founders of Mariposa project, have watched it long before conceiving our children. It played a big role in our education as future parents and helped us to create amazing positive birth experiences for our children, experiences most people never hear about. You can purchase both the movie and the book at www.orgasmicbirth.com. Meanwhile, enjoy the Orgasmic Birth movie trailer.
I know that for many to believe the Ecstatic/Orgasmic Birth exists you need to see more examples. Here are 3 interviews with the women that were featured in the Orgasmic Birth movie.
Some of you may be curious about how birthgasms even possible. While there is very little research in this regard, some experts believe that besides setting up the right conditions that don't interrupt the birthing process, the likelihood to have a birthgasm is related to a woman's ability to be present, trust her body, and orgasm in her daily life. The sad reality is that our culture does not encourage us to do that. We live mainly in our heads. We live in a world where the medical establishment has normalized dysfunction, suggesting that most women can't experience powerful vaginal orgasms or that organ prolapses and urine inconsistency is part of normal after childbirth or a certain age. A holistic sex and relationship coach Kim Anami says that all of it is a myth and that every woman can fix those problems without surgery, and it is every woman's birthright to experience cervical orgasms which are the most powerful, pleasurable and life-changing orgasms a woman can have. In other words, the ability to experience all types of orgasms available to women can be trained. Have a look at the video below where Kim Anami shows us how birth and orgasms are related. It contains quotes from many more women and an interview with her client, who describes the difference between her two births and how her going from not having orgasms to experiencing the full range of orgasms (after taking Kim's classes) contributed to her second birth experience. It is extraordinary and, at the same time, not surprising that the bliss she experienced throughout her labor resulted in her daughter being born with a smile on her face.
So if you watched the videos above, you don't need us to tell you that a woman who experienced pleasure, joy, love, and ecstasy as a part of her birth experience comes out of it empowered. She knows that if she has done this, she is capable of anything. The energetic expansion and rebirth she went through will enable her to raise a strong and psychologically healthy generation of children, and give so much more to her children than a woman who experienced trauma at birth.
We also know that to experience that level of pleasure and surrender, women can not be scared. To transform our current birth culture – which is dominated by fear and violence – into a birth culture centered around honoring women and recognizing the importance of a birthing mother's pleasure and psychological well-being, we need more women to educate themselves.
If you would like to contribute to creating Ecstatic Birth culture, go through the resources below, and share them with others even if you don't plan to have babies any time soon.
Moreover, to learn more about the practical steps we plan to make to create Ecstatic Birth Culture in Startup City Mariposa and its feasibility, click here.
If you are looking for a certified Ecstatic Birth Practioner to attend your birth, check for the EBPT alumni list here. If you live in Central America, your closest option will be the founder of Mariposa project Katerina Morin who got certified in 2017. It is her dream to create more educational opportunities for future parents and birth practitioners once startup city Mariposa is set up.
Moreover, to learn more about the practical steps we plan to make to create Ecstatic Birth Culture in Startup City Mariposa and its feasibility, click here.