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Birth Guardians: Jane Hardwicke Collings

Birth Guardians: Jane Hardwicke Collings

Last updated on: December 12, 2012 at 4:51 pm by Sarah Whedon

Birth Guardians: Jane Hardwicke Collings 2012-12-12T16:51:44-05:00 Sarah Whedon

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

This is the first in a new series, inspired by Radical Doula Profiles, profiling people who work with pregnancy, birth, or the postpartum period (prenatal massage therapists, childbirth educators, OB/GYNs, doulas, midwives, lactation consultants, labor & delivery nurses, pediatricians, etc.) and are Pagan or work with a Pagan community. If you would like to be a part of the series please send an email to [email protected].

What is your name?

Jane Hardwicke Collings

What kind of work do you do with pregnancy, birth, or the postpartum period?

I am a midwife, I’ve been attending homebirths since 1984.

I give workshops called “Pregnancy The Inner Journey.”

I have started and run a school – The School of Shamanic Midwifery.

In what ways does Paganism affect your work?

Paganism completely informs my work, specifically with the interconnectedness of everything and everyone, the wisdom of cycles, celebrating the seasons and the Goddess and God energies.

How can we honor what is sacred in childbearing?

By getting out of the way and so allowing the mother to connect with her divine nature and give birth. This happens through respecting the mother’s biological need for privacy and protection (an ‘undisturbed birth’) during her labour and birthing experience, so she can access the altered state of consciousness that is the blueprint for labour and birth and so connect with the sacred dimension of birth and herself and the baby. If she is disturbed this doesn’t happen. Disturbance can take many shapes.

If you could tell Pagans one thing about pregnancy or birth, what would it be?

Everyone has the birth they need to have to teach them what they need to learn on their journey to wholeness. There are no successes or failures, simply the birth experience that the mother’s mindset, beliefs and fears enables. Preparation for birth needs to include acknowledging and letting go of your fears, and updating your beliefs. It REALLY maters how a baby is born, and how a mother gives birth, so unnecessary intervention (and most of it is) is to be avoided.

Find Jane Hardwicke Collings on the web at:

[email protected]
www.moonsong.com.au
www.schoolofshamanicmidwifery.com

birth

Birth Guardians

homebirth

Jane Hardwicke Collings

midwife

Pregnancy The Inner Journey

The School of Shamanic Midwifery

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