Last Valentine's Day my family gathered for the arrival of our second home-born daughter. Leslie, my wife's birth assistant, calmly supported little Elizabeth as she slid into the world. In a moment that passed too swiftly, the harvest of life was complete and we watched with silly grins as Elizabeth moved and breathed and turned a healthy pink. I wanted to remain in that moment forever, floating in its warmth and ecstasy, carefully examining each wavy dark hair on her head, each wrinkled finger and toe. But time moved on, and I carefully filed away the memories as if they were precious, fragile photos to be preserved in a family album. Like her sister Lydia Maurine, little Elizabeth felt and heard within moments the joy of all those friends and family who will be her base of support in the years to come. She knew immediately the touch of her brother and sister. And it all happened in the home where she will be anchored against the storms that threaten every growing child. The aromas of life may be sweet or bitter. They may dance together or clash in opposition. Whether at home or in the hospital, the aromas that welcome our children are our choice. When pregnancy is treated as a disease and birth as an operation, the aromas disappear in a cloud of sterility. Instead, the new life in a mother's womb should be treated as a blessing from God and birth as a miracle never to be fully comprehended. As I remember those wonderful aromas surrounding my daughter's birth, I can envision them rising as incense to the heavens where the angels, responding to the sweet perfume, dance with joy and sing her name, their voices echoing among the stars. And, cradling my daughter in my arms, I welcome them to our celebration.
-Bob Weeks, excerpted from "Welcome, Elizabeth," Midwifery Today Issue 30
Reprinted from Midwifery Today E-News (Vol 1 Issue 53, Dec 31, 1999)
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