Birth is a profound rite of passage. A passage and experience that has lost touch with the sacredness of what it is, and with the fundamental needs of women who are birthing.
For thousands of years, cultures across the world have honored birth as a sacred threshold, marking a woman's passage into motherhood with ritual, community, and deep reverence. Some cultures show a deep appreciation and care for the mother during birth and post-birth recovery especially.
Sadly, through industrialisation birth has been — and continues to be — reduced to a medical procedure, stripping it of the power and agency that come naturally to women when births are left undisturbed.
I feel passionate about reclaiming birth as an active, empowering process — one that celebrates women's innate bodily knowing and trust in their body.
The transition into motherhood, known as matrescence, is as profound as adolescence. It reshapes a woman's brain, preparing her for the deep connection and responsibility of nurturing a child.
Studies show that during pregnancy, the brain undergoes structural changes, enhancing areas linked to empathy, intuition, and emotional regulation. Oxytocin, the “love hormone,” surges during labor, reinforcing bonding and creating an altered state of consciousness that allows women to move instinctively through birth.
Physically, the body transforms in preparation. The pelvis softens, the uterus strengthens, and hormonal shifts make the body more flexible and resilient. Mentally, the experience of birth can be both exhilarating and intense, requiring a surrender to the process and a deep trust in the body's innate wisdom.
I hear many women who have birthed expressing the magnitude of this change. I gave birth when I was 36 years old. Looking back, I feel that birth was this big seismic opening that was needed to park or release some — if not many — of my maiden dreams, aspirations and ideals, and grow the capacity to move into the more complex role of mother and growing woman.
I wish for more women to feel connected to birth as a rite of passage, a doorway through which you step into motherhood. Not in the spiritual way of making a ritual and there, done with that. I mean creating space to be with the changes, share about it and invest in creating a supportive network. Simple things, like surrounding yourself with people you feel care for your wellbeing, and most importantly being super tender with yourself — because you are also birthing the mother within you.
Step into it with trust, with strength, knowing that you are part of an ancient lineage of mothers who have walked this path before you. Let that hold you when you need support.
Thank you for reading,
Irida Hysenbelli — Rite of Passage Doula