REMEMBERING THE FIRST DOCUMENTED WATER BIRTH IN THE USA (28th Oct 1980)
October 2020 Newsletter
WELCOME and BLESSINGS
My deep desire is that this connection finds you enjoying good health and a sense of well-being, in the midst of the appearance of chaos all around us. We do have the ability to respond to whatever is happening in our own way, and our choices do matter.
I am pleased to let you know that we are giving away 40 copies of HAVING A BABY IS THE MOST NATURAL THING IN THE WORLD, our bestselling MP3. It is the 40th anniversary of the first documented water birth in the USA, and it is important to me to celebrate that miraculous event. It changed my life forever, AND it was the most natural thing in the world.
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REMEMBERING
THE FIRST DOCUMENTED WATER BIRTH IN THE USA
LA JOLLA, CALIFORNIA 28 OCTOBER 1980
BINNIE A DANSBY
The 40th anniversary of the first water birth is imminent. Although I have written about it and spoken about my participation with the preparation and the birth, I think it is a good time to reflect on my experience of this momentous event and to honour our original commitment to the process.
I met Jiaya and Patrick Lighthouse (Houser), parents of that first US water baby, on the 16 November 1979 at Sondra Ray’s Loving Relationships Training in La Jolla, CA. I had just moved to the area from New York City with my two sons and co-organised that event.
Along with organising for Sondra Ray, I started a counselling and rebirthing breathwork practice. Jiaya and Patrick asked to do sessions with me as a couple. I agreed. We discovered that they lived nearby, so I happily invited them and their 4-year-old son to use our hot tub and swimming pool (a pure joy for my sons and me having just come from the East Coast).
In January of 1980, my friend Dr Linda Thistle and I created a 2-day gathering of 80 women in Los Angeles called Outrageous Woman. Jiaya Lighthouse (Houser) participated in that event. The completion process was an invitation to each woman to step into the circle of 80 and declare what she wanted to create in her life. Every woman heard and added their energy to each desire. When I stepped into the circle I was very open and vulnerable. I spoke about my second birth experience which was an intense, pleasurable and orgasmic experience. I then heard myself say that I wanted to support women to give birth both physically and emotionally so that their babies would not have to forget ‘who they are and why they are here’.
I had no idea when or how this could possibly manifest.
Just about a month later I was in the checkout line at my local supermarket, and I saw an intriguing picture on the front of a tabloid newspaper, The National Enquirer. I pulled the newspaper from the rack to look more closely. It was indeed a baby being born into water. In that moment I had a full body, felt experience of ‘YES! This is the way to birth a baby!’ The picture was of a woman giving birth in a Plexiglas tank in Russia. The article spoke about Igor Charkovsky who was a Russian physical therapist who believed that being born into water would relieve the baby’s brain and body of the shock of gravity so that it could develop to full potential.
I bought the newspaper and a day or two later the Lighthouse (Houser) family walked into my home with the same newspaper and the same sense of ‘Yes!’ that I had. Little did we know that at that moment they were very early pregnant.
When it became obvious that there was a new Lighthouse (Houser) on the way, we tried to communicate with Charkovsky. We never managed to make contact. We did our work with the breath and process most often in water. I supported Jiaya and Patrick to become conscious of their experiences of birth and the life diminishing decisions that they had made in that source event. I was keen for them to experience the physical, emotional, and psychic memories stored in the body and consciousness that I had experienced and was continuing to experience. They did have real, felt memory of themselves as consciousness before and during birth which, I think, led to a deeper commitment to birthing their baby in a way that differed from the norm. They also worked with pre and perinatal psychology pioneer David Chamberlain. He used hypnosis to evoke memories of the prenatal and natal experience.
In our preparation work Jiaya, Patrick, and I paid particular attention to listening for our fears about birth. Using the conscious connected breath in a safe environment, we could actually feel the fear held in the body and identify the thoughts that defined the feelings. The step by step process to the truth of “My body is safe, no matter how I am feeling!” and “I am surrounded by love and support from all the beings in my life!” is the most powerful work a pregnant couple can do. The work requires a commitment to deep healing. It involves using the conscious connected breath to integrate the most fundamental of all affirmations, “It is safe to breathe!”, “I can trust my body!”, I can trust Nature!”. The work is satisfying and empowering and available to anyone.
We looked for support from the medical community, and found none. I spoke with a physician friend whom I thought to be quite sympathetic to alternatives. When I told him of our plans, he said immediately,” Binnie, the baby will drown.” After recovering from my shock, I responded, explaining that the baby is in water in the mother and will have oxygen and nutrients from the umbilical cord when it comes into the pool. My words fell on deaf ears. When I showed him the picture and report about babies being born in water in Russia he rejected what he saw as too big a risk. Even most home midwives refused our requests.
We continued our own research and found support in our findings. I remember the reassurance I received reading “Magical Child” by Joseph Chilton Pearce. When I read that the best matrix for learning is to move from the known to the unknown and to be able to refer back to the known, I knew that being born into water would provide a teaching that the body and the world is safe and supportive. I knew that water would provide a place for the woman in labour to safely relax, get into positions that felt right for her, and where she could receive support as she needed it. I knew that the water pool was a space where the baby could enter into a known element, where she/he could unfold after the journey through the birth canal. Then encountering the unknown, pressure and temperature change, air on the skin, the first autonomous act of taking a breath, could all be in a gentle fashion in Mother’s or Father’s arms. It seemed to be the perfect medium for the father to be able to support and participate and even receive his child if he chose. Being born into water made so much sense to me, and it still does; although, I have come to believe in my heart of hearts that it is the consciousness with which we approach and engage with any undertaking in life that determines the effect it has on our lives.
Jeremy was born into a fibreglass Jacuzzi pool rented for the purpose of the birth. It was filled with bottled mineral water to which we added salt in an attempt to create an environment close to the saline content of the amniotic fluid. The pool was placed in the very clean and spacious garage attached directly to the house. October in the San Diego area is warm and sunny, and we had extra heaters just in case.
Close friends were carefully selected from our rebirthing breathwork community, and we had several meetings to share about our thoughts, suggestions, and fears about the birth. Everyone took full responsibility for their participation with an agreement to be transparent with their feelings. Each person had breathwork sessions to process deep fear, resistance, and anxiety, as well. The team consisted of a videographer, a close woman friend, a massage therapist, and a friend who was an acupuncturist, as well as the midwife. We were confident and clear that this was just where we wanted to be to support this ‘miracle in the making’.
One of my favourite memories of the time awaiting this birth is a dream that I had. The dream was very clear guidance to saturate soft cotton ‘receiving blankets’ with apricot kernel oil, warm them, and have that be the first thing that touches the baby’s skin after skin to skin contact with parents. I knew that apricot kernels were full of healing Vitamin B17 and other nutrients, and did not know that you could purchase the oil. I found the oil and followed the guidance. The pool room was next to the kitchen. I saturated the cloths and placed them in a paper bag. As planned, one of the team put them in a warm oven during the short labour.
There was barely time for the team to gather, as Jiaya’s labour was short and intense, about an hour. She and Patrick were in the water using the connected breath, the affirmation, “My body is safe no matter how I am feeling!”, and flowing with the contractions. Jeremy was received by his father and held quietly and gently until his mother settled and received him into her arms. He was underwater for approximately 20 minutes still receiving oxygen and nutrients from the umbilical cord. Patrick or Jiaya checked the pulsation of the cord often. He was peaceful and appeared to be sleeping with eyes closed. What I saw was this Mother, Father, and Child, what I call ‘The Divine Triad’, in a shared womb. Everything was quiet and meditative, with tears flowing from the deeply felt experience of the beauty, the purity, and the privilege of witnessing this historic event. I have often compared my experience of that time with visits to ancient places of worship.
The next phase began when Jiaya became aware that her placenta was detaching. Patrick helped her to stand, and as she was stepping out of the pool, the placenta slipped out. I caught it, much to my surprise, and put it in ‘the placenta bowl’ that was handed to me by one of the team. The placenta and I stayed close to Patrick who was holding the baby, cord attached. He then handed me the precious child so that he could support Jiaya. Someone of the team covered him with the warm, oil saturated cloth as he came into my arms. He went from his father’s and his mother’s arms to mine, and was then wrapped in the warm cloths. As soon as the midwife completed her quick exam of Jiaya, she and Patrick cut the cord.
I cherish the memory of those moments when I was holding that wholly peaceful Being. Throughout the pregnancy I had a sense of knowing that he and I were communicating. Now his eyes were closed, and I began to connect my breath, rocking gently as you do when holding a baby. I was listening to his gentle baby, rapid breathing, and I had the thought, ‘I think it is time for a deep cleansing breath’. One little eye opened and looked at me as he took a deep breath with me, and settled even more.
That was a great teaching.
My soul’s purpose to promote and support expansive, conscious, connected, natural birthing practices was revealed and bound to my heart that day. We can heal the wounds that we say we want to heal and we can change ALL the things we want to change, if we change our birthing practices. That will require us to have the courage to change our minds and heal our fears about birth.
Having a baby is the most natural thing in the world!
BLESSINGS, Binnie,
Oxford, UK, 10 October 2020
I am grateful to Patrick Houser for his support in writing this piece. His hands are the hands that received that first water baby, his son, pictured above.
His book, FATHERS TO BE HANDBOOK, A Roadmap for the Transition to Fatherhood, is available in the shop on my website.
LOVE and BLESSINGS
Binnie
21st October 2020