Birthkeeper of Bethlehem, by Bridget Supple - book review

I devoured this book in 2 sittings. It would have been one honestly but I started at night, in bed and sleep won, but it's a stunner!

It made me think of the photograph by Natalie Lennard - The Creation of Man,  the re-telling of the birth of a man, who thousands of years later is still shaping our world, through the eyes, hands and minds of women is a point of view I am much drawn to.

"Talia roars, the voice of women throughout the ages as they create life and force a baby through to the living world."

I've been fortunate enough to see Bridget Supple speak at a conference so I already knew of her deep knowledge and understanding of physiological birth and the care of women. I also love a good story and an engaging read, so this went straight on my to read pile!

When I speak with my clients about our experiences of childbirth before their pregnancy, so often they describe what they've seen on TV or in film, which for the purposes of pace, dramatic tension and other literary and dramatic devices draw on the rare, the difficult, the dangerous, the pain and then of course the rescue. "They" say that peaceful birth, the birth which our babies expect does not make good drama. This book proves that premise entirely incorrect. Mary's birth is 16 pages long and so you might be surprised to hear that the plot has pace. There are three births described all full of emotion and wonder. The wonder is not just in the drama of birth. The story is also rich with the detail of culture, ritual and community surrounding this most epic of stories. I spent much of the reading process with tears in my eyes.

"To be truly present at birth is to remember this. It is too easy to treat it as "just another birth". To forget that is to forget that his is an experience that will forge and change a mother, that is a spiritual and not just a physical event. If you treat it only as a process, you have forgotten it as a holy moment."

Of course there is drama, the arrival of a new life is the definition of that is it not? but birth is not the climax of the story arcs, there are the 40 days of rest, care and nourishment of the woman, so often in our modern day consigned to a footnote.

Through the re-telling of this, one of the most well-known stories of any birth, Bridget gives us plenty of lessons for our present and our future. You don't have to believe to thoroughly enjoy this telling of The Story, and can be read at any time of year. 

5 vulvas out of 5!*

"It is our secret. There is a strength that lies in all women, especially if they are supported and shown love. It can be transformative. But when a woman is not supported in her labour, it can break her."