Birth Poetry by Stephanie Elliott

This exaggerated hip swing, 
The rocking of my own cradle;
Relaxin relaxes my joints into soft sensual submission, 
Allowing me to open, open, open.

How did I get here?
Oxytocic orgasm, 
Estrogen and Progesterone, mounting, mounting, mounting,
Leaving me cry, cry, crying, over spilt milk. 

How did I know I was here? 
HCG whispered it in my ear
Two blue lines, in parallel
The tell tale sign, that every woman anticipates and fears.

Oxytocin awakes me at 2am, 
I feel the pulling
The downward force 
My body is moving
...without my permission.

Still, it says yes, and asks for more.
More oxytocin... more....
More pain, more force.

The hours go by...
I pace and dance 
With my relaxin hip swing.

I feel the baby drop down

                                                Down

                                                                Down.

Prostaglandins are massaging my cervix, 
Softer, thinner, 
Creating gentle passage for my child.

Down and through he slides...

Just when I think I can take no more, 
When I can do no more to birth my child.
Endorphin release...

Things get less sharp...
The sights, the sounds, the pain.
Suddenly it is just me 
And this child... Working together, a team.

Finally the time is coming
Rushes of oxytocin are overwhelming
I feel a rush of urgency and fear
Catecholomines.

Noradrenaline is telling me to get this baby out...

So I push... 
My heart pounds and I push....

                                                And I push...
And the child bursts forth, and lies before me...
Shakes its head and begins to scream.

I feel something come over me,
Something I never knew I could feel
Overwhelming love, intoxicating....

I hold my child on my chest,
He slowly bobs towards my breast.
I watch him with tears in my eyes. 
Prolactin and oxytocin bring me so close to my child.

These hormones have made me a mother today.