In the news is a blog post that looks at a relevant news article that came up on social media. The article may be recent or may just be something stuck in the “reading list” section in my phone browser for who knows how long. It summarizes the article in my three take aways. If they peak your interest, give it a read. 

The article:


 “Most of the 13,000 people who live in Nunavik speak Inuktitut as their first language. Now, it’s also the first language their newborns will hear.”


My 3 Take-Aways…

1. There are giant moments in our lives. Having a baby come into your life is one. When trying to decide how to deliver, there is no “right” or “wrong” way. How we welcome our babies is tied to our culture and values. However, there are times when our choices are taken away. The oppression has an impact on how the experience feels and goes. It can also represent a larger story of oppression in our lives. 

Food for thought…

  1. What matters to you most about delivery?
  2. What ways does culture (yours and the environment you live in) make it difficult for you to do what you want to do for delivery?

Here are some examples of priorities: your safety, the baby’s safety, comfort, environment, skin-to-skin contact, expertise, choices, language spoken, practices and rituals, people present, having a voice, your mental wellness. 

Here are some examples of ways culture can impact delivery: promoting the false idea that you have total control over delivery outcome by avoiding interventions, emphasizing the risks instead of choices, minimizing your knowledge over medical knowledge, always discussing a “right” way to do pregnancy and delivery over options, emphasizing the idea that natural and medication free delivery is more moral or represents strength of character. 

2. We want our babies to be born into our worlds. Ideally, our little ones are born straight into the world we want to include them in, and not into one that doesn’t fit for us. Sometimes that happens and sometimes it cannot. 

Food for thought…

  1. What are the things that you want your baby to see and hear when they come into this world? What small ways can you bring your world to your baby, no matter how the birthing process unfolds?
  2. What do you want to see and hear when you deliver? What small ways can you bring your world to your delivery, no matter how the process unfolds?

Here are some examples: pictures, music, a person, a sentence, a wish, a blanket, a gesture, a ritual, etc. 

3. We need our people. There are people who speak the same language as you and share your values.  We feel comforted, understood, held and safe with their presence. And…how we feel matters during delivery. 

Food for thought…

  1. Who are your people, the people who understand you and who share your values?
  2. How will your people be included in your baby’s birth?

Here are some examples: recording or sharing photos of the birth when you feel able to, having certain people present at the birth, have the people close to you offer you gift with a message to take to delivery (like a magnet to represent the pull of their energy to yours or a toy hammer to represent your strength), taking photos with you of the people you want present, picking a trait you admire from the people closest to you and writing them on a card to inspire you during the delivery. “`

Kristin Romanoski

Kristin Romanoski

Kristin Romanoski, R.Psych., College of Alberta Psychologists Member 4048. Kristin is founder of Rooted Support.

Our office is in Currie Barracks

Suite 032, 2526 Battleford Avenue SW
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E: info@rootedsupport.ca