Bringing Forth Life
God’s purposes in pregnancy and birth
Jodie McIver
Bringing Forth Life
God’s purposes in pregnancy and birth
An imprint of Anglican Youthworks
Published January 2023
Copyright © Jodie McIver 2023
This book is copyright. Apart from fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism and review as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part of this book may be reproduced by any process without the express permission of the publisher.
Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission. NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® and NIV® are registered trademarks of Biblica, Inc. Use of either trademark for the offering of goods or services requires the prior written consent of Biblica US, Inc.
Work towards this publication was completed during an Anglican Deaconess Ministries Fellowship.
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National Library of Australia ISBN 978-1-922866-04-2 ISBN 978-1-922866-05-9 (eBook)
Editor: Rachel Macdonald
Theological editor: Harriet Connor
Cover and internal design: Andrew Hope Cover and chapter artwork: Holly Priddis Diagrams: shutterstock.com
Photos: page 9 © Peter Kaldor; pages 16 and 164 © Tim McIver; pages 58, 114 and 119 © Carlie Dalitz
Quote on page 17: Gaskin, IM 2008, Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth, Vermilion, London, pp. 141–142.
Quote on page 59: Lewis, CS 1960, The Four Loves, Geoffry Bles, London, <gutenberg.ca/ebooks/lewiscsfourloves/lewiscs-fourloves-00-h.html>.
Quote on page 115: Kitzinger, S 2015, ‘She let her five children scribble on every surface and lost them at sea for an entire night’, The Daily Mail, May 4, viewed September 23 2022, <dailymail.co.uk/femail/ article-3066519/She-let-five-children-scribble-surface-lost-sea-entire-night-Childbirth-expert-SheilaKitzinger-joy-eccentric-mother.html>.
Praise for Bringing Forth Life
This book is a lovely celebration of the God-given privilege of motherhood. Not shying away from the costs of child-bearing or parenting, it explores the miracle of new life as it develops and comes forth from a woman’s body. On a background of personal stories and helpful information, Jodie McIver explains how pregnancy and birth parallel God’s work to conform us to the image of Christ. It will be a helpful guide to those who want to think through the eternal significance of becoming parents.
Associate Professor Megan Best Physician and bioethicist, author of Fearfully and Wonderfully Made and A Life Already Started
In this much needed book, Jodie McIver brings together professional knowledge, personal experience and biblical wisdom. As she shows, though the journey from conception through pregnancy to childbirth is fraught with worries and fears, there is a great opportunity in these months to lean into God and to find his joy—and Jodie is a great companion and guide.
Rev Dr Michael Jensen
Rector of St Mark’s Anglican Church, Darling Point, author of Is Forgiveness Really Free? and co-host of With All Due Respect
Each time my wife and I were expecting the birth of our children, we had many questions. Do we go private or public? Do we need the invasive screening tests? How will this affect our family dynamics? Jodie McIver’s Bringing Forth Life answers these and many other common questions that all expecting parents ask. Jodie combines her wisdom as both midwife and mother to bring insights from medicine, the Bible and real-life stories. I especially appreciated Jodie’s warm, personal, calm tone. This will be a great go-to resource for all parents.
Rev Dr Sam Chan
Speaker for City Bible Forum, author of Evangelism in a Skeptical World; How to Talk About Jesus (Without Being That Guy) and Topical Preaching in a Complex World
However you’re feeling about the approaching birth of your (or a loved one’s) baby, Bringing Forth Life will help you set this process within a larger story of personal identity, relationship and purpose through engaging with the God who brings forth life. Appreciating that people bring very different baggage and expectations and sharing a wealth of experience (her own and those of many other women), Jodie McIver guides new and expectant mothers through the seismic changes happening in their bodies, minds and lives with assurance and warmth. Whether you’re looking for a matter-of-fact guide or a rich theological account of pregnancy and birth (a topic which features surprisingly often in the Bible, it turns out), this book has something for you.
Senior Research Fellow at The Centre for Public Christianity, author of The Pleasures of Pessimism and For the Love of God
Dr Natasha MooreThis book is dedicated to my children Raf, Elsie and Claudia who have taken me on this journey of bringing forth life
Contents
Introduction—A bigger picture of birth 9
Part 1: Bringing forth life 16
Chapter 1 The Bible, the ultimate birth story 18
Chapter 2 The privilege of womanhood 25
Chapter 3 Changing for the better: Pregnancy and our bodies 35
Chapter 4 The goodness of labour and birth 45
Part 2: Navigating uncertainty 58
Chapter 5 When bringing forth life comes at a higher cost 60
Chapter 6 Controlling risk or risking control: Pregnancy care and 73 genetic testing
Chapter 7 Birth under control: Making choices and trusting God 92
Part 3: The newborn mother 114
Chapter 8 A slimy stranger is thrust upon us: Meeting our baby 116
Chapter 9 Miraculously mundane: Caring for our baby and ourselves 125
Chapter 10 A new family is born 136
Chapter 11 The new arrival of ‘mummy guilt’ 147
Conclusion—Matrescence: Losing and finding ourselves again 157
Appendix 167 Acknowledgements 170
Introduction A bigger picture of birth
My story
My fascination with birth began at three years of age, when I watched my mother give birth to my brother. Throughout her labour I was busily tending to my doll, changing her nappy and listening to her heartbeat with a stethoscope. As the exciting moment of birth approached, I attentively watched my brother, Tim, emerging into our lives.
Again, at six years old, I was back at the birth centre. I awoke in a strange big bed there and was given a bowl of cornflakes to eat before witnessing my mother give birth to my sister, Tarn.
Most parents don’t choose for their children to be part of their birth, but it certainly has an impact. As a teenager, I can remember stopping by the side of the road when the opportunity to watch a cow give birth suddenly presented itself. In retrospect it’s not surprising that a year after finishing school, I became the youngest student in the first
Bachelor of Midwifery degree in NSW. This meant that I could become a midwife without detouring to study nursing on the way.
I find the female body intriguing, particularly in the way that it can adjust every function with clockwork precision to support the growth of a new little human within. I have enjoyed being involved with pregnancy, birth and new parenthood ever since, firstly as a midwife and then as a new mother myself.
Midwifery and ministry
During my twenties I was also deeply involved in the spiritual care of young women through my church. I felt a real tension between these twin vocations as the demands of shiftwork greatly reduced my capacity for church involvement. I would sleep all day after a night shift, struggling to regain enough energy to face the teen drama of the church youth group that evening. My decision to resign from my midwifery position and enrol in a full-time theology degree was either a well thought out assessment of priorities or a spontaneous whim, depending on who you ask.
After graduating from Bible college, I began to live a double life. It wasn’t quite as dramatic as being a superhero in disguise, but I felt the weight of juggling two entirely separate careers. Some days I would go off to work as a midwife, caring for the physical and emotional needs of women with their new babies. Other days I worked in church ministry alongside my new husband, caring for the spiritual and emotional needs of young women. It took me a long time to realise that these two roles needn’t have been as separate as they were. Eventually this led me to begin thinking about the spiritual significance of birth.
A few years ago, a prominent local church minister with thousands of Facebook friends posted a request for Christian resources on birth. He wanted to help a pregnant woman in his church who was feeling anxious. I was shocked at how little was available. Reflecting upon my own experiences in ministry, midwifery and having my own children, I realised I also hadn’t come across much about pregnancy and birth from a Christian perspective—or indeed thought about its spiritual significance myself.1
This is what has led me to this book.
1. Since looking more deeply into this topic, I have discovered a few relevant books from other countries. Holy Labor, by Aubry G Smith (2016, Kirkdale Press, Bellingham), was a great starting point for my thinking.
Introduction: A bigger picture of birth
A spiritual element to birth
Many cultures traditionally hold a spiritual understanding of birth as representing a fine line between life and what lies beyond. These different beliefs led to various practices and rites of passage. For example, traditional Balinese beliefs dictate that babies are not to touch the ground for three months after birth, while they remain connected to the sacred realm from which they have come.
In Western cultures, responsibility for birth has shifted from the family and community to the medical establishment, and its spiritual undertones have largely been diminished or forgotten. Spiritual aspects are only spoken of within particular birth philosophies, more generally eclipsed by discourse regarding risk and safety. 2 Birth in Western countries is now seen primarily as a medical event. But in many circumstances, birth need not be a medical event at all.
Many women feel a sense of something miraculous when giving birth to their babies. Even without a particular faith background, they become more religiously or spiritually minded as a result.3 I frequently have the privilege of observing women marvel with disbelief at the warm squishy newborn that has grown into existence inside of them. In a cross-cultural analysis of birth experiences, women commonly viewed being part of the creation of a child as spiritually transforming and very meaningful. The majority tied that transformation to a sense of spirituality or a higher power. 4 As will be explored in Chapter 1, I think that birth opens for us a small window into a much bigger picture.
Marvelling at maternity
Every new little person that I watch emerging from within their mother loudly declares to me the presence of a divine Creator. I love the scene in the British drama Call the Midwife where elderly Sister Monica Joan is examining a placenta after birth and loudly proclaims ‘I see the miracle of God himself’. 5 This sentiment that the divine designer has left visible fingerprints on birth rings true to me.
2. Wojtkowiak, J & Crowther, S 2018, ‘An existential and spiritual discussion about childbirth: Contrasting spirituality at the beginning and end of life’, Spirituality in Clinical Practice, vol. 5, issue 4, pp. 261–272.
3. Athan, A & Miller, L 2013, ‘Motherhood as opportunity to learn spiritual values: Experiences and insights of new mothers’, Journal of Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and Health , vol. 27, issue 4, pp. 220–253.
4. Callister, L & Khalaf, I 2010, ‘Spirituality in child-bearing women’, The Journal of Perinatal Education , vol. 19, issue 2, pp. 16–24.
5. Kershaw, N (director) 2021, Call the Midwife (season 10, episode 4) [television program], Neal Street Productions, London.