In this show, I interview pioneers in women’s health and personal development about ground-breaking concepts that help women reclaim lost knowledge and inner wisdom.
By bridging insights from ancient traditions and modern research, we’ll question stale cultural narratives and midwife a new paradigm around birth, life transitions, and women’s autonomy. Join me as we delve into stories and studies that empower women to reconnect with their inner voice.
In the third episode of the Wisdom Messenger Podcast, I am interviewed by Bridget Supple from the International Journal of Birth and Parent education about the article I published in the journal about drumming and birth.
Highlights of this episode include:
Complementary therapies for birth and the myth of evidenced based maternity care
What brought me to postpartum care and to drumming
The benefits of drumming during pregnancy and birth
How maternity care interrupts the birth trance
My most memorable experience using drumming during birth
How drumming can help in the current state of maternity care
Here’s a summary of the article published in the International Journal of Birth and Parent Education:
Drumming has historically been used by women in feminine-centered religions and rituals surrounding major life events like birth. However, these practices were suppressed and disconnected from women with the rise of patriarchal societies. Reintegrating drumming traditions into pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum can help restore a sense of the sacred and empowerment for women.
Research shows that drumming induces measurable changes in brain waves, hormones, and physiology. Benefits include relaxation, pain relief, reduced anxiety/stress, and altered states of consciousness. For birth specifically, drumming can provide a sense of focus, community, intuition, and trust in the process.
During pregnancy, drumming can reduce anxiety, promote calm and focus, foster community and intuition, and support late-term coping. For labour and birth, key benefits are relaxation, pain relief through endorphins and trance states, separation from normal consciousness, and empowerment during challenges. Postpartum drumming can support emotional, physical, spiritual wellbeing and healing through rituals.
The type of drumming that is most helpful follows an intuitive rhythm rather than a set tempo. Drumming can be incorporated throughout pregnancy, birth, and postpartum or just in specific stages based on the mother’s needs. This can include sound baths, drum journeys for guidance, and focused drum healing.
In conclusion, while understudied, cross-cultural accounts and women’s experiences highlight drumming’s value in bringing calm, empowerment, and intuition to pregnancy and birth. Reintegrating this ancestral practice can support restoring the sacredness and women’s inner wisdom and autonomy in the transition to motherhood.
You can find the article Drumming for birth: Why drumming is a powerful support tool for pregnancy and birth at https://ijbpe.com/
Or message me for a PDF copy of the article.
If you enjoy the article you can subscribe to the journal for only £10 a year this October 2023 (£25 a year normally), and access the entire 10 years database of past articles too.
You can listen/watch to this episode of the podcast on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcast.
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