Medieval birth energy
Hildegard of Bingen was a 12th century German abbess, composer, physician, and seer of visions. She was known to take in pregnant women and care for them, often keeping them under her wing long after they had given birth to their babies.
As a physician she was interested in helping people heal and is credited as being given Divine assistance in this, as well as having accumulated knowledge of the natural world through her keen observations. Her book Causae et Curae (Causes and Cures) - from which our Quote of the Month is taken - was a lengthy taxonomy of insights into human physiology and pathologies, along with appropriately medieval treatments and remedies. In line with the ancient heritage of midwifery, her interests included the use of herbs for healing.
Hildegard was a polymath and a force of a woman who had great influence in her day, drawing the sick to her care and advising senior clerical and imperial leaders. She was officially canonised as a Saint in 2012 and was made a Doctor of the Church later the same year in recognition of the impact of her theological and mystical writings.
Human beings cannot live without the rest of nature, so they must care for all natural things.
Hildegard of Bingen, Physica
Her perception of the connectedness of phenomena in the natural world significantly shaped how she interpreted childbirth and this is evident in our quote. It is originally presented in a continuous format but I have laid it out to show the poetic structure and rhythm of Hildegard’s expression here.
Let’s dive in.
When birth is approaching, the vessel in which the child is enclosed is torn,
and then comes the eternal energy that took Eve from Adam’s side, and is present
and turns upside down all the corners of the shelter in the woman’s body.
All the structures of the woman’s body rush toward this energy, receive it and open up to it.
They do so until the child emerges. Its soul too feels the eternal energy that sent it,
and meanwhile it rejoices.
Hildegard of Bingen, Causae et Curae
This quote describes undisturbed physiological birth and shines as an example of ancient insight from a woman who knew how to witness and respect a mother in labour.
The “vessel” tearing of course refers to rupture of the amniotic sac which encloses the baby until shortly before or during labour.
The “eternal energy” is the Divine creative force that originally formed woman.
The “shelter” in the woman’s body turning upside down may be the contractions that lift from the topside of the uterus to open the cervix and thicken the fundus* ready to push baby out.
The “structures” rushing toward the energy would seem to be the involuntary pushing that a woman does when her uterus bears down on the baby as the moment of birth draws near. This physiological pushing is often referred to as the fetal ejection reflex.
Hildegard relies on the word “energy” to convey what is happening in a birthing woman’s body as she labours. This is so helpful for us to come back to when we are preparing to give birth or are in the middle of doing so! This ENERGY, according to Hildegard, comes from the eternal energy that animates the entire universe. It is not something that is happening to the birthing woman as if being imposed from the outside, but rather it surges through her. Her body uses this energy by being receptive to it, and in so doing she brings forth her child. Rushing toward this energy might be how we feel when we go into ‘labour land’ and are no longer connected to our outer world. Receiving and opening might be how it feels to surrender to the natural urge to push when baby is ready to descend the vaginal canal.
According to Hildegard this is the key to joyful birth. The child is “sent” from their mother’s body as both intuitively yield to the process. When baby takes his or her first breath, they are instinctively participating in the vitality of their wider environment as their little body already begins adjusting to life in the open air. Hildegard calls this “rejoicing”. Isn’t that simply beautiful? My heart is beaming thinking about my first moments with each of my babies when I heard their voices for the first time and held them to my chest. That is a moment to be revered and witnessed with wonder by those who are privileged to be near it.
Remember you do not know how life came into your body; and you do not know how to live outside your body. God alone understands these things.
Hildegard of Bingen, Sci Vias
Hildegard receiving a vision
Hildegard saw the world and humanity as intricately connected and dependent on each other via their common heritage as creations of a higher power. She also believed that the body and the soul need each other and that life is not about escaping the body but rather growing in wisdom by tuning into the body and taking care of it. She experienced divine insight with painful migraines and knew all too well that the most transformative encounters also have the greatest impact on our bodies. Just like a labouring woman, she embraced intense sensations which she associated with the power of flames (see image) in order to receive gifts from on high. In that light, she renders a beautifully sensitive vision of birth that is true to life without any of the medical jargon we have come to recognise in modern prenatal courses or birth textbooks. Without ever having given birth herself, her words offer me sense of awe at the countless generations of women before me who have given birth.
This quote lends itself for beautiful birth affirmations if that is your cup of tea. Here are some suggestions:
“I open to the eternal energy that brings my baby to me.”
“My body is receiving/opening to the energy of birth.”
“My baby is ready. I am ready.”
“My baby is instinctive. I am instinctive.”
“I am connected to God/The Divine. I was made to do this.”
Perhaps you’ll come up with your own. What might these words and the woman who wrote them inspire in you?
If you could sit with wise Hildegard over a herbal tea from her garden, what would you ask her about birth, womanhood, motherhood…? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.
XO
Deborah
Hildegard’s famous depiction of the universe as a ‘cosmic egg’
*fundus = top of the uterus which gets thicker and stronger throughout labour, while the lower part gets thinner and the cervix more open, until mama starts to feel ‘pushy’
Sources:
Maddocks, F. (2013). Hildegard of Bingen: The Woman of Her Age. Faber and Faber.
Van de Weyer, R. (1997). Hildegard in a Nutshell. London: Hodder and Stoughton.
https://theotherjournal.com/2017/10/holy-high-hildegard-found-inspiration-grounded-garden/