This is part of my “Pink Kit Walkthrough with Fiver” series
I find it really interesting to read through the Pink Kit (PK) materials as a woman who has gone through childbirth. It’s also interesting to the read them as a woman who has had a “Pink Kit baby” and is now coming back to the PK to prepare for another birth.
One of the most powerful things about the Pink Kit is something you would usually think of as a disadvantage with childbirth programs – it has a “one size fits all” approach.
Use it for a homebirth.
Use it for a hospital birth.
Use it if you’re planning on pain medications.
Use it if you’re planning on a cesarean.
It brings to mind Dr. Seuss (and Laurie Coker’s breastfeeding poem):
You can use it in your house
You can use it with a mouse
You can use it on a train
I’ll bet you could use it on a plane
You can use it in a car
You can use it near or far
You can use the Pink Kit Anywhere!
And any mother can use it.
We live in a world of niche marketing – that means everything we get is marketed to a specific demographic. This is especially true with childbirth classes. Moms who are planning a hospital birth often take hospital classes. But those moms wanting a natural birth may take Bradley classes, or one of the hypnobirthing methods. These childbirth kits are marketed towards those moms desiring a “natural” birth. The hospital markets to women who want “all the options.”
But The Pink Kit totally ignores all of those distinctions. The only qualification you need for the Pink Kit method is the desire to get your baby out of your womb and into your arms – and what pregnant mother doesn’t have that as her end goal?
It doesn’t matter how you want that baby out. You want your baby in your arms at the end of the day – be it a short or long day, on a bed or in a tub… you get the idea.
The Pink Kit is an amazing resource because it’s useful for all birthing women (and their husbands and/or support people). It’s basic and simple – you want to move your baby from inside to outside. Birth at its finest!
I truly get into the spiritual/emotional aspect of birth – but as I begin to prepare for the birth of our new baby, I can’t help feel refreshed by my work with the Pink Kit resources. It really doesn’t matter if I have a super-short birth (like I did with Galen), or if I have a longer birth like I did with a couple of the other babies.
It doesn’t matter if I have a painless birth. It doesn’t matter if it hurts like hell!
I can use the skills I’m (re)learning to help myself have a good birth – one where I feel in control. As an added bonus, Scott gets to know that he’s really helping me. We’ll both be empowered with skills to be in control of this baby’s birth, no matter what happens, how long it takes, or how much it does or doesn’t hurt.
Universal birthing skills matter – they make a difference for moms, dads and partners, and for babies – because the family comes away knowing that they were empowered and skilled to work with what came. In the end, a hard birth experience can be very satisfying if the family knows they dealt with it well – and an amazing birth experience is even more amazing when the family knows their hard work paid off to make it amazing.
More on actual work with the PK materials coming up – I just needed to wax poetic for a bit about just why it’s so important to learn these timeless and universal skills.
