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In The Belly of The Goddess: Belly Dance for
Pregnancy and Birth
By Cathy
Moore, CNM. 2004.
I began belly
dancing the same year that I finished my nurse-midwifery
training program. At the time, I had no idea that there was
an association between this dance form and birth. I guess
you could call it a bit of synchronicity that a midwife
would find herself pointed in the direction of studying an
ancient dance form whose origins are rooted in childbirth
preparation and ritual.
I was studying belly
dance with a group of women, The Goddess Dancing, whose
mission was to explore the deep feminine power and spiritual
connection inherent in this dance form, and to share their
discoveries with other women. My belly dance teachers
informed me that there was a link between belly dance and
birth. This assertion made intuitive sense to me, but it
wasn’t until about a year later that I had a personal
epiphany regarding this claim.
Belly Dance and
Birth
There have been a
number of women, most belly dancers themselves, who have
made the correlation between this dance and childbirth.
Most often cited, is
Morocco,
a NYC dancer and scholar, who in a series of articles
written in the 1970’s related her personal experiences of
being awakened to this connection, and of her experience of
attending a traditional birth ritual in the Middle East
which confirmed for her that belly dance is indeed a birth
dance. Rosina-Fawzia Al-Rawi, in her book
Grandmother’s Secrets, describes birth customs
still practiced in contemporary times in Arab countries
which include the laboring woman being surrounded by her
female friends and family who belly dance with her to
support the labor process. Barbara Brandt, the founding
mother of The Goddess Dancing was one of the first in the
Boston area to talk and write about the belly dance and
birth connection. She collaborated with area birth
professionals to present a series of workshops exploring the
link between belly dance and childbirth. And
Delilah,
a dancer from Seattle, has written about her personal
experiences as a pregnant belly dancer, and also produced a
beautiful video featuring herself dancing in her third
trimester of pregnancy as she embodies Isis, the Great
Mother.
My personal
realizations
I had my first
personal understanding of the connection of belly dance to
birth when I was learning to shimmy. The shimmy is a quick
vibration-type movement that is done with the hips, chest,
belly, and entire body. I had struggled with the shimmy for
a while, as many students do, and when I finally “got it”,
and could feel the wonderful looseness and relaxation of the
muscles of the pelvic floor, I knew instantly that this move
was intended to move a baby down the birth canal.
As a midwife, I have
the great privilege to observe human labor and birth on a
regular basis. Those of us who have the opportunity to
witness birth know that this is one of the most amazing
displays of female creative power that we will ever see… The
forces at work are nothing less than awesome. In my
observations of laboring woman, I began to see for myself
that the movements used in belly dance actually mimic many
of the physical and emotional manifestations of labor in a
woman’s body.
In the early phases
of the first stage of labor, the mood is one of excitement,
anticipation and welcoming of the onset of labor. Many
women, if left to their own instincts, choose upright
positions and naturally move their hips and pelvis in
circles and crescents. These are shapes commonly seen in
the slower belly dance moves. These movements help to
disperse the pain, and are often prescribed by midwives
especially when the woman is experiencing back pain. Many
midwives believe that moving the hips also facilitates the
baby finding the optimal position for entering the bony
pelvis.
As the labor
progresses to the active phase, and contractions become
stronger, the woman goes deeper into herself, an emotional
turning inward. This is similar in mood to the chiftitelli,
one of the sections in a typical Turkish 5-part dance
routine. Floorwork, dancing on the floor, is often employed
during the chiftitelli, and illustrates many of the
positions women assume when actually giving birth. In
ancient birthing traditions, a shallow depression would have
been dug into the earth to receive the baby, and the
birthing woman would lower herself to the floor and position
herself in such a way as to gently release the baby into
this hollow.
Many women, as they
enter the phase of labor known as transition – a time that
is considered to be the most intense of the entire labor,
will often display an uncontrollable trembling in their
limbs and entire body. A natural shimmy, brought on by the
labor itself!
Another amazing
observation for me, when I really saw it with my belly
dancers eyes, is the way the woman’s abdomen begins to
spontaneously undulate with the uncontainable urge to bear
down that signals the beginning of the second stage of
labor. I have seen this phenomenon even in women who opt
for epidural analgesia. She may no longer feel the urge to
push because of the numbing effect of the epidural, but her
body knows that it is time for pushing!
Belly Dance as a
prenatal exercise
Some of the same
women mentioned earlier who have written about the belly
dance and birth connection, have also suggested that belly
dance may have been the very first childbirth preparation
exercise. Morocco, in her research into prepared childbirth
classes such as Lamaze, found the exercises taught are
similar to, and in some cases exactly the same moves taught
in belly dance classes. Barbara Brandt, in her
collaborations with birth professionals, also explored the
usefulness of belly dance as a childbirth preparation
exercise.
The basic posture
used for belly dance, with the knees slightly bent, the
pelvis tucked under, and the heart lifted, is excellent for
counteracting many of the common discomforts associated with
the physical changes to her body which a woman experiences
during pregnancy, especially in the last trimester as she
approaches her due date.
The hip and torso
movements provide exercise to all the muscles of the abdomen
and the pelvic floor involved in birthing in terms of both
strengthening and improving flexibility.
Belly dance
benefits for pregnancy
From my personal
observations the potential benefits of belly dancing for a
pregnant woman are many, and I will list some of them here:
More and more,
research is showing that regular exercise in pregnancy
benefits both the mother and her baby. Regular exercisers
can expect to have overall shorter labors and less need for
interventions such as C-section. Studies show placental
blood flow is increased with moderate exercise. This means
the growing baby gets more oxygen
and nutrients delivered to
it throughout its intra-uterine life.
Unlike many forms of
fitness where the emphasis is on muscular contraction, belly
dance balances muscular contraction with expansion or
muscular lengthening, similar to yoga. This results in both
increased strength and flexibility. In our culture, many of
the forms of physical fitness in which we participate,
emphasize only muscular contraction – for example “rock hard
abs” or “buns of steel”. For birthing, a woman needs
muscles that are not only strong, but that are also flexible
enough to expand and lengthen in order move the labor along,
and to facilitate the birth.
Also, like Yoga, and
Tai Chi, and other forms of exercise which highlight the
mind body and spirit connection, belly dance improves body
awareness helping the woman to be in tune with her changing
body and her growing baby. These are essential elements for
a pregnant woman whether she desires an un-medicated birth
experience, or plans to make full use of current modern pain
management techniques such as epidural analgesia.
Healthy body image
is another benefit for women who belly dance. So many
women, whether pregnant or not, have experienced a wonderful
acceptance and appreciation of their bodies, as they
re-learn these movements which are essentially natural to
the female body. Any woman who lives in our modern culture,
and especially pregnant women who often hide under tent-like
clothing, can benefit from the “my body is great!” affirming
messages inherent in belly dance.
Because, at its
ancient roots, belly dance tells the story of woman’s
life-giving power, it is a natural for pregnant woman who
are at the peak of their creative power. Through belly
dance, a woman celebrates her fertility, sensuality and
abundance and affirms the fullness of her being.
Pam England, a nurse
midwife and author of the book
Birthing from Within,
which I recommend that all pregnant women and birth
professionals read, talks extensively about the importance
of active, creative self-expression to the birth process.
She and I both agree that belly dance is one of the many
avenues for this creative self-expression that is essential
for the pregnant woman in achieving her goals of
self-discovery and “birthing-in-awareness” (England et al,
1998). Giving birth is a rite of passage, and belly dance
is one powerful tool a woman can use to re-claim pregnancy
and birth.
In summary
Belly dance is an
ancient dance form rooted in childbirth that offers many
benefits for contemporary women seeking to re-claim their
power during this significant rite of passage.
Copyright: Cathy Moore - 2004. |
