In the partograph (traditional obstetric graph of labor progress), labor is depicted as an “ascending hill” with the line ending abruptly when the baby is born. But this graph does not depict the mother’s and father’s ongoing journey postpartum. 

In one of the Mentor Training-Workshops, Pam England taught us that "linear graphs and elaborate explanations of labor make sense to expectant parents attentively taking notes in childbirth class. They are able to make perfect sense of it with their left-brain, processing the information through words, reason and memory, and arranging the information in a logical order that leads to a rational conclusion. The problem here is that women labor in their right-brain and "old brain" (which hasn’t changed in 50,000 years)!

And the parents right-brain also is activated by the labor graphs, which are received as non-verbal symbols that communicate loud and clear: "Labor is predictable, and its mystery is understood and safely guarded by authorities." Even when the childbirth teacher SAYS "labor isn't always this way," pictures paint a thousand words, and the picture is what is remembered in labor. In reality, few labors begin and progress “as the crow flies.” 

Our birth culture is in dire need of a new map, a sacred symbol; one that taps into our feminine intuition, and allows us to feel (rather than think or plan) our way during the intuitive process of birth. What image would better serve a mother navigating her way through labor? What symbol would serve our entire birth culture for that matter? The labyrinth.

The labyrinth is an ancient, sacred symbol of our psychic life; it is a collective symbol as it has been found in every ancient civilization, dating back millennium. The twists and turns in a labyrinth accurately portray the physical and psychic meandering mothers experience in labor and postpartum. 

Labor As A Labyrinth

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Labor is likened to walking a labyrinth that is dimly lit, its corridors lined with hedges or walls that conceal the entire pattern. You never quite know where you are, and you have no control over the direction it takes you.  The spiralling inward and weaving back and forth in hairpin turns invokes your patterns of responding to the unknown, e.g. resistance, despair, surrender or impatience’’ Hairpin turns move the seeker towards, then away from the centre, invoking sudden shifts in mind and emotion; the seeker-parent may become hopeful, overconfident, then disoriented, tired, or impatient. If you are impatient and wanting to escape the unknown, before acting on impulse, inquire: WHO is impatient? From where does this knowing to be impatient arise?’

With labor's first contractions, a mother crosses a personal-threshold from what she knows, from who she believes she is, into the unknown. The first step can seem ordinary, or it might require a quantum leap of faith. Either way, it is a step inward. The path within labyrinths, as with labor, is unpredictable and convoluted; there are no decisions to make except to stay on the path, putting one foot in front of the other until the mother arrives at the centre--the triumph of birth.

The End Becomes the Beginning. . .

In the “laborynth” model, when the journey "ends" in the center, it also "begins." The mother and father must now turn around and walk out, retracing their steps through the unicursal path. This winding, twisting path reflects the psychic and social experience of postpartum.  At first, parents “walk” close to the birth experience as they reflect on what happened. In time, parents are taken far away from the mystical cocoon of birth, and to the outer groove--the sleep-deprived uncertainty of new parents. But in time, perhaps a year or two or three, parents find themselves fully integrated as parents at the threshold.

. . . And the Beginning Becomes the End.

(This article was taken from the Birthing From Within Winter 2003 newsletter, written by Pam England and Claire Reardon.  To see more, click here).

This 7-circuit labyrinth is about the right size to "walk" with your mouse cursor.  Remember to trace as slowly as you need to and not cross any lines.  Don't forget the journey out!