Pregnant? Eager for a natural birth? Then start shaking these hips.
According to The Wall Street Journal:
"...some women disillusioned with routine use of drugs and medical interventions during labor are turning to an unusual solution -- belly dancing. They're restoring the titillating dance of seduction -- frequent entertainment fare in night clubs and Middle Eastern restaurants -- to what they say were its origins in childbirth, while enhancing maternity wards with swirling motions and mesmerizing music."
I see. Now American women are "restoring" belly dancing to its origins. They are rescuing it from the degradation it has fallen into, becoming a "titillating dance of seduction" at night clubs and Middle Eastern restaurants and taking it back to its origins as a child birth technique. For apparently many of the belly dance moves are preparing for child birth.
Damn! I had no idea!
Neither did my mother and grandmothers before me!
If they only knew! If I only knew! For you see, I did give birth once and I belly danced more than once. I just never thought of combining the two activities. Till now. Had I known, I would have just said no to that epidural (which until this morning I thought was the best thing invented since mjaddara) and just shook my hips till my baby made a grand theatrical entrance, kicking his heels in some great dabkeh moves.
I have no problem with women delivering their babies to Amr Dyab music (on second thoughts maybe it's not a good idea). But can we please be spared the heroic tales about "restoring" belly dance to its lofty origins?
And to prove that I'm not being peevish, territorial, or closed minded, here's one of my favorite Egyptian belly dancers, Taheya Carioka, with some cool birthing tips (please consult your doctor before trying at home):
9 comments:
What an amusing post!
I've heard the theory that belly dancing originated as "preparation for labor" numerous times, but always from white American culture vultures, never from my mother, my aunts, my cousins, or for that matter from any Arab woman I know anywhere. Let us be grateful for these Western feminists (?) educating us about our resourcefulness, and our powerfully subversive, amniotic sac shattering moves.
That is funny-- and so true! I am an American learning belly dance, but I never once claimed to be "restoring" the dance to its origins. Nor am I learning in preparation for child birth!
You have to admit, though, however belly dancing got its start, that it develops muscles that may help a little during child birth. The same could be said for many forms of exercise, though!
Jewaira,
glad you think so.
Nada E,
I am grateful. I just wish I knew about it before I gave birth. Why are we always the last to know, even about our own culture?
anastasia,
we agree. good luck with your lessons! I always wanted to attend one just to see how it is taught but never did.
Having an epidural is certainly one method of dealing with the pain of labor.
Some women are unwilling to accept the risks associated with using epidurals including:
* risk of spinal headeache
* risk of developing a fever during labor
* risk of slowing labor possibly leading to delivery by forceps or C-section
* risk of difficulty with breastfeeding
* risk of hypotension (low blood pressure) and subsequent fetal bradycardia (low heart rate in the baby) leading to possible delivery by C-section
* risk of back pain after birth
Some women still choose un-medicated birth for it's many advantages, and for those women, belly dance (and other forms of movement) is one of the many options available for coping with labor.
Cathy Moore, CNM
Cathy,
I think it's safe to say you miss the point of the post.
I do of course get your point. I simply chose the opportunity to make another point.
But getting back to the point of your post, it is not only white women who are proclaiming belly dance to be a birth dance.
I direct you and your readers to two references, both written by "brown" women.
The first is a book titled "Grandmother's Secrets: The Ancient Rituals and Healing Power of Belly Dancing" by Rosina Fawzia Al-Rawi, in which she dedicates an entire chapter to belly dance for pregnancy and birth.
The second is a new eBook written by Maha El Musa titled "Dance of the Womb" in which she specifically details the benefits of using the movements of belly dance during labor and birth. You can find this book at bellydanceforbirth.com
Cathy
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