Women have 3 key phases or periods in their life – maiden, mother, crone (wise woman). The greatest shift in identity and most profound change occurs when a woman moves from maiden to mother. She necessarily has to leave a part of her behind to transform and grow into the woman she needs to be as a mother. For upon this change, she will never be the same again…..

When women are in “transition” or nearly complete, close to full dilation, they are energetically and spiritually on the threshold between the two – maiden & mother. I believe that subconsciously or intrinsically there is an ancient knowledge or wisdom that they are at this threshold and for many women that “gate of great doubt” poses a challenge: they “can’t do ‘it’ any longer”, but what IT is, in my opinion, is the leaving behind of their old maiden self and fear of the unknown mother self. Because of such a profound transformation, there is often resistance and will typically come in the form of wanting to ‘stop’, or get an epidural, searching for something outside themselves to cling to, hold on to.

I have come to this belief through my own spiritual practice and through the witnessing of many first and second/subsequent time mums. The second time mums don’t experience “transition” in even close to the same way; neither the physical intensity nor the emotional/spiritual intensity. because they are already mothers. 🙂