Must-Read Interview

Check out the May/June issue of Mothering Magazine for a cover story interview with Ani DiFranco, who I recently highlighted as a Fabulous Home Birth Mom of the Day. The mothering interview is full of fantastic, refreshing, and inspiring insights from Ani on pregnancy, birth, and motherhood. A couple of my favorite highlights:

Ani on childbirth in America: "It makes me really sad that women have been ejected from the seat of their power in this society in terms of what happens around childbirth. In other parts of the world, there are places where women can't drive a car, but they're still in charge of childbirth. I look at my society and think, how emancipated are we, really? We can play basketball, but can we benefit from eons of women's wisdom that accords a birthing woman the support and time to give birth healthily? Those elements are absent in our society for so many women."

Ani on new motherhood: "It can be a shock to the system for a woman who's only really just maybe learned how to do what she wants in this world -- to pursue her own dreams unfettered by expectations that come from outside herself -- to shift. It may feel like, 'I have to put my own needs and desires down and focus on someone else, again?' A perilous moment. 'Am I less empowered now, falling into that role of woman as nurturer to other than herself?' The truth is that those two things don't have to be mutually exclusive. If you can appreciate being where you are even in those early years of giving most of your energy, time, and love to your kid, give yourself over to it and reap everything that it has to offer in terms of lessons and growing, the unconditional love will flow back your way."

Read the rest of the article by picking up the current Mothering at your local newsstand, or by subscribing, here.