Mother Nature: Spirituality and Gender Essentialism in Australian Natural Childbirth Communities

Since the turn of the twenty first century there has been increasing interest in spirituality as it relates to health, wellness and wellbeing. Spirituality has traditionally been understood in maternity care as relating primarily to organised religious practice; however, there are a plethora of emerging forms of spiritual discourse that emphasise a strong connection between natural childbirth and the perception of an intrinsic link between birthing women and the natural world. For some women, particularly those interested in new age and/or neopagan spirituality, childbirth may evoke a deep metaphorical sense of being at one with the cyclical nature of seasonal change and the earth’s fertility. Here there is resonance with Bron Taylor’s (2010) idea of ‘dark green religion’ in which nature is sacralised and interconnected. This perspective can offer profound insights and engender feelings of belonging and interconnectedness, and biopsychosocial wellbeing. However, it also invokes ideals of gender essentialism that exclude gender diverse birthing people, and often fathers - thus potentially reinforcing traditional gender roles. This presentation seeks to examine and problematise these aspects of new age spiritual birthing by examining the sparse existent literature on this topic and arguing a need for additional research into this emergent form of lived religion.