SUZANNE ARMS QUOTES
childbirth activist & author
I was terrified of birth and I had no idea why. Like most women then and now, I had never been told the full story about my own birth, which in my case was obviously traumatizing to both my mother and me. I didn't know that my mother's legs were held together by a nurse who was under threat by the doctor not to allow the birth to take place until he got there from his Tuesday night poker game. I didn't know that the nurses in 1944 were all under orders to get the doctor there just in time, but not to waste his time by getting him there too early.
SUZANNE ARMS
interview, Journal of Perinatal Education, fall 2002
Today, when the needs of babies come in conflict with the needs and desires of their parents, people say "babies are flexible," and "babies learn best when they are in day care." Babies are expected to yield, or at least meet their parents halfway. Our culture supports all of this by making it difficult for women and men to stay at home when their babies are young, and by making it virtually impossible for any parent--male or female--to bring a baby to the workplace. Who suffers from all of this? We do--so do our children and so does society.
SUZANNE ARMS
Immaculate Deception II
Right now, we're just at the edge of ... an awareness of the importance of pre-conception for mother and baby. Ancient and tribal cultures recognize the ability of the tribe, the elders, the mother and the father, to bring in a baby of a particular consciousness by tuning their own psyche prior to conception. So they actually have pre-conception processes, and pre-pregnancy pregnancy- what they call pregnancy before the woman is physically pregnant. It's a meshing of tribal earth-based wisdom with eastern philosophy, and an understanding of the nature of the soul. That hasn't even touched this culture yet, but that's where we're heading.
SUZANNE ARMS
"The Return of Compassionate Childbirth: An interview with Suzanne Arms"
I believe we come to earth for a purpose--each human being, each soul--just like many African and other indigenous tribal people believe. Like them, I also believe that the circumstances of our lives should be seen as valuable for helping us accomplish our life's purpose and bring forth our unique gifts. I think my gift had to do with my own wound, which was having such a traumatic birth. I personally come from at least three generations of traumatic births. I really wanted to make a difference in the lives of children and women, but I didn't know that for some time. I don't think we always know what our purpose is until we find ourselves doing it and it just resonates.
SUZANNE ARMS
interview, Journal of Perinatal Education, fall 2002
Childbirth was probably easier for most women in early cultures, especially in hunter-gatherer societies, where everyone was accustomed to physical labor and supple and fit from daily activity.
SUZANNE ARMS
Immaculate Deception II