She was sitting in the street near my neighbor’s house,
pausing on her slow walk, woods and wetlands a block away.
Folks gathered, gazing at turtle and wanting to protect her from passing cars.

The safest place for her would be in the woods. I picked her up by her shell,
halfway between her front and back legs. She was snapping but her short neck
could not reach back to my hands.

As I was walking to the woods with turtle, children living near by were happy and  excited
to see a snapping turtle so close. In the woods I put turtle on the moist, wonderful earth,
patted her shell and wished her well.

Later pondering with a neighbor about why turtle was on McComb Street,
we both had a sense that she might have been getting ready to lay her eggs
and was heading for the woods. From past experiences with turtles,
we felt this was a real possibility.

And if so, I do believe I midwifed turtle to a safe place to give birth.

Midwifery  guides with skill and expertise,  attending and trusting women’s
abilities and strengths.  Supporting possibilities and challenges.

Human experience thrives on such wise and wholesome energy.
Again and again cultural references to the midwifery way
are in our thoughts,  words and deeds.
The metaphors are many.
Here are a few:

“The purpose of intimate partnership is for us to midwife the perfection in each other.”  Marianne Williamson.
“Democracy needs to be reborn in every generation and education is its midwife.” John Dewey.
“I want you to counsel me the way you midwife birth.” K.L.
“I am a midwife, looking for the truth.”  Socrates, whose mother Phainarete, was a midwife.

Have you been noticing midwifery metaphors too?
They’re in articles, books, conversations. Where else?

I am gathering these metaphors  to help make more public
a  cultural consciousness of midwifery.
With this  work in progress, I invite you to  share with me
the metaphors you find.
This project will benefit by your participation! Thank You!