The Rooted Womb

01/16/2026

“Abre La Puerta, Open the Door” by American poet, author, Jungian specialist, and spoken word artist, Clarissa Pinkola-Estes. Enjoy this one.

Abre La Puerta
Clarissa Pinkola-Estes

“She’s 12 years old, — going on 20-to-life.
She is God at 5 feet tall.
But, abre la puerta,
open the door and let her in.
Give her food.

“Old Florencia lives in the parking garage
at the university, with her bags and packs
on the floor all around.
She washes her 84-year-old body in the sink at the library,
with a piece of flannel from her deceased husband’s pajamas.
Abre la puerta, she is God.
Florencia is God, the God named Florencia.

“Remember that old abuelita,
your grandest grandmother?
how she staggered toward you
on legs so thin? You were just a baby then.
And she smiled all over your infant self,
as you rose young and steaming from the void.
That was God in her abuelita form
crying with joy just to see you.
“Que, que, que, bebebebita!” says the grandmother God.
“Look,” she says, “I opened a door in my belly for your mother.
¡Miré! ¡Look! your mother opened a door in her belly for you.”
Ah, this grandmother, you can see God through her.
God is a grandmother.

“Remember that red room where you grew?
That was God.
Remember the warm hands that received you?
That was God.
Remember your father’s hands holding your face
As though it were a jewel?
In that moment, God shone through.

“Maria Martinez tells me she dreams of chickens made larger
when she cannot find shelter.
She licks her hands, “and they taste good,” she says.
She is God.
God is homeless, yet she has hope.
Abre la puerta, let her in.

“Your mate who snores, well, maybe God snores.
Your mate is God who can never find his socks.
Your lover who burns for things you cannot give,
your mate is God.
God is a housewife in mud-face and curlers
standing at the door in a housecoat
waving good-bye.
God wears a housecoat once in a while.

“Oh world who is young, and has loved so deeply,
and been so betrayed,
whose skin hangs like rags,
whose arms have no muscle,
whose eyes have lost luster —
Open the door of your heartache,
step through the door of your betrayal,
pass through the hole in your heart,
Pass through!
It is a door.
¡Abre la puerta!
Open the door…

“Oh the world is a thing whose lover disappoints,
who is tired of the news that is no news,
who toils for silly people doing silly things.
Pass through the eye of the needle that shreds your skin.
¡Abre la puerta! it is a door.
Your only hope — step through the break in your own broken heart.
¡Abre la puerta! open the door.

“Do you remember that your legs are el anillo,
the ring that circles your lover?
Your legs make a door.
Pass through the door.
¡Abre la puerta! pass the bolt through.
Open the door, the most sacred of doors,
the trail through your belly
The road up your spine.

“Remember, fire is a door.
Destruction is a door.
Song is a door.
A scar is a door.
¡Abre la puerta! Open the door!

“The forest on fire is a door.
The ocean ruined is a door.
Anything that needs us,
or calls us to God
is a door.
¡Abre la puerta!
Open the door.
Anything that hurts us,
anything we make holy
opens the door.
¡Abre la puerta!
pass through the door!

“All those years of seeming indestructibility,
and then, the grandfather of your world dies;
…his heart explodes,
and yours breaks into a thousand pieces.
Each tiny piece of your shattered heart is a door…
These are doors…
Open the doors…
Abre la puerta …
Pass through these doors.

“Whatever has died and left its big muddy boots
cold and hard by the back porch door —
put them on…
Walk through the door of this death,
the door that dying has made for you.
Walk in those boots that bend with your warmth.
You are the grandfather now.
You are the grandmother now.
¡Abre la puerta!
Open the door.

“The world is a tribe of one-breasted women …
walk through the doors of the scars on their chests.
¡Abre la puerta! open the door.
Over the edge of the world you go,
into the abyss we all march in time.
Put the best medicine in the worst of the wounds.
¡Abre la puerta! open the door.

“The lake in which you almost drowned?
That is a door.
The slap in the face that made you kiss the floor?
That is a door.
The betrayal that sent you straight to hell?
That is a door
¡Abre la puerta! open the door.

“Same old story, all strong souls first go to hell
before they do the healing of the world
they came here for.
If we are lucky, we return to help
those still trapped below.
¡Abre la puerta! open the door.
¡Abre la puerta! open the door.
Hell is a door that is caused by pain.

“Opening a flower,
rain opening the earth,
the kisses of humans
opening the hearts of the world,
These are doors…
No further lamentation required…
¡Abre la puerta! open the door.

“The scar drawn by razors…
that is a door.
The scars drawn by chain saws across forests…
those are doors.
These all are doors,
¡Abre la puerta! open the doors.

“The poem of New Life that comes every dawn,
the soaring of sun…that is a door!
The grave is a door.
The door to hell is a door to Life.
¡Abre la puerta! open the door.
¡Abre la puerta! open the door.
¡Abre, abre la puerta! open the door.”

01/16/2026

“The womb is one of the final stops on your journey to eternity.” — Matshona Dhilwayo

There was a time when womb care happened by firelight. 🔥 Women were held tightly by other women, midwives moved with confidence earned over generations, and herbs simmered on the stove. No one rushed the rhythms of bleeding, birthing, grieving, or healing. The womb was honored as a living center of wisdom. 🌙

And now we have fluorescent lights, ten-minute appointments, our pain minimized, our cycles medicated, and postpartum support nearly nonexistent. In the U.S., maternal mortality rates remain shockingly high. And it was only in the last few years that tampons were finally tested with real human blood. How does that add up?!

Many of us are turning back toward the ancient ways, midwifery wisdom, and plant medicine. We feel in our bones that we deserve the kind of care that remembers the whole person. Rebuilding womb warmth restores the sacred art of being held instead of handled. Herbs remind us of what’s been missing from modern medicine.

Where did you first learn (+ unlearn) how to care for your womb?

Keep reading on the blog (link in stories + bio) for more about reproductive vitality, plant allies for rebuilding womb warmth, and cyclical support. 🤲🏽🌿🩸

01/13/2026

We know from research studies and the lived experiences of women, midwives and birth workers that women with a higher BMI are often encouraged to plan a caesarean rather than ‘take the risk’ of needing an emergency caesarean.

This idea is also discussed in the RCOG guidelines on the care of women with a higher BMI (Denison et al 2018).

As I discuss in my Plus Size Pregnancy book, some people will argue that this recommendation comes about partly because different equipment may be required for women who have a very high BMI.

But that argument doesn’t hold water, because this equipment should be available in all hospitals.

And women should not be expected to take on risk because of health services’ lack of planning.

The bottom line is this, which I wrote in my book:

“It is really questionable to be recommending an elective surgical procedure known to carry risks to a healthy woman who is capable of giving birth physiologically, who wants to give birth physiologically and who has a good chance of being able to give birth physiologically if only her care providers would support her to do that rather than introducing fear and doubt at every turn.”

If you’d like to know more, and become informed about the evidence and your options, you might like to grab a copy of my book.

Find it at https://www.sarawickham.com/plus-size-pregnancy

01/12/2026

📕 "Women’s bodies are managed to ensure they function within accepted boundaries. Individual physiological variations are not tolerated and instead are treated as complications. To change this deeply rooted birth culture will require far more than research and international recommendations. One of the main barriers to change is that hospital-based clinicians are unable to ‘see’ any other way of being with birth."
https://www.rachelreed.website/rcrp

01/10/2026

I’m in countless birth spaces, and every day women are announcing inductions with no pathology, no risk, no crisis—just compliance normalized as care. Women are not broken machines that need managing. Yet we are being conditioned to hand over our decision-making at the exact moment we need it most. It’s time to take our autonomy back.

Funny how often women are told to shut up right before the truth comes out.

Over 500 women have now come forward accusing a Virginia hospital of knowingly allowing an OBGYN to perform unnecessary C-sections, inductions, hysterectomies, sterilizations, and other invasive surgeries for years.

The doctor—Javaid Perwaiz—is already serving 59 years in federal prison.
But now the hospital itself is facing a $5.1 BILLION lawsuit for allegedly ignoring repeated warnings while women lost their fertility, their health, and their bodily autonomy.

Let that land. 🤯

Some of the allegations include:
• Consent forms being altered
• Procedures added after women were already under anesthesia
• Women waking up to discover their ovaries or uterus had been removed—without consent

According to the criminal complaint, staff at Chesapeake Regional Medical Center noticed a clear pattern:
Medically unnecessary inductions and C-sections just happened to line up with the days Perwaiz was scheduled to operate.

So much so that neonatologists and nurses had a nickname for it.

They called it the “Perwaiz Special.”

That term referred to babies delivered before 39 weeks, unnecessarily, who then ended up in the NICU with breathing issues, fluid in their lungs, and other complications—because someone wanted to cut.

A federal investigator involved in the case stated plainly:
He did it so often that staff recognized the pattern. These babies didn’t need to be born early—but they were.

One of the women suing the hospital, Dracena Holloway, endured ten surgeries.

“I can barely walk. I live with chronic pain and illness. My children have to help take care of me.”

Perwaiz attended four of her births—all induced before 39 weeks.

“The doctor is in prison,” she said. “But the hospital allowed this to happen. They need to be held accountable too.”

And that’s the heart of this.

The lawsuit alleges hospital executives continued to allow him to practice despite repeated reports and clear evidence.

A federal grand jury has now charged the hospital with:
• Conspiracy to defraud the U.S.
• Healthcare fraud
• Interference with government functions

Between 2010 and 2019, the hospital reportedly received $18.5 million in reimbursements for procedures Perwaiz performed.

So no—
“Trust the system” is not the same thing as informed consent.
Questioning isn’t hysteria.
Birth trauma isn’t exaggeration.

For years, women were speaking up while being mocked, minimized, and told to be grateful—as harm was actively happening.

Medical abuse doesn’t always look dramatic in the moment.
Often it looks like authority.
White coats.
Clipboards.
Paperwork.

It thrives when patients are taught to be quiet, compliant, and thankful.

If this story makes you uncomfortable, it should.
If it makes you angry, good.
If it makes you more protective of your body and your daughters’—that’s the point.

Stay alert.
Stay informed.
And never let anyone convince you that asking questions is the real danger.

And one more thing worth asking:

How many versions of the “Perwaiz Special” are happening across this country right now?
And how much does this connect to what we’re seeing in maternal and pediatric outcomes today?

🖤

01/09/2026

• “Did your body really grow a baby too big, or were you given an arbitrary due date and rushed into an unnecessary induction?”

• “Did your baby actually ‘fail to engage,’ or were you told to birth on your back, closing your pelvic outlet by 30%?”

• “Did your contractions become too painful to handle, or were you denied food and water, draining your energy and endurance?”

• “Did you actually need Pitocin, or was your labor progressing just fine until someone told you it was ‘taking too long’?”

• “Did your baby really go into distress on their own, or did artificial oxytocin overstimulate your uterus, cutting off their oxygen supply?”

• “Did your water ‘fail to break,’ or was it protecting your baby until the perfect moment, only to be artificially ruptured and start the clock on intervention?”

• “Did you truly need an episiotomy, or was your body stretching slowly and perfectly until someone decided to take scissors to your perineum?”

• “Did you need forceps or a vacuum, or was your body simply never given the time and space to push your baby out naturally?”

• “Did you ‘fail’ to deliver your placenta, or was your body still pumping oxytocin to detach it safely—until someone yanked the cord and caused a hemorrhage?”

• “Did your baby need immediate suctioning, or was their mucus and fluid naturally designed to clear through the pressure of the birth canal?”

• “Did your milk ‘fail to come in,’ or was your baby taken from you too soon, disrupting the skin-to-skin contact that stimulates lactation?”

• “Did your uterus ‘not contract properly’ postpartum, or was the natural oxytocin surge blocked by Pitocin, narcotics, or unnecessary separation from your baby?”

• “Did you experience severe postpartum bleeding, or was your body denied the undisturbed first hour that triggers natural uterine contractions?”

• “Did you really ‘need’ cervical checks, or did each one trigger an adrenaline spike, slowing your labor and increasing your risk of infection?”

• “Did you develop postpartum depression, or was your hormonal balance thrown off by intervention, separation, and lack of informed support?”

• “Did your baby really need to be bathed immediately, or was their vernix a protective, antimicrobial coating meant to nourish their skin and regulate their temperature?”

• “Did your baby ‘fail to regulate their blood sugar,’ or was their natural transition disrupted by immediate cord clamping and hospital protocols that denied them their first undisturbed feed?”

• “Did your baby truly need to be placed in the NICU, or were they struggling because they were taken from your chest, where they were biologically designed to stabilize?”

Your body isn’t flawed. Your baby isn’t flawed. The system is. Birth works when we let it 💜🔻🧙‍♀️♾️

01/09/2026

“High-quality systematic review finds no value to "admission strip" CTG.... "Routine admission CTG in low-risk term pregnancies demonstrated no improvement in maternal or neonatal outcomes... These findings support current recommendations favouring IA [Intermittent auscultation] over routine admission CTG in low-risk pregnancies..." Full text at https://obgyn.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1471-0528.70047 Or as Henci Goer says "Just say no to routine CTG"... https://hencigoer.com/just-say-no-to-routine-continuous-fetal-monitoring/“

High-quality systematic review finds no value to "admission strip" CTG.... "Routine admission CTG in low-risk term pregnancies demonstrated no improvement in maternal or neonatal outcomes... These findings support current recommendations favouring IA [Intermittent auscultation] over routine admission CTG in low-risk pregnancies..." Full text at https://obgyn.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1471-0528.70047 Or as Henci Goer says "Just say no to routine CTG"... https://hencigoer.com/just-say-no-to-routine-continuous-fetal-monitoring/

01/09/2026

12/31/2025

Home Birth costs too much and we just can't afford it.

But did you have a big wedding? How did you afford that? You saved and you cut back on all the things and you had a beautiful wedding. Now do the same for your home birth. you won't be sorry.