02/04/2025
Reclaiming Birth: The Myth of Human Exception
Somehow, we’ve been led to believe that while every other mammal gives birth instinctively—without doctors, machines, or constant monitoring—human beings alone are incapable of doing the same. This belief isn’t rooted in biology but in a long history of medicalization and fear-based narratives around birth.
Our intelligence sets us apart in many ways, but when it comes to birth, it can sometimes work against us. Unlike other mammals, we have the ability to analyze, predict, and create systems to manage uncertainty. While this has led to incredible advancements, it has also made us more susceptible to fear and doubt. We’ve been conditioned to see birth as something risky and complicated, something that requires outside control rather than something our bodies already know how to do.
The idea that birth is inherently dangerous, that it must be supervised and managed, has created generations of people who fear their own physiology. But the reality is, our bodies know how to birth. Birth is not a medical event by default—it is a physiological, natural process, just like it is for every other mammal.
We have been told for so long that we are the exception. That without hospitals, without machines, without constant surveillance, birth is impossible or reckless. But this is a myth. A myth that strips women of their autonomy and undermines the immense power of the birthing body.
Of course, birth carries risks—so does life. But risk does not mean powerlessness. Just like a cat, a deer, or a lion, we were designed to bring life into the world. Birth works when it is undisturbed, when we feel safe, when we trust our bodies instead of fearing them.
It’s time to unlearn the belief that we are somehow broken. Birth is not something that happens to us—it is something we do. And we are capable.