Letter from a reader: Fathers and childbirth

Dear Father Cusick:

The current article you wrote in The Wanderer piqued my curiosity - the title alone caught my eye.

One day my husband and I believe we will find a Catholic priest who will be interested in what I have to say about childbirth - the idea that during the act of childbirth, important husband-wife complementarity is taking place and that traditional American childbirth where a doctor delivers the baby puts a temporary wedge between the couple - a distortion to how birth should be and a scenario that robs the dignity of the woman.

We are not holding our breath, since it's been over 10 years that I've tried to express my ideas to a Catholic audience. That's fine. Catholics are more interested that their doctor is pro-life, but do not dig deeper into the issue of birth, and often choose to have a doctor deliver the baby in the hospital based on fear and conformity. One priest shared our views and I cannot locate him (Father WiIlliam D. Virtue, author of MOTHER AND INFANT: THE MORAL THEOLOGY OF EMBODIED SELF-GIVING IN MOTHERHOOD IN LIGHT OF THE EXEMPLAR COUPLET MARY AND JESUS CHRIST). If you know of a way to find this priest, I would be very grateful.

We feel God has placed this issue (among others) strongly on our shoulders and it will be my husband and I who deliver our important message when we can devote time (we have 6 children ages 7-21, so we are deep in our parenting years, with little time to do further investigation or writing at this time). Maybe you are interested or can think of another priest who might be. I would welcome the opportunity to begin a correspondence or dialogue about my thoughts. I have a few things written on "holy marriage" and how birth is directly related. There is still more for me to delve into regarding theology of the body and other topics. If you know of a priest who might be interested in this topic, feel free to forward this email. My book and CD, listed below, are written with a secular audience in mind.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Lynn M. Griesemer
Author of:
UNASSISTED HOMEBIRTH: AN ACT OF LOVE (1998) and
YOUR BODY, YOUR BIRTH: SECRETS FOR A SATISFYING AND SUCCESSFUL BIRTH (2007) - CD
www.unassistedhomebirth.com
Email: greeze@juno.com