At the end of January, I had the pleasure of photographing a Birthing from Within Inspired workshop here in Olympia, WA, instructed by the wonderful local doula, Marissa Bolaños (of Womb Revolution). During both of my pregnancies, my husband and I went to birth and labor preparation classes, and I remember how daunting it was trying to figure out which classes or workshops to choose. There are classes held at the hospital, natural childbirth classes from various institutions, hypnobirthing classes, and the list goes on. After experiencing a variety of these, I was blown away by Marissa’s workshop and wished I had known about it when I was pregnant. The Birthing from Within Inspired workshop included a lot of art projects and time for reflection and journaling, as well as the physical labor preparation you would expect.

I asked Marissa some questions about the philosophy and how she got involved, and this is what she shared with me:

Here Marissa gives a hands-on demonstration to workshop attendees.

What drew you to the Birthing from Within workshops and how did you get involved in it?

“I started hearing about Birthing From Within after my first son was born. The birth-work seed had recently been planted in my heart and I was curious about everything birth-related, especially if it was related to the soul-searching side of pregnancy and birth. I read Pam England's book and loved it. I went to college for art, so the creative frame of Birthing from Within was the first thing that attracted me to it.

Last year I took Pam England's Birth Art online course and I got introduced to the Birthing From Within philosophy as a birth worker. It resonated with me strongly! For a while, I felt like there was something missing in my work as a doula, and when I found Birthing From Within's concept of a mentor, I knew that was it. I attended an in-person workshop in Seattle, did an introductory online course called ‘The Heart of Mentoring’ and now I'm enrolled on their nine months long ‘Mentoring From Within’ Training.”

What role does art play in the workshops?

“Art is a different way to process and understand things. It uses a different part of the brain than what we commonly use when we learn about birth.

When I started bringing Birth Art to my meetings with clients I saw how it was often easier for people to draw emotions than to describe them with words. Birth art shows us the symbols and images that we associate with certain ideas, and by being able to look at them, we can understand them better and attune to our inner knowing.

I think doing art during pregnancy is a great way to develop intuition and openness to different ways of knowing.”

What is one piece of advice you give to pregnant women preparing for labor?

“I try not to give generalized advice because everyone's situations are so different, but I think everyone can benefit from getting in touch with their intuition during pregnancy. Pregnancy is a time of so much hormonal and personal change, a constant altered state of mind in a way. It's the perfect opportunity to start paying attention to your inner voice, you already know so much. Other than that, hire a doula! You can schedule a free consultation with me here.”