Welcome to our 7-part Teaching Series on Indigenous Wisdom on Pregnancy Loss. The first article in this series serves as an introduction; to get us started on the journey of this work and highlight why we’re doing it and what our intentions are for the coming few weeks. I’m also very delighted to share a special gift with you today, which I’ve been working on for some time.
Introduction
While it is an experience that many women in our society encounter, pregnancy loss (whether a miscarriage, stillbirth, or abortion) is rarely spoken about and is mostly experienced in silence and shame. We find ourselves in a time in our world where:
- There is very little space in our communities where women can be adequately held and supported to heal and process the loss of their pregnancies. Many women move through this experience alone, without dedicated support where they can feel seen, heard, and validated, and with necessary processes held in place to help them dissolve the impact of the loss in their lives.
- Further, there’s a growing absence of resources (that women know of and are aware of) to facilitate healing for this experience as a rite of passage for women. The indigenous ways of supporting women in this experience are also being lost/ forgotten, and part of the intention of this work is to restore and honour pregnancy and pregnancy loss as a rite of passage and an initiation of womanhood.
The intention of this series, and the ebook shared below, is to archive and share age-old teachings and practices within the Setswana tradition of how a woman used to be cared for after having experienced such a loss.
We’re speaking in past tense because much of this wisdom is being lost/ forgotten, and not as widely practiced as in olden times. And the intention is to learn this sacred wisdom, and bring back what feels aligned for each of us and our unique journeys of womanhood and motherhood.
Guided by the Setswana tradition, we will explore how a mother who had experienced pregnancy loss was supported in her healing and recovery, how she was guided to engage with her partner and her community after the loss, how she was supported in a burial ceremony for her child, and the wisdom that was imparted on how to navigate pregnancy after loss.
This work is for all women, and everyone who cares about the well-being of women, so we may be empowered with the wisdom of what can be supportive for our healing should an event such as loss occur during our childbearing years. Loss is not something we would wish to happen to us or other women, however, it serves us well to be equipped with the knowledge of what could be supportive should the event occur.
You may read on this and so much more in my new ebook on Setswana Indigenous Teachings & Practices for Pregnancy Loss, which will guide us through this series.
My desire is for women who are moving through loss to get the support they need, to know what is happening in their bodies and what to do, and to be able to make choices about their bodies and wombs that feel empowering and that support them to thrive and live vibrant lives.
Thank you for being here, because this means we’re growing our collective knowledge base on pregnancy loss and how to support women through this experience that impacts us all. I look forward to journeying further with you.
As we journey through this series, I will also be sharing psycho-spiritual insights around the wisdom in each section of the book and the healing work that might be needed for our wombs and key areas of our lives. So, look out for this in our coming articles.
And, please share news about this work and our new ebook with all your loved ones who you know might need it.
Until next time,
Tumelo.
PS: This series on Indigenous Wisdom on Pregnancy Loss is part of an introduction to my body of work on Womb Healing for Pregnancy Loss. If you’re feeling called to and are ready for your womb healing journey, you can book a Womb Healing Consultation Session here >>, and/or apply for 1-on-1 womb healing work in ENLIVEN here >>.