Into These Hands (Copyright 2010, Amy Haderer (formerly known as Amy Swagman). All Rights Reserved)

Amy Haderer’s beautiful Into These Hands shows a crowning baby emerging as if from a lotus and caught by the hands of a midwife.  Haderer created the piece for a home birth midwife (Jill R. Johnson), whose midwifery practices inspired the work.  This image is particularly useful in the visualization of birth, reminding women that their bodies are equipped to open for the crowning baby.  We often hear that a woman is “too small” to birth a baby, or that a baby is “too big” to be birthed, when in reality a small woman can birth a big baby without issue.  Renowned American midwife, Ina May Gaskin has written extensively about this aspect and the physiology of birth, helping women to understand the amazing capabilities of the uterus, vagina, and vulva in the birthing babies.

Since the beginning of this blog in 2010, Visualizing Birth has referenced Amy Haderer’s wonderful birth art on a regular basis.  See Mother Moon, Labyrinths of Birth, and Crowning Waterbirth for more discussion of using Haderer’s work to visualize birth.

Amy Haderer is a mother, doula and active member of the birth community in Denver, Colorado. Pregnant women can use her mandalas as powerful tools in helping them to visualize the births of their own children.  She may be reached through her website, The Mandala Journey.