Without Fear
Many may wonder how they can create life within themselves. The responsibility of building a human being can be overwhelming. While that responsibility can bring fear and worry into the heart of an expectant mother, a knowledge of how that life is created can bring confidence to her and glory to God. By knowing the processes that allowed her to conceive, a woman can have confidence in her body and in the Lord who created it. Her confidence to care for her child is increased as she learns how her body has been designed to nurture and grow the life within her. Finally, as she learns her body’s abilities, a woman can overcome the fear of giving birth.
By knowing the processes that allowed her to conceive, a woman can have confidence in her body and in the Lord who created it. God the creator designed the reproductive system to create human life through an intricate process. Psalm 139 says that God fearfully and wonderfully designed mankind, and amazingly, He has let woman take part in that creation. His design is first seen in the process of ovulation. Each month an egg is produced with the potential for life. As that egg is released, a scar is formed on the ovary. Those scars left by unfertilized eggs would cover the ovaries making them useless if they were not designed to be the only scars in the human body that completely dissolve. If an egg is fertilized, that scar becomes the hormone producing factory that sustains the embryo’s life. Ovulation gives a woman confidence that God designed her body to create life, and she is therefore capable of it. God’s design is then seen in the process of fertilization. Fertilization can only occur through a complex series of events. The sperm have to be near the egg during the 12 to 24 hours in which the egg is viable. Those sperm then have to produce special chemicals to get through a thick layer of sticky cells and into the egg. Once a single sperm reaches the interior of the egg it must pass a chemical species inspection to be allowed further. Then, the egg immediately releases particles that keep all other sperm out. As the sperm and egg combine, their DNA is released, and information from two completely different sources will come together to make one human being. Fertilization gives a woman confidence that her child is not the product of accident or evolutionary chance but is the intention of God.
Her confidence to care for her child is increased as she learns how her body has been designed to nurture and grow the life within her. She may worry about her unborn child within until she learns how God designed the uterus. By the time the fertilized egg reaches it, the uterus is lined with nutrient rich blood. The cells that will make up the placenta automatically grow deep into the walls of the uterus until they reach the mother’s arteries. By special design these cells release chemicals to erode the ends of the arteries and help the mother’s blood flow freely. The cells of the placenta combine in such a way to form an amazing amount of surface area through which nutrients can flow from mother to baby. With the needed nutrients, a baby will develop all his major organs and systems within 8 weeks. The mother’s blood will provide everything the baby needs until his body is ready to function on its own in the outside world. Knowing how God designed her, a woman can be confident that her body will automatically and sufficiently care for her unborn child.
Finally, as she learns her body’s abilities, a woman can overcome the fear of giving birth. Without such knowledge, giving birth might seem like an impossible and scary task. Despite what doctors may say, most women have the natural ability to safely birth their baby. First, a woman’s body has the ability to start labor at exactly the right time and maintain labor at the right speed. Labor starts when the correct hormones reach the perfect balance. Since the exact proportions are so complex and interdependent, man’s attempts to duplicate them have failed. As that balance is maintained labor continues at the pace that is safe for both mother and baby. If the mother begins to panic, she will release more adrenaline which slows oxytocin and labor. Once the mother feels safe her oxytocin rises and labor can continue. If the body were unable to regulate labor at a safe pace, such as when synthetic hormones are used, the mother could experience dangerous changes in blood pressure, and the baby could experience oxygen deprivation and distress. Thus the woman’s body is far more capable of starting and maintaining labor than medical science. Also, a laboring mother’s body is able to make a path through which her baby can be born. Until birth, the baby is kept safely locked in his mother’s womb. When the baby is ready to be born, the pathway begins to open. The mucus plug, which has been keeping bacteria out of the womb, falls out. Although the uterus has been contracting for some time, the hormone progesterone has been keeping the contractions from affecting any change on the cervix. As labor begins progesterone decreases, allowing oxytocin to regulate the frequency and intensity of contractions. Those contractions are then effective in thinning and opening the cervix. Once the cervix is open, the mother’s body compels her to push her baby through the vaginal canal and into the world. This system is an efficient, effective method of birth and is far less problematic than the alternative of removing the baby through an incision in the abdomen. The mother’s body is capable not only of giving birth but also of enduring and even enjoying the process. When sin entered the world, labor became difficult and painful. However, the same God that pronounced the consequences of sin, said in Psalm 86:15, “But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.” God’s mercy is shown in how He designed woman to handle the pain of labor. During labor, the woman’s body produces beta endorphins which act as natural pain killers similar to opiates. The body is capable of regulating its own pain killers as needed, allowing the mother to endure the pains of labor. As labor concludes the hormone oxytocin floods the body. This chemical has a calming euphoric effect on both mother and baby making birth one of the most pleasurable experiences of life. Unfortunately, living in a sin cursed world means problems can arise. Mothers do not need to live in fear of rare unpredictable problems, but live in confidence that things will most likely work as they have been designed to work.
Birth is a process designed by God. Women can give birth because God has given them that ability. If an expectant mother knows the abilities that God has given her and trusts in those abilities she can have confidence in her body. Most women who trust in themselves enough to have an undisturbed labor can have a successful, enjoyable birth free from fear. When the process is done, the new mom can give glory to God thanking Him for allowing her to take part in creating life.
