Natural births were unheard of back in the 60’s. Laboring mothers were sent to the hospital and most were given a drug that was referred to as “Twilight”. A majority of those babies were born blue due to stress from the drug and lack of response of the mother pushing.

Breastfeeding was a taboo at that time as well. It was thought that the only people to even consider nursing babies were dumb, backwoods people. A nurse told me that it was vulgar to put a baby to your breast to nurse. The doctors told us, ‘How can you know that your baby has enough milk unless you measure it?’ ‘Since you cannot measure breast milk, it is dangerous to nurse.’ ‘Breastfed babies suffer from hunger!’

Those same doctors went on to say that in order to get full nutrition you needed something that was proven by doctors to be nourishing for the baby. Babies grew fat on doctor-recommended home-made formula of pasteurized milk highly sweetened with Karo Syrup. At that time baby commercial formula or disposable diapers were still not invented.

Medical science had strayed too far from natural ways. Thinking mothers began to question their doctors.

In 1973, I was one of those young women trying to find the path back to God’s way of motherhood. I began to ask questions. A doctor pooh-poohed me. His arrogant attitude left me feeling dumb. An ancient motherly instinct rose up in me that gave me courage to speak out. “I WILL have my baby at home, and I WILL nurse! And if you call the Child Protection Agency on me, then I will run and hide and STILL give birth to and nurse my baby!”

But wars aren’t won by solitary soldiers. It takes a collective voice. The women of the 60’s took matters into their own hands and started writing books on how to have a natural birth, how to nurse, and how to bond with babies instead of sending them off to a nursery. Homeschooling was born in that moving, changing environment. Since that time there have been hundreds, maybe thousands of books written concerning these subjects but it was the pioneers who blazed the trails that wrote with a passion birthed from their struggles, and even rebellion. It was this same passion that made young mamas jump up and scream, “Yes I CAN!”

Now because a few courageous authors used their voices and their pens, blue babies and twilight births are a thing of the past. A doctor would be laughed out of his clinic if he told a mother it was vulgar and unsafe to nurse her baby. These first home-birthed, breast fed and homeschooled children are now highly educated and successful adults homeschooling their own balanced happy children. In the end when it comes to her babies, Mother knows best.

While the books and literature I read weren’t from the perspective of believers, there was a lot of valuable information being made available to women who wanted to re-discover natural methods. I was able to benefit from their willingness to share their knowledge and experiences.

The Vision has been one of the ways I have sought to ‘pay it forward.’ Just as I have gained much from the visionary writings of women who came before me, I hope that the information I share will be used by those who follow.