Who Has Been Destroying Birth?

When we look back through the past 100 years or so of the history of childbirth, we see a drastic change from where it used to take place, who used to be in attendance, and what was available for the laboring mom.

We tend to be quick to point fingers at who is to blame for this great shift in normal to institutional childbirth. Was it men, who wanted to control even this part of women, who made it into something that was "managed", instead of "experienced"? Or, was it women, eager at the idea of no longer having to endure the fear of pain and suffering in childbirth, and begged to just made unaware of what was taking place?

But this argument is focused on the wrong area. "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." (Ephesians 6:12) To understand fully what women face when they bring new life into the world, we have to understand what is so wonderful about the whole thing.

Satan fell because of his beauty. Now his heart for revenge is to assault beauty. He destroys it in the natural world wherever he can...He wreaks destruction on the glory of God in the earth like a psychopath committed to destroying great works of art.
But most especially, he hates Eve.
Because she is captivating, uniquely glorious, and he cannot be. She is the incarnation of the Beauty of God. More than anything else in all creation, she embodies the glory of God. She allures the world to God. He hates it with a jealousy we can only imagine.
And there is more. The Evil One also hates Eve because she gives life. Women give birth, not men. Women nourish life. And they also bring life into the world soulfully, relationally, spiritually - in everything they touch. Satan was a murderer from the beginning (John 8:44). He brings death. His is a kingdom of death...And thus Eve is his greatest human threat, for she brings life. She is a lifesaver and a life giver. Eve means "life" or "life producer."
- from, Captivating, by John and Stasi Eldredge

So, you see, we need to stop placing all the blame on the things we can see. That is just the human motions of a spiritual destroyer. Instead of fighting this battle with just our words and our threats, we need to take our fighting to the base of where this destruction begins. We need to take this fight on our knees.

We need prayer warriors to start a movement to bring beauty and life back to where God placed it. We need to fight this as we are told to fight spiritual battles. Every day we need to don the Belt of Truth, the Breastplate of Righteousness, Sandals of the gospel of peace, the Shield of Faith, the Helmet of Salvation, and the Sword of the Spirit. These are how we fight this battle. This is how we heal this great wound we have allowed to open and fester. Pray for women. Pray for birth. Pray for those who attend women in birth. There is a battle that is being fought, that has been fought for thousands of years. And it is not going to end until we figure out who we are fighting, and how he can be defeated.