The birth of a child is a miracle only understood fully by those who have been blessed with the opportunity to make and give life. As one child is born, another child becomes a parent. This transformation represents the continuity of life and fulfills a part of the cycle of humanity.
Miraculous in its own right, the entire experience along with the awesome responsibility placed upon us as parents can be stressful and even overwhelming. In the blink of an eye, a helpless and innocent person takes his first steps on the path we call life.
In times past, the ritual of birth was commonly shared by female friends and relatives of the mother whose roles were to assist and comfort the mother during the labor and delivery process. Even women who were not mothers themselves knew how to aid and comfort the mother through the emotional and physical challenges of the birthing process.
Unfortunately in our modern society, the role previously filled by friends and family has been left up to either medical professionals, or fathers and friends who lack significant experience. While medical professionals often provide excellent care for laboring mothers, they almost always care for more than one mother at a time. Thus, the mother is either left in the company of an inexperienced partner for long stretches of time, or worst of all, she is left by herself to labor in total isolation.