
by Jessi Vining “AMANI Birth is a philosophy of natural birth and a program to educate people about assisting expectant mothers who wish to birth naturally. When we refer to AMANI in Arabic we say, ‘AMANI lil Welada Tabiaya, which means ‘wishes for natural birth.’ When we speak of natural birth, we mean a birth in which the mother is prepared, educated, supported and encouraged to birth without the interference of medicines, medical procedures, or any other unnatural influences. AMANI birth honors the birth experience itself as a natural, sacred act of worship and a display of trust in our Creator, Allah (SWT).” Aisha Al Hajjar, AMANI Birth I first learned about the AMANI Birth (Assisting Mothers for Active, Natural, Instinctive Birth) as I was preparing to attend an international natural childbirth conference in Alexandria, Egypt. Aisha Al Hajjar, the founder of AMANI Birth, was one of the featured speakers and encouraged me to attend their doula and childbirth educator training while I was in town, and I am so glad that I did! AMANI Birth truly has a unique and persuasive birth philosophy, and I walked out of the workshop feeling refreshed in my passion and commitment to helping families navigate their birth experiences from a physiologic perspective. In addition, because I am a birth worker who is not a Muslim, I found the curriculum to be an essential component in building cultural humility and Islamic faith literacy so that I could better understand and support clients who identify as Muslim. Both Aisha’s book and curriculum are organized according to the pneumonic AMANI, with sections addressing 1. Assisting, 2. Mothers, 3. Active, 4. Natural, and 5. Instinctive. Breaking down childbirth information in this way allows for birth workers and parents alike to look at birth from many different perspectives while building a cohesive understanding of the process of supporting physiologic labor, birth and infant feeding. Assisting This portion of the materials focuses on the support people (including partners, friends, family, doulas, and medical professionals) and best practices for supporting people in a natural birth experience. It reviews our collective global history moving away from the normal birth process and toward high intervention approaches to birth. One goal of AMANI Birth is to use evidence-based information to help the community around pregnant people understand how to provide support that doesn’t undermine natural processes, and that helps people find confidence and reassurance in the innate design of their bodies. Mothers Specifically designed to put mothers front and…
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