Mother's Blessing

A Mother Blessing intentionally weaves a web of loving care around the pregnant woman, imbuing her with an energy that will carry her forward into her postpartum days. The mother blessing is distinct from a baby shower in that the focus is solely on the mother. The ceremony is held with pure intention: to honor the sanctity of life in motion. We all come from mother. We all return to mother earth. When we honor the mother, we honor everything that is.

Mother's Blessing

We honor, pamper, and adorn the mother-to-be to fill her with positive and empowering energies. We tell her stories to encourage her, offer blessings to support her, and give her gifts that will help guide her on her journey.

In the Americas, corn is a sacred food that represents fertility and abundance. From one kernel of corn, a whole plant grows, bearing many ears of corn and feeding the community. A ritual corn meal foot scrub can be a wonderful addition to a Mother Blessing and is a symbolic way to "prepare the mother's feet to walk the path of motherhood."

Fill a bowl or large platter (large enough for the Mother to place her feet in) with finely ground cornmeal (masa harina). You can mix the more course cornmeal as well (corn grits, or polenta) if you like. Remove the mother's feet from the foot bath and gently pat them dry. Rub the corn meal on her feet for several minutes, before wiping them clean with hot towels.

Symbolically and physically, pregnancy is a time of holding within, containing and harboring, whereas birth is a time of letting go, releasing and sharing with. The cutting of the red cord assists with this process. Each woman's blessings and prayers can be immediately released to the birthing mother.

A power candle is a candle the Mother can take with her into labor, knowing that her community's blessings and prayers are with her. During the Mother Blessing, pass around a large glass candle and a sharpie marker. The guests can then write a word of affirmation, encouragement or positivity on the glass. This candle is lit during the Mother's labor.

You can pass around small candles for the guests to take home with them after the Mother Blessing. They will only light it when the Mother goes into labor, holding space for her and sending her their blessings.

This blog post is a compilation of several poems and readings that may be shared during the blessingway. A few of them we have had the honor of hearing recently at very special blessingways of two of our very own mamas-to-be!

How many kids? have your husband do half and you do half? Then none will seem inferior and possibly let the children decide who will give the blessing. Women can give blessings. This is a re-education topic in our church.

A popular parting gift for mother blessing attendees is a candle to light when mom is in labor so that they can think of her/be with her in a way during that time. We considered doing this as well but ended up making lavender hot/cold packs for everyone to take home with their leftover sugar scrubs. The lavender packs went really well with the relaxing/pampering self-love theme of the event and I like that everyone will think of me when using them.

Anytime women do circle work, powerful things happen. To hear the birth stories, blessings, poetry and good wishes of other women is music to the ears of an expectant mama. Mother blessings are affirmative, empowering and uplifting to ALL women in the circle. Whatever the belief system of the mama, the Mother Blessing honors, calls and inspires these beliefs and wraps the soon to be mama in a tradition which is a standard rite of passage in so many cultures across the globe.

I spoke with a Perth mother, Marie, and asked her about her reasons for choosing to have a mother blessing and she simply stated that she wanted to connect with her closest friends and family, in a non-commercial way, and celebrate her transition into motherhood, upcoming birth and arrival of her baby. When she fell pregnant she was drawn to natural birth and attachment parenting and after reading books of that nature and following like-minded women on social media she learnt about the concept of a mother blessing and felt it suited her a lot better than a traditional baby shower.

The women then presented a bead that they each brought to the mother blessing which was made into a necklace for Marie to wear during labour as another reminder of support from the women in her life.

My son graduates today...we will gather with friends and sit in the auditorium and cheer. He asks me if I will cry. Of course. But first, in the intimacy of our home, I will read these words, a look back, a blessing forward. With love, Mom...

You can customize or tailor your blessing to what means the most to you. For me, I love massage and touch, but because of the pandemic, I had to forgo those. Otherwise, it included what was important to me.

A Mama blessing (or blessingway) is a beautiful alternative to the traditional baby shower. It is a pre birth celebration, a ceremony where close friends and family members gather in circle to support, empower and celebrate a women on her journey towards becoming a mother. It is all about the mother, honouring her rite of passage into motherhood, showering her with love, wisdom, support and gifts to support her during her pregnancy and labour as well as during the fourth trimester when baby arrives. .

The term 'Blessingway' is often interchanged with Mother blessing or as we like to call it, a Mama Blessing. A Blessingway is a sacred Navajo ceremony and out of respect for the Navajo people we choose to use the term Mama blessing instead.

A mother blessing is similar to a women's circle ceremony, a gathering of trusted people in the mother-to-be life, who sit in circle and share, honouring the mother and supporting her. It can be an intimate affair, with no pressure to invite the mother in law, but rather close friends who you feel a strong connection with.

Traditionally a mother blessing takes place at the end of the pregnancy and is typically a woman-only gathering, although of course it may include anyone who is part of the mothers support network and community, her village.

The mama blessing is a fabulous opportunity to establish your postpartum support network, to gather your community of women who will be there to lend a hand, cook a meal, fold laundry and hold you when baby arrives to ensure you thrive in your fourth trimester.

A blessingway can be led by a midwife or doula, or organised by a close friend, mother, sister, aunty, anyone in the mother's support network. We've worked hard to make this beautiful tradition accessible to all and easy for friends or family of the expectant mother to plan and execute. (link mama blessing box)

The Mama blessing focuses on honouring the journey into motherhood, empowering the mum-to- be for labour and birth and supporting the mother when baby arrives. Rather than focusing on baby like a traditional baby shower. Gifts are often still given, however instead of dummies, burp clothes and fluffy toys, the focus is on nourishing and nurturing the mother during her initial postpartum period, what we like to cal the fourth trimester.

The string is then cut and everyone leaves with a string bracelet around their wrist as a reminder of the support, love and encouragement within the circle of women. The string can then be cut when the mama goes into labour and a blessing released at the same time.

Hosting a mama blessing is a wonderful gift to give to a friend. As host your role is to gently provide guidance so the circle has structure and can flow nicely and to ensure the Mother feels supported, comfortable and held by the important people in her life. 041b061a72