Elizabeth Theriault

In this interview with Elizabeth Theriault, ASW, MPH and perinatal ceremonialist from Petaluma, California, we discuss how the enormity of growing a life and the grief of not being met or supported by our culture called her to the inner connections and community that ceremonies offer. She describes how her husband who was a ritualist designed a blessing ceremony for her and the power the altar that was created by her friends had in their lives up to 2 years after the birth. We also discuss the kinds of ceremonies we can do with our children and how open they are to this.

The following are more of the nuggets we discuss:

• Deciding to become a mother and feeling the enormity of growing a life in her, the grief of there not being a lot of holding or container to hold, meet the feelings I was holding inside about this. The mismatch and isolation between the culture and our own inner experience as moms.
• Pregnancy/ Birth Blessing ritual and altar, her husband a ritualist and her 16 women friends wove for her and the power of it for her and them during birth and after for years.
• She had low milk supply, reached out on fb and 25 other moms immediately responded forming a support community for all of them and experiencing being witnessed.
• The ceremonies and need for community to witness us during the transitions from pregnancy ~ beginning change to developing pregnancy ~ between the old and new self forms to after birth ~ completely new and transformed and needing to be seen in all these stages and welcomed back after the birth experience. Being recognized for how far we traveled.
• Sitting in the ceremonies and circles with honoring the sacredness allows the women to align with what they actually experience!
• Elements of Ceremonies, the glow after ceremonies, easy ways to practice ceremony with your children and so much more!

Website: https://ritesofpassagepostpartum.com/