LISTEN TO YOUR MATERNAL HEART

LISTEN TO YOUR MATERNAL HEART
by Hygeia Halfmoon

My favorite book has always been the dictionary. Even as a child I carried it like a bible, looking up words and learning what they meant.

One word that keeps cropping up in letters from people who question my support of teen pregnancy is "condone". Over and over I read lines that go something like these...

"I think it's wrong for you to condone teen pregnancy"

"I don't condone teenagers becoming mothers"

Well, I decided it was time to find out just what these critics are saying. According to my dictionary, condone means to forgive or overlook.

Now what is THAT supposed to mean?

People who condone teen motherhood are forgiving these young women for becoming pregnant?

Or overlooking their "mistake"?

And what about the critics who DON'T condone teen motherhood?

The opposite of condone is condemn, which means to express strong disapproval of, to declare unfit for use, to prove guilty.

Neither of these responses to teen pregnancy bring value to the human experience of young motherhood. Both of these responses are tantamount to spitting upon two generations in one fell swoop - the young mother AND her offspring.

While the majority of society goes about condoning or condemning teen pregnancy my lifework is to stand firm to the fact that teen motherhood aligns young women with their natural development.

Integrity is the act of being whole, and nothing disturbs the human psyche more than oppression. Denial of our primal blossoming in adolescence creates imbalance that can lead to suicidal tendencies, sexual deviance, and paranoia.

Obviously the status quo mentality forced upon our youth is not in alignment with true need. If it were, the United States would not lead the way in teenage suicide. And the high rate of sexually transmitted disease amongst young is the byproduct of promiscuity which is the result of young people being denied the opportunity to enter meaningful relationships. Monogamy is a natural tendency when it is allowed to occur in the first place.

Young people are constantly receiving mixed messages. They are told not to have sex then handed free condoms. They are told abortion is wrong then forced to keep it secret while being driven to an abortion clinic three towns away.

My trusty dictionary describes hypocrisy to be the practice of pretending to higher standards or beliefs than is the case. What a head trip that must be for a pregnant young woman who has been told her entire life that abortion is murder only to have her family insist that, in HER case, abortion is necessary.

Female intellect is very keen. A woman knows whether or not she wants to be pregnant and until a bottle of menstrual pills is sold right alongside other convenient contraceptives abortion is the only option to the woman who chooses not to continue a given pregnancy. I stand behind each and every woman in each and every individual circumstance, whatever the choice she makes. I know all sides because I have been on all sides. I've been condemned repeatedly for my rigorous self-honesty and I can relate to women who have felt similar stones cast their way.

Young mothers have stones cast at them no matter which way they choose. They are ostracized for being pregnant, shamed for getting an abortion, and shunned for being a mother.

Furthermore, when their maternal hearts call upon them to create yet another child they are labeled insane and irresponsible.

When I visit the profiles of my teen mom friends one theme that prevails is the fact that motherhood has brought with it the meaning of "true love". Relationships with men may come and go but true love lives on between a woman and her children. The reason why so many teen moms "find themselves" inside motherhood is because they are in alignment with their primal development.

To thine own self be true, whether it's becoming a mom for the first time or having the courage to welcome the next child you deeply desire. When you're right you only need one argument and the best defense is a good offense.

The only way to take yourself seriously is to take yourself seriously.
Listen to your maternal heart.

Love,Hygeia
myspace.com/hygeiahalfmoon

My inspirational ebooks including
LISTEN TO YOUR HEART are
available for on-line reading at: http://www.msplinks.com/http://sites.google.com/site/primalmothering/