water mama

Just a quick post, to share how much I'm looking forward to having a birth pool.

http://madeinwater.co.uk/pool.html

I was sitting beside one of these at the homebirth conference and I felt so drawn to it - it's so deep blue, it seems all mysterious and watery, even empty - I really wanted to just climb in. I think I might get mine early and sit in it and listen to my hypnoborth cd!

Does anyone remember the title of the book of feminist anthropology - it's a sort of feminist answer to 'The Naked Ape'. One of the theories is that at some point, people spent a lot of time in the water, just off the shore in warm lakes, etc. Women needed bigger breasts so they would float in the water and they could feed the babies, and the babies could hang on (not because males were turned on by bums, a la monkeys, and therefore when epeople started walking upright, women needed bums on their chests to keep the males interested...)! Also why our hair grows long, for holding onto, and out skin is less hairy - and why women don't go bald!

The idea was it was safer in the shallow water, not so many predators. It also ties in with whales and dolphins going back to the water and giving up their hands, which I always find moving in a fairy tale way, like the Little Mermaid in reverse, I suppose.
I like this idea - I think I could cheerfully spend my day floating about and having chats with other women - I always get this image of a group of happy hippy people, standing in a circle up to their shoulders in the water. I'd have to eat shellfish, though...