Weaving birth: interdependence and the fungal turn

This paper explores how childbirth can be understood through the metaphor of fungal networks, which interconnect and support life through relationships rather than individual independence. The authors share personal birth experiences—one traumatic and controlled, one trusting and flowing—to illustrate how care models fundamentally shape birthing experiences. Using phenomenological philosophy, they argue that positive birth experiences emerge when caregivers create environments that allow the birthing person to feel safe, supported, and interconnected with others, similar to how fungi thrive through collaborative relationships.