Can we breathe before we are born?

Are we able to breathe even before we are even born? 

The answer is a bit complicated but it doesn’t have to be. Because while we cant 'breathe' in the conventional sense of inhaling and exhaling air, there is a mechanism in place to fulfill the entire purpose of breathing which is to get the Oxygen needed to sustain life.

Within the womb, 'breathing' occurs via aspiration of amniotic fluid, the liquid that surrounds a fetus.

If we were to aspirate on anything once we are born, it would be called drowning.

But, it isnt 'drowning' then, as the source of Oxygen for the fetus is not atmospheric air. It is maternal blood that it receives from the placenta. And the aspiration of amniotic fluid is exactly what is needed to maintain the pressures to receive that maternal blood.

We were all in that position. We were all 'drowning'. We needed to drown so we could come out 

alive. It needed to be that way so we could live.

So if where you are right now looks like a dead end, if the very air around you is gripped by fierce winds and sprays from an unforgiving storm that is out of your control, know that it is okay. The storm was never meant to be in your control anyway. Because you have what it takes to walk through it, into the calm.

You have what it takes to breathe again, even if it feels like you are drowning. Just like you once did.

And I know that because He (Allah SWT) Promised us.

“Don’t fear, I am with you” (Quran, 20:46)