Too Much to Ask

This is going to be a little weird. Also, maybe anti-blogging-etiquette, but I'm doing it anyway.
There are SO MANY passionate writings about mommy wars, and breastfeeding/bottlefeeding choices (if you run in the right circles). But, I LOVE this one so much, I'm going to copy and post it here. In my very own, not very eloquent, not very revolutionary blog.

It is by Melissa Beck (nee Howard), who first became a public figure when she graced our televisions on The Real World - New Orleans waaay back in 2000. Since then, she became an active blogger, and now maintains a tumblr page about really, anything that inspires her I guess. She now has two children, so some of her topics have naturally evolved towards motherhood, babies, etc. I came across this article today, and it seemed an appropriate complement to the dramatic commentary that has come about in response the the recent Similac formula commercial. I actually liked the commercial. It made me laugh. It made me cry. I was stirred. I was refocused on what is important to me, and how I can alter my words and actions to reflect what is important to me.

Anyway, Melissa Beck has made a living out of expressing her opinion, and she does it incredibly well with eloquence and humor. One of the characteristics I respect most in people is the ability to arrange their words to be both thought provoking and kind.

For some reason, I can't just post a direct link to the blog post, so that is why I am just going to copy it here, with all of the link backs and credit statements to make it clear that this is NOT MY CONTENT, but they are words that I thought deserved to be spread and pondered.

Here ya go...


Blog by Melissa Beck
Date: August 7, 2014
Title: Yes, It's Too Much To Ask.

Jessica Valenti, a person I should probably Google first to decipher if she's trolling me for click bait with this shit, wonders, "Is it too much to ask that mothers who bottle-feed - by necessity or choice - are given the same kind of adoration as gorgeous, breast-feeding celebrities? We love our kids too, you know."

She continues her hissy fit with, "I mean, Gwen Stefani posted a picture on Instagram of herself breastfeeding in gorgeous Switzerland,; then came the photograph of Olivia Wilde in Glamour magazine breastfeeding in full-on evening wear. " 

How dare they be fabulous while breastfeeding! The nerve!

Well, pick me. Pick me. I have the answer to your question. 

Yes, it's too much too ask lady. Especially when in the next breath you say, "the harassment mothers still face when they breastfeed in public is outrageous." Asking that is akin to whining, "Why do black people have Black History Month? That's not really fair to white people now is it?"

I really wasn't aware of a full-on campaign to exclude bottle-feeding mothers from a constant barrage of celebration. I mean, one of the universal symbols for BABY is a fucking bottle. Let's browse through all the millions of photos, countless cover stories, of celebrities bottle-feeding their children, shall we?

So basically, when you see a breastfeeding mother being celebrated on that rare (#veryrare) occasion, it makes you have feelings about your choice and so the solution, you're asking the world for, is for us to please, please stop celebrating them altogether. Even though you're fully aware of the countless examples of women being told to cover up or leave an establishment because they dared to feed their children with their tits. Nine hundred thousand results in half a second on Google, if you're wondering how normal it is for a breastfeeding woman to encounter some asshole. You acknowledge this is a problem but please no more photos of breastfeeding mothers because rude!

When you say, "as long as they are making the choices that are right for them and their children, I'm all for it." Are you though? You can't have it both ways. You can't complain that breastfeeding mothers are given one glossy page of coverage and then put your lips together and say you're all for anything as long as we don't judge. You're not "all for" anything. You're all for only seeing images that reinforce your choices because somehow, some way, the mere sight of a mother making a choice different than yours without having said boo to you or about you, makes you uncomfortable. Uncomfortable enough to regale us with several paragraphs of all the reasons why couldn't or didn't breastfeed. "The baby was 2 pounds." "The stress!" "The failed milk production." "That darn pump." Nobody asked that shit. Nobody cares that you bottle-fed. And really, a stranger on the street approached you and said "YOU TERRIBLE BOTTLE-FEEDER YOU." 

Okay Jessica. Sure thing.

Now, if there were condescending, judgmental words actually attached to these breastfeeding photos, you might have a peg of a leg to stand on. Hector Barbossa. But you're mad at a celebrity photo. You're mad at the message the photo might send. Ignoring the 75% chance that the photo may also, quite possibly, stupid likely, generate disgust. You're mad at the message you received from the photo and thus the photo can be no more. That's not cool.

In fact, I had a feeling like the one you're having. When Josie Maran gave birth under a lavender tree as a wolf howled at the night sky, I felt like an absolute piece of shit for wanting drugs before I pushed my baby out of my vagina as the "impatient doctors" poked and prodded me with all those "beeping monitors" But see, Josie actually said out loud that my choice was trash. She said the "intensity" of natural childbirth "prepares you to be a great mom," as if to say delivery with medical intervention is a shortcut and therefore you have already failed as a mother. I would have been cool with all the photos of her gallivanting through wildflowers in flowy white gown. She's pretty. I liked her Argan Oil. I was cool with her. I can dig that. But she said out loud that I, along with every other dreaded hospital birther, was the worst. That was the problem. 

The way Josie told he story made me pause and rethink how I talk about breastfeeding. I assure you, I never set out to make folks feel bad about their choices. But breastfeeding support is important. So yes, we need the pictures to go with the words of encouragement. Sorry about it, boo.

I don't recall Gwen (you can Google a photo of her also bottle feeding) or Olivia telling you you were a piece of shit though. A photo of a breastfeeding mother shouldn't send you into a tailspin of woe. Stop judging yourself maybe? Maybe start there before you put the kibosh on photos I'd like to see, that the world needs to see, so that one day I don't have to shoot daggers across the room at people who are actually judging me for feeding my child with my breasts. 

How about that?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Amen Melissa!!
~Amanda Hynes, CD(DONA), LCCE

Why Not Home?

It is a beautiful thing when you come into contact with someone who emanates your own thoughts back to you, in such an elegant, inspired way that you want to cheer. Or cry.

It is these moments that bring me peace and help me realize that I am on the right path. I am making the right choices. I am gently and purposefully moving through this life that I love, in a way that makes me proud.

Her name is Jessicca Moore.
(Yes, two C's. I saw it in two different places...I'm 90% sure that's correct). :)

She is producing and directing a new documentary about homebirth. It is rare that someone with such an intense medical background, (a nurse practitioner, in the field of neonatal and pediatric intensive care) shows this much impartial interest in educating the public about homebirth. Her documentary highlights those in the medical field who chose to have their babies at home, facilitating honest discussion about the safety and risks of this option in comparison to the traditional hospital birth.

By focusing on hospital birth providers who chose home birth, I hope to bring a voice of moderation to the discussion. Together, we can move toward real improvements to maternity care in hospitals AND at home for women, families, and society.

It speaks VOLUMES that doctors and nurses who see first hand the way the hospital machine treats laboring woman would choose homebirth. They place themselves in a challenging position of receiving negative feedback from their peers in the industry, and being forced to personally evaluate the standard intervention procedures so routine in most hospitals. Jessicca states that many kept their choice private so as to avoid such criticism.

Jessicca speaks my own mind when she says,

I looked at my risks in and out of the hospital and decided I felt that I had the best chance of as safe and uncomplicated natural birth in my own home surrounded by people I knew and trusted. My family and some of my colleges disagreed.

When 1 in 3 laboring women who enter a hospital, emerge as a surgical patients, something needs to change, and it's not the normal birth process, it is the system that surrounds it.

This is everything I'd want to share, if I were as smart and talented as this team! :) Enjoy!




Follow this link to donate to the cause!

http://www.documentary.org/film/why-not-home

All That Matters

There is one phrase in the birthing world that really frosts my cookies.

Who am I kidding? There are many. But, A#1 at the top of the list, is:

“All that matters is that baby and mother are healthy.”

“Why is that?” you may ask.

“What kind of childbirth educator would find this objectionable?” this you may ask.

When I first observed my discontent with this phrase, I asked myself the same questions.

What kind of childbirth educator…what kind of person...WOULD have a problem with this?

First, it seems odd to me that a family should feel the need to pronounce “healthy mom and healthy baby” as the goal of their birth experience. If it is not implied and obvious to their birth team and everyone else, then there is a real problem. It is implied and obvious outside of the birthing realm. We generally all want our families and ourselves healthy and safe, but you don’t hear people repeating this mantra in everyday life. Why is that? Because it is a fundamental principle fueling our actions that typically does not require explanation. When discussing a family’s birth goals, I ask them to leave out “healthy mom and baby” because to me, that is an empirical assumption.

There is something about the absolute nature of the statement that doesn’t sit right with me.

Is it really true? Is healthy mom and healthy baby ALL that matters?

Too many times, I have left the statement alone as the end of the conversation. Too many times, I simply had no response. But to me, these benign words do so much to marginalize the childbirth experience. This notion puts the spotlight on the end result and skips past the journey. Honestly, many times I hear it from a male partner. Husbands have the primitive impulse to protect their women and families (which is lovely!), and it’s probably not a stretch to say they would generally appreciate fast-forwarding to the happy ending when mother and baby are together.  Through no fault of their own, men are naturally unaware of the true intensity of the physical and emotional ups and downs involved in birthing a child into the world.

The entire path of pregnancy and birth is extremely important. It can be a great source of power for women in motherhood and throughout their lives. Being aware of your own strength from this accomplishment is a wonderful gift to give oneself. Women with high levels of birth satisfaction are better armed for the challenges of parenthood. They have a source of well-earned, life-long pride that can never be taken away.

The birth partner can also greatly benefit from an empowered birth experience. Although not doing the actual birthing, they get a rare chance to observe their chosen mate facing one of the greatest challenges of our world, for the love and benefit of their children and entire family. In my humble opinion, this cannot help but strengthen the bonds of love.

When one skips over this indelible experience to the end result, “healthy mom and healthy baby” is really the bare minimum expectation. It seems close to saying, “We just want to get out of this thing alive” and really, shouldn't we be aiming a little higher than that?

There is something about the timing of the statement

It doesn't come from an unmediated mother who just pushed out her baby and is bathing in surges of endorphins. It doesn't come from a laboring mother sitting in a warm tub in the arms of her husband. It comes from women whose birth is not unfolding as envisioned. It comes at the end of empowerment, when decision making capabilities (along with minds and bodies) have been exhausted. When we are just too tired to think anymore and ready to turn over the decision making to the care provider and their priorities. Too many times, the statement is an effort to convince ourselves that the choice we are about to make really is for the best.

I’ve never heard it from a birthing mother who was confident of her decisions. An educated family aware of the evidence supporting their decisions and the various risks, benefits and alternatives to those decisions, understands that their path is leading to “healthy mom and healthy baby”. They do not need to convince or remind themselves why. They already know.

What does it mean?

Of course we want a healthy baby and mom. But that is not achieved at any one moment in time. Each decision made from the moment the pregnancy test says positive, each choice, each bend in the journey towards birth, will DEFINE what “healthy baby and healthy mom” means to you and your family.

When a family makes the choice to travel down the road of induction or cesarean surgery, they are choosing to believe that their baby is at greater risk remaining inside the womb, than being brought to the outside. Will you allow yourself a glass of wine during pregnancy? Will you choose a care provider who performs episiotomies at will without consulting with mom and dad? Will you choose to birth in a hospital, where you are virtually guaranteed to be separated from you baby at some point, for some duration within his first 24 hours of life?

Each tiny, seemingly insignificant choice is your creation of your “healthy mom and healthy baby”.  It is not one fixed goal. It is a moving target that gets bigger and louder and harder to focus on as your infant becomes a rambunctious, bouncing girl, or an inquisitive, imaginative boy. Your ever-evolving definition of “healthy” does not stop the moment the cord is cut and you become two individuals. It is a lifelong quest.

Finally, if by “healthy mom and baby” one simply means seeking the same degree of mental, physical and emotional functioning that you had when you began, I can assure you, THAT IS IMPOSSIBLE. Absolutely, unequivocally, impossible.

This journey will change you.

This journey MATTERS.

Of all of the unknowns about birth, this I can guarantee.

~Amanda Hynes, CD(DONA), LCCE

Lamaze of Today

I've been wanting to organize my thoughts on the AMAZING organization that is Lamaze International for a while now.

Nothing like outside inspiration to get my fingers in gear. :)

I'm proud to be participating in a website database of all birth providers in the Myrtle Beach Grand Strand area. 

www.MyrtleBeachBirthServices.com

I will be linking articles from there to this blog, I'm sure. It is a strong and educated group of women.

But, on we go...

LAMAZE OF TODAY

by Amanda Hynes, CD(DONA), LCCE

HEE HEE HEE…

HOO HOO HOO….

That is what typically comes to mind when you say the word “Lamaze”.

“That thing with the breathing”

When I first began educating myself about childbirth, I was wary about the Lamaze philosophy, because I had heard they promoted this crazy breathing that had been proven to be detrimental. Like many people, I immediately linked this antiquated patterned breathing with the organization. Happily, with only a cursory amount of further investigation, I learned that *hee hee hoo hoo* has long been left in the past. Since it’s beginning in 1960, Lamaze International has evolved into a globally respected community of birth advocates and educators.

This isn’t your mama’s Lamaze!

The moment I began evaluating my options for formal training as a childbirth educator, Lamaze International stood head and shoulders above the rest. Why?

To put it simply…science, and a trust in the innate instincts and power of women in childbirth.

Today, the Lamaze Philosophy, along with every practice supported by the organization, comes from current evidence. Lamaze teamed up with The Cochrane Collaboration, which prepares and publishes the largest collection of randomized controlled trials in the world in the interest of putting the evidence in the hands of medical professionals, educators, and families (www.cochrane.org). Lamaze members have access to the Cochrane Library in order to develop their curriculum based on scientifically supported practices.

In order to make these (at times, complicated) studies more readily available to the public, Lamaze International created a blog called Science and Sensibility (www.scienceandsensibility.com) to relay the information in easy-to-read terminology, and help families educate themselves about the benefits and risks of the medications, procedures and interventions that are typically imposed during the birthing experience.

The people at Lamaze looked at the evidence, made the smart decision that the whole *hee hee hoo hoo* thing wasn’t working for women and babies, and began to put their time and resources towards honestly evaluating all birth practices.

That kind of mindful evolution is something I can get behind.

Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator (LCCE)

When you see the LCCE credential, you know that your educator has completed a rigorous evaluation and education process, and has international support and the most current evidence on birth practices. Lamaze certification is the only childbirth educator program designed to meet the highest professional standards of the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA).

Lamaze of Today

Today, the Lamaze Philosophy revolves around Six Healthy Birth Practices which are a common sense approach to birthing that every pregnant woman can easily use to their advantage. In my experience, the truest things in life are usually the most simple. Each of the practices have resonated with my soul since the moment I pushed my son out into the world, and they are supported by science.

Lamaze Fundamentals

The goal of Lamaze is to demystify the birth experience and empower women to have confidence in their innate ability to give birth. Birth is normal, natural and healthy. There are many ways to manage the challenges associated with birth, including pain. Understanding how your body works and what you can do to benefit yourself and your baby during the childbirth process can help alleviate fears and manage pain. Each woman and each birth is different. There is no one-size-fits-all solution. Even when complications or medical necessity occurs, knowledge of the benefits and risks of medications and interventions are critical in order for them to be applied judiciously and appropriately.

Birth Satisfaction

Lamaze can help you achieve the safest and healthiest birth experience to facilitate high levels of lifelong birth satisfaction. Birth satisfaction is not a luxury. It is important. Women with high levels of birth satisfaction bond better with their babies, breastfeed more successfully and are less likely to view caring for their babies as difficult and challenging. The first steps to high levels of birth satisfaction are education, empowerment, and an active role in the decision making. The experience of childbirth has a profound affect on women, babies, and families. The decisions (or non-decisions) during pregnancy will have significant, resonating effects.

Education

Choosing a childbirth educator, doula, midwife or OB is a great responsibility, and much of the decision comes not from books, but from the gut. You must be able to trust that your chosen birthing team has your best interests at heart and the tools to support you. It is much like choosing a psychologist. You must be comfortable with these people if you are to bare your soul. If there is no chemistry, birth will be hindered. Optimal results cannot be achieved if there is lingering fear or distrust.

Sometimes you can’t explain it, but this is the first lesson in parenting, trust your instincts. When you have a gut feeling that there is something wrong with your infant, you must be your baby’s advocate. When you have an instinct that they are fine, you must protect them from that which could make them un-fine.  The families of Myrtle Beach, the Grand Strand, and extended coastal Carolina areas are lucky to have this amazing, ever-evolving, ever-expanding group of childbirth professionals at their service. A good educator and a good doula will refer you to two others of their own profession to ensure that you are completely empowered in your decision and you have every option at your disposal to decide what is right for you and your family. Take the time to have conversations with several educators, doulas, midwives and OBs. You have options. Empower yourself to have the birth experience of your dreams.

Delay that Clamp Please

Delayed Cord Clamping.
IMPORTANT!

http://gaia-health.com/gaia-blog/2012-12-01/the-most-harmful-medical-intervention-is-done-to-all-of-us/

Also, a little Penny Simkin for good measure. She shares a dramatic visual of the volume of blood a baby gains by waiting 2 minutes for the cord to stop pulsating.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3RywNup2CM

Science Behind Doulas

I fell in love with this book the moment I picked it up back in 2006. Henci Goer's "The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth." I'm reviewing it again as reference for the upcoming Hynes Childbirth Education Series. It is full of invaluable information.

“Randomized controlled trials produce the strongest kind of research evidence because researchers randomly assign participants to have the treatment or not, which eliminates all kinds of biases. We now have more than a dozen randomized controlled trials.

Various trials have shown that the continuous presence of a caring, experienced woman can reduce:

• the length of labor

• the use of pain medication
• the need for IV oxytocin (Pitocin)
• the likelihood of having an episiotomy
• the percentage of instrumental vaginal deliveries (forceps/vacuum)
• and the Cesarean Section rate

Doulas can reduce the number of babies:

• born in poor condition
• admitted to special-care nurseries
• have prolonged hospital stays
• who have evaluations for infection

These studies also show that women who have a doula

• experience less pain and anxiety in labor
• express greater satisfaction with the labor
• feel that they coped better
• have a heightened appreciation of their bodies’ strength and performance and themselves as women
• breastfeed longer
• experience less difficulty in mothering

They have:

• have more positive feelings toward the baby
• better self esteem
• a better relationship with the father
• and less postpartum depression

The fact that these studies took place in different countries with different populations of women under different circumstances and consistently found benefits further strengthens confidence in the validity of their results.”

This book should be issued with every uterus. :)

Robots are Taking Over Birth

http://nursingbirth.com/2009/09/07/the-worst-idea-since-routine-continuous-fetal-monitoring-for-low-risk-mothers/

Homebirth Outcome Study

Since I'm trying to gather as many scientific studies from credible journals as possible (as a result of being kicked off a mom/pregnancy board for posting a blog page of information/thoughts/options that only referred to the position of ACOG-American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and did not include long-term, double blind, scientific studies on the subjects)....I present a Canadian study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

In summary...

"The study analyzed all planned home births attended by registered midwives from Jan. 1, 2000, to Dec. 31, 2004, in British Columbia, Canada (n = 2889), and all planned hospital births meeting the eligibility requirements for home birth that were attended by the same cohort of midwives (n = 4752).  We also included a matched sample of physician-attended planned hospital births (n = 5331)."  Meaning...these were not necessarily "high risk" patients in the hospital. Everyone started out on the same playing field.


"The rate of perinatal death per 1000 births was 0.35 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.00–1.03) in the group
of planned home births; the rate in the group of planned hospital births was 0.57 (95% CI 0.00–1.43) among women attended by a midwife and 0.64 (95% CI 0.00–1.56) among those attended by a physician."

WOOT!

http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/reprint/181/6-7/377

Suggestions for Having a Peaceful Birth

1. Avoid artificial labor induction
This includes pitocin IV (artificial oxytocin), amniotomy (breaking the amniotic sac or "bag of waters"), prostaglandin gels or tampons inserted into the cervix, and stripping the amniotic membranes off the cervix.
Labor induction doubles your chance as a first time mom of having a cesarean section.

2. Avoid an epidural and other pain medications
Epidurals often slow the labor process down, which leads to the use of pitocin to strengthen contractions. Both epidurals and pitocin use increase your chances of having a c-section, forceps, or vacuum extraction birth.
Other pain medications such as narcotics, are often not very effective for pain relief. Both epidurals and narcotics have side effects for you and your baby.

You can do it. Your body was made to birth naturally.

3. Avoid IVs--instead eat and drink during labor
There is no reason not to eat and drink during labor. If you are eating and drinking than you don't need an IV. Labor is work-- that's why its called "labor". It is like vigorous exercise and the calories and fluids are needed for your body to work effectively.
Starving yourself and becoming dehydrated during birthing can lead to complications.
IVs keep you from moving freely during labor and movement facilitates faster and easier births.
IVs are for sick people and you're not sick--you're giving birth.
The use of IVs can cause other complications such as fluid overload and hyperglycemia for both mother and baby.

4. Avoid continuous fetal monitoring
Continuous fetal monitoring causes more c-sections and interventions without improving outcomes for the baby. Both external fetal monitoring and internal fetal monitoring keep you from moving freely. Internal monitoring introduces the risk of infection.
Intermittent monitoring with a hand-held doppler or a fetascope is more effective at detecting problems with the baby should any occur. It is also much more comfortable for you not to have straps around your belly and to have freedom of movement.

5. Stay upright and stay active during labor.
Staying upright and active during labor instead of laying in bed facilitates a faster, and more comfortable labor. I was upright and moving for all but 30 minutes of my labor. And that 30 minutes of laying on my side was excruciating!

6. Give birth in an upright position
Squatting or kneeling is how many women instinctively choose to birth if they don't feel that they have to lay in bed.
Birthing in an upright position works with your body and with gravity. It is the physiological natural position for baby to be born in. Laying on your back to give birth is actually pushing the baby uphill.
I know that if I had been trying to birth on my back I would have felt like a turtle in the mud!

7. Don't wear the hospital gown
You are not sick and you are not "Property of Anytown Community Hospital". Donning the hospital gown is a powerful message to your unconscious mind.
Wear what you are comfortable in. Your husband's T-shirt, jogging pants, your own night gown, or even nothing at all!

8. Don't take a ride in the wheel chair.
It might make you feel special or seem fun, but again, you are not sick, and "My legs work just fine thank-you very much";)
The wheel chair is another powerful message to your unconscious that you are dependent and need to be "rescued".

9. Don't go to the hospital--give birth at home or in a freestanding birth center
The hospital is in itself an intervention. And here I go repeating myself again, but--You are not sick--you're having a baby.
 
Animals give birth unaided in their own environments without anyone disturbing their process. Strange environments cause the fight or flight system to kick into gear which hinders labor.
Staying away from the hospital is the top way you can ensure that you birth completely naturally. Once you enter the hospital, you are on their turf and the medical staff has a greater measure of control over your birth whether actual or perceived.
It is very easy to cave in to pressure from those we perceive to be in authority.

10. Hire a doctor or midwife with a non-interventionist philosophy.
The philosophy of your care provider has a HUGE influence on your birth outcome. Ask your care provider what their rates of c-section, induction, episiotomies, and assisted deliveries (forceps or vacuum extractions) are.
National rates for c-sections and inductions are at an all time high, but if your caregiver's rates of these interventions are much higher than the national average, it would be wise to switch caregivers. It would be optimal to find a caregiver whose average for interventions is well below the national average.

11. Make it easy for baby to be in the optimal birth position.
Don't lay on your back in pregnancy, stay active, and know how your baby is positioned.
Laying on your back encourages the baby to be posterior with his back facing your back. This is not the easiest position in which to give birth to a baby. Women certainly birth posterior babies, but it is usually more work.
Doing the yoga posture Downward Dog and pelvic tilts help baby to get in-and stay in-the best position--head down with their back facing your back.

12. Consider giving birth vaginally even if the baby is breech.
A vaginal breech birth is just as valid a choice as cesarean section-- consider all your options.
It is difficult to find a doctor who will attend vaginal breech births. You may find that the only caregiver who will attend a vaginal breech birth is a homebirth midwife.

13. Eat extremely well during pregnancy
Metabolic toxemia of late pregnancy has been linked to poor nutrition. Not consuming enough calories or consuming empty calories that are high in sugar and not high in essential nutrients, can cause MTLP.
If you have MTLP or your baby doesn't gain enough weight because you are restricting your diet, interventions are often necessary.
Eating a diet of whole foods and very little processed foods, grows a healthy baby and a healthy mother.

14. Take a good child birth education course
A good childbirth education course will help you work through fears, and practice relaxation and coping methods for discomfort during labor.
Hypnobirthing and Birthing from Within are two courses that I recommend.
Know thyself. Learn what psychological roadblocks lay in the way of having a natural birth experience and seek to remove them.

http://www.dare-to-give-birth-naturally.com/

The Folly of Naegle's Rule

"The 40 week due date is based upon Naegele's Rule. This theory was originated by Harmanni Boerhaave, a botanist who in 1744 came up with a method of calculating the EDD based upon "evidence" in the Bible that human gestation lasts approximately 10 lunar months. The formula was publicized around 1812 by German obstetrician Franz Naegele and since has become the accepted norm for calculating the due date. There is one glaring flaw in Naegele's rule. Strictly speaking, a lunar (or synodic - from new moon to new moon) month is actually 29.53 days, which makes 10 lunar months roughly 295 days, a full 15 days longer than the 280 days gestation we've been lead to believe is average. In fact, if left alone, 50-80% of mothers will gestate beyond 40 weeks."

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1047180/the_lie_of_the_edd_why_your_due_date.html

Not Just Skin

My new favorite website....
www.NotJustSkin.org

I love this line on the homepage:

"We will succeed at developing a warm, nonviolent society to the extent that we are aware and intentional in our choices."

Very true.  This means, not accepting blindly what has always been done, and asking the question, "Is this a traditional belief or is it supported by the best clinical evidence?"

I started out looking for some information about how to avoid an episiotomy, or dramatic tearing of the perineum during birth, and found some great information on circumcisions and how to create a non-toxic household.  I'll definitely be reading/posting more.

As for the perineum, it turns out that appropriate nutrition can really help to protect your lady parts.

Good nutrition and hydration are very important for tissue health and elasticity. "Good nutrition is vital to your body's work in preparing the perineum for stretching during birth. Hormonal changes during pregnancy cause the tissues of your cervix and perineum to become extremely thick and elastic. Crucial to this process is an adequate intake of protein, vitamin E, and short-chain fatty acids, which consist of two types of 'good' fat, Omega-3 and Omega-6. Short-chain fatty acids are found in nuts and seeds, cold-pressed oils, all types of beans, and fish such as salmon and tuna" "Avoiding an Episiotomy", Nancy Griffin, Mothering Magazine, # 75, summer 1995, (p 60).

Vitamin E can be especially helpful (at least 1,000 mg per day). Food sources include: Wheat germ oil, wheat germ, sunflower seeds, almonds, pecans, safflower oil, peanuts, corn oil, soybean oil, and lobster.

Vitamin C is also very beneficial for tissue health, cellular integrity, elasticity and regeneration.

Bioflavanoids. These are the compounds that make oranges orange, blueberries blue, and cherries red. These crystalline compounds give foods their bright colors and great taste. More than 4,000 flavonoids are known. While sometimes-called vitamin P, they are not truly vitamins. The medicinal effects of many foods and herbs are due to their flavonoid content. The most well known flavonoids are PCOs (proanthocyanidins), quercetin, citrus bioflavanoids, and green tea polyphenols. Some foods rich in flavonoids are blueberries, cherries, citrus fruits, pears, grapes, cabbage, legumes, plums, and onions.

I will be stocking up on my vitamins, for sure. :)

Dear Doctor

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to my letter and inform me of the fact that your entire practice cannot support homebirth (vicarious liability is a powerful thing).

However, I have to let you know that I question the *information* you used in an attempt to scare me out of my homebirth decision.

Although I did not attend medical school, I doubt that there is a way to predict if and how many times an fetus will wrap itself in the umbilical cord. Beyond that, I'm relatively sure you cannot attribute it to the mother.

Finally, the weight of a baby cannot be accurately predicted prebirth, even with maternal measurements and sonograms. So I'm also pretty sure that the weight cannot be predicted sight unseen, based on previous pregnancies and withOUT said measurements and sonograms.

Good try though. Good luck with your fearmongering.....I mean, business.

Sincerely,
an educated pregnant mother

Doulas Rule

In honor of completing the next step in my DONA Doula training, I'll post the praises of doulas, per the Cochrane Collaboration, which provides "systematic reviews of the effects of healthcare interventions."

http://www.cochrane.org/reviews/en/ab003766.html

"Continuous support in labour increased the chance of a spontaneous vaginal birth, had no identified adverse effects and women were more satisfied.

Historically women have been attended and supported by other women during labour and birth. However in many countries these days, as more women are giving birth in hospital rather than at home, continuous support during labour has become the exception rather than the norm. This has raised concerns about the consequent dehumanization of women's childbirth experiences. Modern obstetric care frequently subjects women to institutional routines, which may have adverse effects on the progress of labour. Supportive care during labour may involve emotional support, comfort measures, information and advocacy. These may enhance normal labour processes as well as women's feelings of control and competence, and thus reduce the need for obstetric intervention. The review of studies included 16 trials, from 11 countries, involving over 13,000 women in a wide range of settings and circumstances. Women who received continuous labour support were more likely to give birth 'spontaneously', i.e. give birth with neither caesarean nor vacuum nor forceps. In addition, women were less likely to use pain medications, were more likely to be satisfied, and had slightly shorter labours. In general, labour support appeared to be more effective when it was provided by women who were not part of the hospital staff. It also appeared to be more effective when commenced early in labour. No adverse effects were identified."

Orgasmic

This makes me cry.
My favorite is the look on mom's face in the very last scene.
You don't get that kind of joy from drugs.

Health Care

Midwifery is the answer to the question, “how can we afford national health care?” If every motherbaby were attended by a non-interventive but knowledgeable midwife, a national health care program would save billions of dollars on the four million births that occur in the US each year.

Please support the Mothers and Midwives in Action (MAMA) Campaigns effort to make Certified Professional Midwives a part of the health care system.


Increased access to Certified Professional Midwives can address the goals of health care reform:

• Ensure quality care for every American – CPMs provide evidence-based, prevention-oriented and health-promoting care, with more babies that are healthy, full weight and full term, and much lower rates of cesarean section and medical interventions.


• Reduce costs – The reduction in interventions, unnecessary cesarean sections, and the associated increased health status of mothers and babies under the care of CPMs would lead to a cost savings to the US health care system.

• Guarantee choice – If CPMs are included in Medicaid reimbursement or a federal insurance program, CPMs and out-of- hospital birth would be available to all women, not just those who can afford to pay out-of-pocket.

Big Baby Bull

Whilst trolling other doula blogs... I came across this from "EnjoyBirth" (a name I love of course):


http://enjoybirth.wordpress.com/2009/06/29/big-baby-bull/


More great info on "BIG" babies...


http://www.pregnancybirthandbabies.com/Big_baby.htm


Good to know that the truth IS out there.

More from Ina

Remember that this midwife and her team have facilitated over TWO THOUSAND births. In the midwifery model, that includes prenatal care that spends more than the average 10 minutes per visit granted by typical OBs in this country. So, they would know intimate details like the amount of sex a couple has during pregnancy.

"I have noticed that women who continue to make love during pregnancy are less likely to have perineal tears at the birth of the baby."

Hmm....interesting....worth a try, I'd say!!

Cochrane

I JUST glimpsed this amazing website and I am in love.

www.cochrane.com

Its all about evidence-based medicine and health care.

"Evidence-based health care is the conscientious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients or the delivery of health services. Current best evidence is up-to-date information from relevant, valid research about the effects of different forms of health care, the potential for harm from exposure to particular agents, the accuracy of diagnostic tests, and the predictive power of prognostic factors. Evidence-based clinical practice is an approach to decision-making in which the clinician uses the best evidence available, in consultation with the patient, to decide upon the option which suits that patient best. Evidence-based medicine is the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients. The practice of evidence-based medicine means integrating individual clinical expertise with the best available external clinical evidence from systematic research."

It is chilling how much of birthing decisions are based on "what has always been done" rather than evidence-based information.

I can't wait to review this entire site further.

Mother-Friendly

This may sound like a *touchy-feely* term. Well, it is.
I think we all need to be more touchy-feely when it comes to birth and supporting a birthing mother. My new favorite author and activist this week is Penny Simkin. Through her website I found this, Ten Steps of Mother-Friendly Care, as compiled by the Coalition for Improvement of Maternity Services, www.motherfriendly.com

This is easy stuff people.

1. Offers all birthing mothers with unrestricted access to birth companions, labor support, and midwifery care.

2. Provides accurate, descriptive statistical information about birth care practices.

3. Provides culturally competent care.

4. Provides birthing mother with the freedom to walk, move, assume positions of her choice.

5. Has clearly defined policies, procedures for collaboration, consultation, links to community resources.

6. Does not routinely employ practices, procedures unsupported by scientific evidence.

7. Educated staff in non-drug methods of pain relief and does not promote use of analgesic, anesthetic drugs.

8. Encourages all mothers, families to touch, hold, breastfeed, care for their babies.

9. Discourages non-religious circumcision of the newborn.

10. Strives for the WHO/UNICEF Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative to promote successful breastfeeding.

What is Midwifery?

(snatched from naturalchildbirth.org)

"…most of the women who go to OBs do not know - or at least believe popular misconceptions - about what midwives do. Every woman would want midwifery care for herself and baby if they knew what it truly was…. All the women I know who used midwives were women who wanted individualized care and somebody to be there to support them through their whole birth experience. Somebody who knew them and who they trusted; rather than a practice where you rotate through providers and get whoever is on call. Some had natural births, some with epidurals, etc. but the most important aspect was that relationship and better care."