Birth Stories from Ina May

"There is extraordinary psychological benefit in belonging to a group of women who have positive stories to tell about their birth experiences. This phenomenon is exactly what developed within our village. So many horror stories circulate about birth-especially in the United States-that it can be difficult for women to believe that labor and birth can be a beneficial experience. If you have been pregnant for a while, it's probable that you've already heard some scary birth stories from friends or relatives. This is especially true if you live in the United States, where telling pregnant women gory stories has been a national pastime for at least a century. Now that birth has become a favorite subject of television dramas and situation comedies, this trend has been even more pronounced. No one has explained the situation more succinctly than Stephen King in his novella "The Breathing Method." Commenting on the fear many women have of birth, his fictional character observes, "Believe me: if you are told that some experience is going to hurt, it will hurt. Most pain is in the mind, and when a woman absorbs the idea that the act of giving birth is excruciatingly painful-when she gets this information from her mother, her sisters, her married friends, and her physician-that woman has been mentally prepared to feel great agony." King, you may not know, is the father of several children born at home.
The best way I know to counter the effects of frightening stories is to hear or read empowering ones. I mean stories that change you because you read or heard them, because the teller of the story taught you something you didn't know before or helped you look at things from a different angle than you ever had before."

All Hail Ina May

I have heard about this amazing woman and The Farm that she and her husband founded in Tennesee, but I didn't realize how eloquent she was in describing her simple, yet revolutionary point of view of childbirth.

She-Freakin-Rocks.
www.inamay.com


I finally picked up her "Ina May's Guide to Childbirth" and by the first page, I was hooked. She speaks a simple truth and her statistics back her up completely.

The Farm was founded in 1971. From 1971 to 2000, of 2,028 births....

Births Completed - 95.1%
Non-Emergency Transports - 3.6%
Emergency Transports - 1.3%

Vaginal Birth - 98.6%
Cesarean Sections - 1.4%
(US National Average = 24.4%)

Cases with no Preeclampsia - 99.61%
Cases of Preeclampsia - 0.39%

Cases with no hemorrhage - 98.2%
Cases of Postpartum hemorrhage - 1.8%

What the HECK are these women DOING RIGHT??

Why the HECK aren't more people (ahem..DOCTORS) listening to her?

SIMPLE SIMPLE SIMPLE.

"Standards of prenatal care at the Farm are modeled to the recommendations of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Deliveries are conducted without analgesia, however, and great emphasis is placed on meeting the emotional needs of the family. Several family members and friends are commonly in attendance and are encouraged to take an active role in the birth.

In addition, the laboring woman is encouraged to stay off her back and remain physically mobile through labor and delivery. In the absence of signs of fetal distress, women are permitted to labor beyond 24 hours, occasionally for 2 to 3 days. They are also encouraged to eat and drink during labor in the belief that this allays maternal exhaustion and the need for operative delivery."

Stay off her back? Eat and Drink? SHOCKING!

And now, for my first Ina May quote (there will be many more to follow)...

"It's not easy to say wheterh the woman in my village have less fear of birth because we know that our capabilities go beyond medical understanding or that our capabilities are greater without anxiety."

I just want to hug this woman and bring her fourteen ice cream sundaes.

(sigh). :)

What YOU Should Know about Cesarean Birth

THIS BOOKLET IS AWESOME.
If you had, are planning to have, thought about having or KNOW someone that had a Cesarean Section, this is great information for making an educated decision.

In 1970, one in 20 women had a CSection.
Today, one in 3 have a CSection.

Is it really true that one in three babies/moms cannot give birth on their own?
Frightening.
I don't believe it.
There must be other factors at work....such as money and liability perhaps?

Safe Birth

Myth:
Cesarean Section is Safe.
Reality:
Vaginal birth is far safer overall for mothers and babies.
Although cesarean section is safer than in the past, it is major abdominal surgery and poses many extra harms for mothers and babies in comparison with vaginal birth.

Myth:
Planned cesarean is optimal solution for mothers and babies.
Reality:
Vaginal birth is far safer overall for mothers and babies.
Planned cesarean is very convenient for busy hospitals and caregivers.

Myth:
Vaginal birth is harmful for mothers and babies
Reality:
Vaginal birth is far safer overall for mothers and babies than cesarean section.
Some overused medical practices during vaginal birth are harmful to mothers and babies.
Research has not been done to determine whether giving birth through the vagina has intrinsic risks in comparison with cesarean section.

Myth:
Having an elective cesarean section will prevent incontinence later in life.
Reality:
Current research suggests that having a cesarean section will have no effect on incontinence later in life. Having an elective cesarean section poses many harms and limited benefit to mothers and babies.

Tips for Reducing Risk During Pregnancy:
Find doctor or midwife with low rates of intervention
Discuss goals and preferences with caregiver
Choose birth setting with low rates of intervention
Create your own birth statement
Arrange for continuous labor support
Explore options for pain relief

Tips for Reducing Risk During Labor:
Work with caregivers to delay going to hospital
Receive good support throughout labor
If possible, avoid continuous electronic fetal monitoring
Avoid epidural analgesia

Tips for Avoiding Cesareans (during Pregnancy):
If cesarean proposed, make informed decision
If had previous cesarean, make informed decision
If baby is breech, make informed decision
If you fear vaginal birth, consider in-depth counseling

Tips for Avoiding Cesareans (during Labor):
Avoid routine interventions when possible (in addition to electronic fetal monitoring, epidural, induction, artificial rupture of membranes, arbitrary time limits)
If cesarean is proposed, make informed decision.

Tips for Avoiding Unnecessary Assisted Birth:
Push in an upright or side-lying position
Avoid time limits for pushing
Let your body guide pushing, when possible

Tips for Avoiding Unnecessary Pelvic Floor Injury:
Talk with caregivers about avoiding routine use of interventions that can increase risk
Carry out pelvic floor muscle exercises

http://www.childbirthconnection.org/article.asp?ClickedLink=184&ck=10263&area=2

Cinco de Mayo

The fifth of May is also known as INTERNATIONAL MIDWIVES DAY!!!

This site has some great ideas about how to celebrate.

http://mana.org/IntMidDay.html

I intend to submit a request to the state of South Carolina to issue a proclamation to recognize International Midwives Day. YAY!

Midwives are some of the few citizens fighting daily to maintain a women's right to a natural, low-tech birth experience. Thank you Midwives for your faith in women and our innate ability to nurture and birth our children without the help of a scapel.

Beauty

Omigosh. What a beauty. She's got TWO in there!!


Baby boy diaper cake and Baby girl diaper cake.
Yes my services can be contracted. :)

Fresh flowers and champagne. Yep. It was that kind of baby shower. :)

Sssigh....

TWO

Number of loved ones suffering infections by hospitals and hospital procedures in the past two weeks...TWO.

THANKS HOSPITALS!!!