The Business of Being Born - Film Review

The Business of Being Born is a film produced by Ricki Lake and directed by Abby Epstein. It is a documentary of the process around birth in the western world (filmed in the US it is quite closely aligned to the Australian experience).


The film follows the journey of one midwife on her rounds around New York, and the different experiences she encounters. I found this midwife down to earth, passionate and inspiring, just the midwife you would like around when you're labouring :)


The film also follows a woman's experience of pregnancy and birth, and her feelings about how things went for her.

Ricki Lake interviews mothers, expectant mothers, midwives, obstetricians, gynecologists and other birth experts. Her style is very natural and I found the film very engaging because its raw, unpretentious style allows you to feel part of things.


Some information that's presented is not new (ie the medicalisation of birth, elective Caesarean because of fear around giving birth etc) and is a bit depressing to watch, but definitely necessary to include in any balanced birth documentary.


Personally, I really feel this is a well made, realistic and necessary film for our time. It clearly demonstrates available birth choices and leaves the watcher to draw their own conclusions.


Talk Soon, Cynthia x

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Being Born: How your Birth Affects your Learning Performance Lifestyle and Relationships. By Robyn Fernance.

Hi Everyone,

Being Born is a book written by rebirther and teacher of 30 years, Robyn Fernance. Fernance noticed a relationship between birth conditions and various life factors in her rebirthing clients and students.

The book is basically a handbook which lists various birth experiences as chapter headings including:

Big baby births, born in the sac births, breech births, caesarian-emergency births, caesarian-planned births, conditions of the mother births, cord around the neck births, drugged births, easy births, fast births, forceps delivered babies, held back births, induced births, late births, near to death births, normal births, premature births, turned at birth, multiple births etc.

Each chapter gives a description of the likely personality traits of various birth types and gives tips on how to work with this person, how learning in the home/classroom may be affected, how to get along with others etc.

The gradient of this book is pretty steep, and makes certain assumptions around the reader's spiritual beliefs (such as personal responsibility for life experiences). Some people may take this as a given, while others may struggle with such assumptions.

The final section of the book includes a Birth History page for identifying birth conditions, and a Positive Thoughts for Change section dealing with individual birth types.

A summary of rebirthing is given, as well as testimonials from those who have found relief from the effects of their birth and birthing experience through rebirthing. A list of rebirthing/breath work practitioners is given in the appendix of the book, but your local paper or yellow pages will provide a more comprehensive and up-to date listing.

Personally I enjoyed this book and found it uncannily accurate in describing each of my children in relation to their birth experience. I think there's definately something in it all....

Talk Soon, Cynthia Marston

PICTURE COVER IMAGE BEING BORN BY ROBYN FERNANCE

The First Hour Following Birth: Don’t Wake the Mother!

Hi Everyone,

In this post I would like to share with you points from an article entitled The First Hour Following Birth: Don’t Wake the Mother! It was written by Michael Odent, and is used with the kind permission of Midwifery Today. For the entire article and many others of interest visit Midwifery Today.


Michel Odent, MD founded the Primal Health Research Centre in London and developed the maternity unit in Pithiviers, France, where birthing pools are used. He is the author of ten books published in twenty languages. Two of them—Birth Reborn and The Nature of Birth and Breastfeeding—were published originally in the United States. His most recent book is The Farmer and the Obstetrician.

The hour following birth is undoubtedly one of the most critical phases in the life of human beings. It is not by chance that all human groups have routinely disturbed the physiological processes in this short period of time, via beliefs and rituals. Our cultural milieus are to a great extent shaped at the very beginning of the mother-newborn interaction.

The first hour following birth may be looked at from a multitude of complementary perspectives. My objective is to catalogue 12 such perspectives to demonstrate the real dimension of this enormous subject.

Perspective 1: The sudden need to breathe

We do not need to develop this widely documented perspective. It is well understood that during the first hour following birth the baby must suddenly use its lungs.

Perspective 2: The behavioral effects of hormones

Today we are in a position to explain that all the different hormones released by mother and fetus during the first and second stages of labor are not yet eliminated during the hour following birth. All of them have a specific role to play in the mother-newborn interaction...The key hormone involved in birth physiology is undoubtedly oxytocin. Its mechanical effects have been well known for a long time (effects on uterine contractions for the birth of the baby and the delivery of the placenta; effects on the contractions of the myo-epithelial cells of the breast for the milk ejection reflex).......

The results of hundreds of such studies can be summarized in one or two sentences: Oxytocin is the typical altruistic hormone; it is involved whatever the facet of love one considers.

These data appear important when one knows that, according to Swedish studies, it is after the birth of the baby and before the delivery of the placenta that women have the capacity to reach the highest possible peak of oxytocin.......highly dependent on environmental factors. It is easier if the place is very warm (so that the level of hormones of the adrenaline family is as low as possible). It is also easier if the mother has nothing else to do but look at the baby’s eyes and feel contact with the baby’s skin, without any distraction.........................

Oxytocin is never released in isolation. It is always part of a complex hormonal balance. ........ Oxytocin and prolactin complement each other. Furthermore, estrogens activate the oxytocin and prolactin receptors. We must always think in terms of hormonal balance.

It was also in 1979 that the maternal release of morphine-like hormones during labor and delivery was demonstrated........................ In the early 1980s we learned that the baby also releases its own endorphins in the birth process, and today there is no doubt that, for a certain time following birth, both mother and baby are impregnated with opiates. The property of opiates to induce states of dependency is well known, so it is easy to anticipate how the beginning of a "dependency"—or attachment—will likely develop.

Even hormones of the adrenaline family (often seen as hormones of aggression) have an obvious role to play in the interaction between mother and baby immediately after birth. During the very last contractions before birth the level of these hormones in the mother peaks. That is why, in physiological conditions, as soon as the "fetus ejection reflex" starts, women tend to be upright, full of energy, with a sudden need to grasp something or someone. They often need to drink a glass of water, just as a speaker may do in front of a large audience. One of the effects of such adrenaline release is that the mother is alert when the baby is born. ............ Aggressiveness is an aspect of maternal love. It is also well known that the baby has its own survival mechanisms during the last strong expulsive contractions and releases its own hormones of the adrenaline family. A rush of noradrenaline enables the fetus to adapt to the physiological oxygen deprivation specific to this stage of delivery. The visible effect of this hormonal release is that the baby is alert at birth, with eyes wide open and dilated pupils. Human mothers are fascinated and delighted by the gaze of their newborn babies. It is as if the baby was giving a signal, and it certainly seems that this human eye-to-eye contact is an important feature of the beginning of the mother and baby relationship among humans.

Our current knowledge of the behavioral effects of different hormones involved in the birth process helps us to interpret the concept of a sensitive period introduced by ethologists. It is clear that all the different hormones released by the mother and by the baby during labor and delivery are not eliminated immediately. It is also clear that all of them have a specific role to play in the later interactions between mother and baby.

Perspective 3: The perspective of ethologists

Ethologists observe the behaviors of animals and human beings..... Harlow studied in particular the process of attachment among primates.

The importance of the ethological approach is gradually emerging after the recent discovery of the behavioral effects of hormones involved in the birth process.

An ethological study of the first hour following birth among humans is difficult because the physiological processes are routinely disturbed. However, it is possible in unusual circumstances. Imagine a woman who gave birth in her own bathroom while her husband was shopping. She is in a very warm and quite dark place. She does not feel observed at all. ....... First, the mother looks at her newborn baby between her legs. After a while she dares to touch her with her fingertips. Then she becomes more and more audacious and wants to hold her baby in her arms. At that time most women are as if fascinated by the baby’s eyes.

Perspective 4: The first hour as the beginning of lactation

There was a time, not so long ago, when we wouldn’t have considered the first hour following birth as the time when lactation is supposed to start. Imagine a baby born at home a century ago. The cord was cut right away. Then the baby was washed, dressed and shown to the mother before being put in a crib. An anecdote can help us realize how recent this perspective is. In 1977, in Rome, at the Congress of Psychosomatic, Gynaecology and Obstetrics, I presented a paper about the early expression of the rooting reflex. I was simply describing the ideal conditions that allow the baby to find the breast during the first hour following birth. None of the obstetricians and pediatricians present at that session could believe that a human baby would be able to find the breast during the hour following birth.

Today most midwives know that the human baby is naturally programmed to find the breast during the hour following birth. Moreover, one can understand that, in physiological conditions, when the newborn baby is ready to find the breast, the mother is still in a particular hormonal balance. She is still "on another planet." She is still very instinctive. She knows how to hold her baby. Among humans, breastfeeding is potentially instinctive—during the hour following birth. After that there is room for education, imitation and even technique.

Perspective 5: First hour and metabolic adaptation

As long as the baby is in the womb the nutrients, particularly the vital fuel glucose, are provided in a continuous mode via the cord. Immediately after birth the baby must adapt to a discontinuous supply. The remarkable ability of the neonate to respond to significantly low glucose value has been studied in depth by M. Cornblath in the United States, and by Jane Hawdon, Laura Derooy and Suzanne Colson (see Suzanne's article "Womb to World," Midwifery Today Issue 61, page 12) in the United Kingdom.

Perspective 6: The bacteriological point of view

At birth, a baby is germ-free. An hour later there are millions of germs covering her mucous membranes. To be born is to enter the world of microbes. The question is, which germs will be the first to colonize the baby’s body?......... from a bacteriological point of view, the newborn human baby urgently needs to be in contact with only one person—her mother. If we add that early consumption of colostrum will help establish an ideal gut flora, there is no doubt that, from a bacteriological point of view, the hour following birth is a critical period with lifelong consequences. Our gut flora can be presented as an aspect of our personality that cannot be easily modified later on in life.

Perspective 7: Starting up the process of thermoregulation

While in the womb the baby never had any opportunity to experience differences in temperature (apart from possible episodes of maternal fever). Once more, the first minutes following birth appear as an interruption of continuity. As the mechanisms of thermoregulation are not yet mature at birth there are theoretical reasons to be worried about the cases of maternal hyperthermia during labor that are induced by an epidural anesthesia or a too hot bath. Such situations might challenge in a dangerous way the thermoregulation of the baby by exaggerating the differences of temperature between the intra- and the extra-uterine environments.

Perspective 8: Adaptation to gravity

During the first hour a new relationship to gravity is established. Suddenly the vestibular nerve, which serves equilibrium, is carrying to the brain an unprecedented flood of impulses from the semicircular canals, utricles and saccules.

Perspective 9: The ethnological approach

.....Most cultures disturb the first contact between mother and baby during the hour following birth. The most universal and intriguing way is simply to promote a belief, such as the belief that colostrum is tainted or harmful to the baby, even a substance to be expressed and discarded. Such a belief necessitates that, immediately after birth, the baby must not be in her mother’s arms. This implies rituals such as the ritual of cutting the cord immediately. The first contact between mother and baby can be disturbed through many other rituals: bathing, rubbing, tight swaddling, foot binding, "smoking" the baby, piercing the ears of the little girls, opening the doors in cold countries, etc.

...........The greater the social need for aggression and an ability to destroy life, the more intrusive the rituals and beliefs are in the period surrounding birth.

If disturbing the first contact between mother and baby and promulgating such excuses as the belief that colostrum is bad are so universal, it means that these behaviors have carried evolutionary advantages.

After taking into account and combining all the perspectives that indicate the importance of the hour following birth, and after referring to perinatal rituals and beliefs, we are in a position to claim that the cultural milieus are to a great extent shaped during the hour following birth. Now we can consider the hour following birth in the context of our modern societies.

Perspective 10: The obstetrical approach

All these considerations were necessary before looking at the hour following birth in the context of our modern societies. In our societies the cultural control of childbirth is mostly a medical control.

From medical literature and textbooks it appears that, in obstetrical circles, the question is: "How do you manage the so-called third stage?" Medical journals periodically publish prospective randomized, controlled studies comparing different ways to "manage" the third stage. The only objective is to evaluate the risks of postpartum hemorrhage. These studies are conducted in the context of large obstetrical units. All research protocols use a negative definition of "expectant management" (e.g., no use of uterotonic drugs and no clamping of the cord). The factors that can positively facilitate the release of oxytocin are not included in the protocols. The results of such trials have led to the practice of routinely injecting oxytocic substances into all mothers at the very time of the birth of the baby. Such substances block the release of the natural hormone; furthermore they have no behavioral effects. The effects of these obstetrical routines must be considered in terms of civilization.

Perspective 11: The midwifery approach

Certain midwives can still practice authentic midwifery. This means they are not prisoners of strict guidelines and protocols. They can play their role of protectors of the physiological processes. Immediately after the birth of the baby the main preoccupation of such midwives is the release by the mother of a high peak of oxytocin because it is necessary for safe delivery of the placenta and is the hormone of love.

They first make sure the room is warm enough. During the third stage women never complain that it is too hot. If they are shivering, it means the place is not warm enough. In the case of a homebirth, the only important tool to prepare is a transportable heater that can be plugged in any place and at any time and can be used to warm blankets or towels. Their other goal is to make sure the mother is not distracted at all while looking at the baby’s eyes and feeling contact with the baby’s skin. There are countless avoidable ways of distracting mother and baby at that stage. The mother can be distracted because she feels observed or guided, because somebody is talking, because the birth attendant wants to cut the cord before the delivery of the placenta, because the telephone rings, or because a light is suddenly switched on, etc. At that stage, after a birth in physiological conditions, the mother is still in a particular state of consciousness, as if "on another planet." Her neocortex is still more or less at rest. The watchword should be, "Don’t wake up the mother!"

Perspective 12: A Political Note

It makes sense that studying the third stage of labor from a non-medical perspective makes many people—particularly doctors—feel uncomfortable. Any approval that might lead us to reconsider our attitudes during this short period of time is shaking the very foundations of our cultures. Research can be politically incorrect. Politically incorrect research includes certain aspects of "primal health research," particularly studies exploring the long-term consequences of how we are born. The medical community and the media shun the findings of these important studies—on such topical issues as juvenile criminality, teenager suicide, drug addiction, anorexia nervosa, autism, etc.—despite their publication in authoritative medical or scientific journals.

PICTURE -GOOGLE STOCK

Birthwork - Book Review

Birthwork: A Compassionate Guide to being with Birth

By Jenny Blyth

A physically healthy mother and baby is usually regarded as a good birth outcome, but we know that there can be far-reaching emotional, psychological and spiritual issues for mothers. The holistic style of care advocated by Birthwork ensures that these issues, along with many others, are carefully considered.

Jenny Blyth has drawn on her experience of more than 20 years in support of women through pregnancy, birth and early parenting to bring us this volume of wisdom and inspiration. Birthwork is sure to become a point of reference for a whole generation of care providers.

The book delves deeply into the sacredness and spirituality of birth, and highlights the emotional vulnerability of birthing women, while also imparting loads of practical advice.

Birthwork clearly demonstrates how our actions and words can profoundly affect women in their birthing. If all birth care providers were to read and apply this text, I believe there would be much less incidence of birth trauma and postnatal depression.

A beautifully written and presented guide of over 450 pages, Birthwork is punctuated with real stories of women’s birthing experiences. There are also exercises at the end of each chapter to facilitate reflection and self-awareness.

Jenny Blyth’s style of writing is like that of her birth care – she offers gentle suggestions and guidance clearly from the heart. It often feels like there is pure love pouring from the pages as one reads.

One of the main focal points of the book is the relationship between the birthing woman and her care providers, offering guidance on communication, negotiation, group dynamics and other aspects of relationship.

There is also very practical information on working with labour, and a valuable section on the wider personal implications of the birthing journey. Jenny Blyth goes on further to examine issues in the birthing community and the culture surrounding birth.

Birthwork not only suggests how care providers may assist birthing mothers, but also discusses how they may manage their own concerns such as stress, personal boundaries, fear, intuition and more.

Essential reading for birth care professionals, Birthwork would also benefit anyone experiencing birth, including partners, support team members and mothers in preparation for birth.

Reading Birthwork evoked a variety of powerful emotions within me, but most of all it gave me a sense of connectedness. I found that the wisdom of Birthwork could be applied to life, not just birth.

We have the opportunity to create harmony in the world and texts such as this can show us the way. Birthwork may very well become the “Spiritual Midwifery” of our times.

Article Submitted by Natural Parenting Site.

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Birth Trauma Groups

Hi Everyone,

I have noticed recently that support groups have emerged to help women de-brief and move on from traumatic birth experiences.

I see such a need for this kind of group within our society, where until fairly recently birthing horror stories were built up and passed from generation to generation leaving many pregnant women, including me, generally afraid of giving birth and ready to reach for whatever drugs were on offer.

The cyclical nature of this situation (the epidural inhibiting the natural desire to push, which leads to synthetic oxytocin, leading to stronger contractions, and more intervention...) is well documented now, and perfectly describes my first birthing experience.

Fear and fear alone led me to go down that path, and I can now see that those who told me their enhanced, negative stories of birth were actually not supported in their own recovery from an over medicalised birth experience.

In the past, women were sent into the labour ward, left to labour (often in stirrups) without a partner's support and understandably traumatised by their experience. The fact that women were instructed to lay in a position of powerlessness, which directly fights against the help of gravity is totally irrational and must have left a residue of anger and betrayal in many women.


How wonderful then that mothers are supporting mothers to heal from these experiences and assisting each other to learn how to give birth in an empowered way. If more women heal, our daughters can learn that birth is a natural process which is sometimes unpredictable, but generally organic and manageable with support.

The rise in popularity of the doula and the respect given to mid-wives is another hopeful sign that we are moving back to beautiful birthing and empowerment of the birthing mother.

Talk Soon, Cynthia x

PICTURE - INMAGINE

Hi, I found an adorable video of a baby in utero at nine months and moving around...check it out here

Cynthia x




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BOOK REVIEW - BIRTH WITHOUT VIOLENCE - FREDERICK LEBOYER

I checked this book out at the library and finished reading it in an afternoon about a week ago. It was a very good book and quick to induce emotion.

Some things mentioned are older complaints about how birth is orchestrated, like holding a newborn by the ankles and giving him/her a sharp spank to get some good crying.

Birth attendants still want the baby to give a lusty cry, but the whole upside-down-by-the-ankles gig isn't done anymore. Most babies are also put directly on a mother's abdomen at birth, like Birth Without Violence suggests.

It was nice to see what a Leboyer Bath is. I had come across the term a few times and didn't really understand what exactly was meant by it. A Leboyer bath is done soon after birth by immersing the baby in a body-temperature bath (except the face, of course). The baby is immersed slowly to help him/her get used to the bath, and the point of the bath is to help the baby with the transition to dry land from his/her previous watery home. Apparently babies who experience the bath are very happy about it.

The Leboyer method of birthing without violence does have a number of other concepts which, when used together, are supposed to help babies have a peaceful entrance into the world. Leboyer did make it sound like the event of childbirth was a very traumatic one for the babies, which I agree with to some extent.

The only thing I disagreed with was that he made it sound as though it were worse than I believe it to be. In my opinion, birth cannot be quite as horrible as he makes it sound simply because it is a natural thing for life to begin with. It's not a piece of cake, and it certainly can be as difficult and traumatic for a baby as it can be for a mother, of course, but babies are designed to withstand it. Some births can certainly be more traumatic or difficult than others, but that doesn't mean they are inherently horrible for the baby.

In Leboyer-style births, the babies do not cry very much, as Leboyer says that traumatized, terrified crying is not a normal aspect of birth. The baby is taken directly to the mother's abdomen at birth and the mother massages the baby rhythmically, imitating the contractions of labor. After the cord has stopped pulsing, somewhere between one and five minutes after the birth of the baby, the cord is cut and the baby is left with the mother for a little while, then given the bath. The baby is supposed to cry a few lusty cries, then will stop crying and simply take in his/her new world.

It was nice to read this because that is what my son did at his birth. Reading something saying that his behavior was normal for a peaceful birth made me feel good about the birth and made me a little sad that the baby nurses did a deep suction on him because he wasn't crying enough at the time.

Ah, interventionist medical personnel are lovely.

Christina Rochette

PICTURE -COVER OF BIRTH WITHOUT VIOLENCE - FREDERICK LEBOYER

Get Me Out - Book Review

A History of Childbirth by Randi Hutter Epstein

One of the most interesting birth-related books I've read yet, Get Me Out is about the cultural history of childbirth, from ancient times up to today. Each chapter takes a subject through its evolution- the one about cesarean today some women request the surgery for convenience!
Quite a change.

Other parts of the book explore the advancement of birthing tools (like forceps), how women have moved from birthing at home to using hospitals (and back into the home again), the use of drugs (whether for pain relief or supposed prenatal sections begins in the 1400's when they were done only after both mother and child had died in childbirth, in order to baptize the baby before burial; eventually the operations became more successful (at least the baby lived) but were done only in extrememe emergencies; benefits- often going awry), the first use of x-rays and then later ultrasound, and sperm banking. Some of the stories from the past can be quite horrific- as when a doctor in the 1800's did repeated experimental surgeries.

Lots of things in the book opened my eyes but probably the most surprising was when I read about twilight sleep. For some reason I had assumed that twilight sleep was pressed upon women by doctors who wanted complete control over unconscious patients during birth (from something I read before?) but this book tells the opposite: doctors were reluctant to use a drug they didn't know all the side-effects of, and feminists of the day demanded a pain-free birth when they saw it was possible.

There's a lot to learn in Get Me Out, not only about how medical science has advanced over the decades but also how societal attitidues towards birth have changed, often drastically so!

There's enough disturbing details about what women suffered in childbirth in times past that I'm not sure I would recommend this for pregnant women to read (I probably shouldn't have read it at the time, myself!) but otherwise, it's pretty intriguing.

***************************************

Though it purports to be a history of childbirth, Get Me Out is more a history of the science and sociology of reproduction in a broader sense—from conception to birth—and it is an “examination of how ideas about pregnancy and birth shed light, directly and obliquely, on contemporary society.” Hutter Epstein organizes the book both chronologically (it really does begin with the Garden of Eden and end with the sperm bank) and by topic (with chapters on the evolution of our understanding of reproduction, methods of childbirth, infertility, and reproductive technology), and she weaves a colorful narrative out of scientific facts and the larger-than-life characters who made history (and often achieved infamy) for advancing revolutionary (and/or really bizarre) ideas about babymaking.

The way we give birth is a story about our deepest desires and our fundamental concerns about life, death, and sex.

The bulk of Hutter Epstein’s book focuses on nineteenth- and twentieth-century practices because, as she puts it, that’s where most of the action is. From antiquity to the Middle Ages, not much changed. Pain and the possibility of death during childbirth were givens, and pain was either a woman’s curse (Eve was framed!) or her divine duty (to be delighted in and appreciated, natch), depending on whom you asked. And then in 1513, a brilliant chap named Eucharius Rosslin wrote the first book about pregnancy and childbirth, The Rose Garden for Pregnant Women and Midwives (doesn’t that sound warm and fuzzy?), and the thing was a bestseller for…wait for it….TWO HUNDRED YEARS.

While it may seem innocuous, the fact that the author of this first book about pregnancy and childbirth was a man is quite telling because as birth transitioned from being a natural state of affairs to a medical event requiring professional intervention, men began to play a larger role in defining, theorizing about, and overseeing the process. And these men didn’t necessarily want the women to know what they were up to. They sneaked forceps into the delivery room under the cover of large sheets (to prevent competitors from copying their designs, of course), blindfolded expectant mothers to keep them subdued and—literally—in the dark about the tools being used on them, and conducted experiments on slave women without the slightest concern for informed consent.

Hutter Epstein writes of Dr. J. Marion Sims, who invented the speculum (wow, thank you, Dr. Sims) and pioneered the field of gynecological surgery to heal fistulas but did so by experimenting on slave women who did not have the option to decline his requests, thereby negating his contributions to medicine with what we now think of as his unethical behavior. Sims is “no longer seen as an icon, but a poster child for patient abuse.”

Get Me Out also chronicles the evolution of maternity wards, from the seventeenth-century practice of having three to five women share a bed to the late-nineteenth-century belief that women suffering from “childbed fever” should be taken up to the roof to air out their genitals. As more women bought into the idea that birth was safer in hospitals than at home, they began to want more than just survival out of the previously life-threatening experience.

It was not only a move from home to hospital, it was a move from one culture to another.

Enter the phenomenon of twilight sleep—a condition induced by morphine and scopolamine—to reduce pain but not consciousness during childbirth (though women often reported not remembering anything about delivery) and the Twilight Sleep Association. Contemporary feminists may prickle at the notion that essentially being high while giving birth was a step toward liberation, but early twentieth-century feminists supported the movement because “they did not beleive they were relinquishing control…they were demanding the right to give birth the way they wanted to.”

Hutter Epstein tracks the long and complicated relationship between feminism and reproductive rights and reminds readers that pre-1970, natural childbirth wasn’t so much a political statement as just the way things were (that whole twilight sleep thing didn’t last very long). She also examines the ways in which “childbirth became like the modern factory,” often inspiring women to seek more independent, personalized, even “romantic” ways of giving birth, though the author contends that “getting pregnant can be romantic…getting the baby out is anything but.” She discusses C-sections, efficiently separating myth from fact, “freebirthers” who seek to avoid assistance of any kind, sperm banks, and in vitro fertilization, and she does it all with humor, warmth, and respect for her readers’ autonomy.

Hutter Epstein also briefly explores the rise of ultrasound technology in both medical and commercial settings (read: those boutiques in the mall that will charge you an arm and a leg for some 3-d photos of your baby-to-be) and notes that “sophisticated microscopes and imaging tools have given the fetus its own identity,” which has some interesting (and, if you ask this reader, frightening) implications for the abortion debate.

Get Me Out covers a lot of ground and provides a wealth of information in under 300 pages, and it seems that Hutter Epstein agrees with one of her sources that feminism is not about promoting one way of life–or childbirth, in this case—over another but “acquiring sufficient information to understand the medical choices and demand the one that suits you.” A great read for women and men—and parents and the childfree— alike.

Rebecca Joines Schinsky

What Is A Doula?

Hi Everyone,

I found this decription of the role of a doula really interesting and informative, so thought I'd share it. It's written by Christina Rochette, who's details are linked to her name at the bottom of the article...

A labor doula is a person who gives emotional, physical, and informational support to a woman and her support team before, during, and immediately after birth.

I am trained to give support in a variety of settings, to aid transition from home to hospital/birth center, to utilize a number of comfort techniques, to facilitate communication between the woman and her health care providers, to facilitate inclusion of labor partners to the extent desired, to advocate for the family, and to give information and other resources as requested.

It is my belief that women having cesareans deserve at least the same level of support as other mothers. I have thus decided to offer doula services for women having cesarean sections for whatever reason. Doulas do not typically receive special training to attend cesarean sections, so I have taken it upon myself to learn what might be needed....My first official birth as a solo labor doula was a fantastic VBAC that only heightened my desire to advance the cause for VBAC rights and cesarean education.

What is Included? My labor doula services include 2 prenatal visits, assistance creating a birth plan, phone and email support before and after delivery, full support during labor and delivery, 1-2 postpartum visits to help process the birth, assist with breastfeeding, and assess postpartum recovery. Mothers requiring a cesarean section will receive 2-3 postpartum visits and additional resources.

During prenatal appointments we will get to know each other, develop your birth plan, ready you and your partner for birth, discuss your desires and preferences, and practice relaxation and other coping techniques for labor. When you go into active labor, I will come to your home and follow you to your place of birth, if not your home, to be with you as your emotional, physical, and informational assistant. During the first hours after birth, I will assist with latching on for breastfeeding and help answer any questions about newborn care.

Postpartum, we will discuss your birth, feeding and caring for your baby, and help with any other resources you may need, such references to breastfeeding classes, therapists to assist with postpartum depression, or a postpartum doula.

What is Not Included? A doula is not a medical professional and cannot perform medical tasks, make diagnoses, or make medical recommendations. A doula cannot "catch" your baby except in an emergency. A doula has experiential knowledge, but is not seen as receiving formal medical training. A doula does not speak for you, but gives you the tools to speak for yourself and those you love. A labor doula is not usually trained in long-term care before and after labor - a woman may choose to hire an antepartum doula for emotional and informational support during pregnancy or a postpartum doula to assist with household chores, childcare, recovery, and other necessities after a birth.

Because childbirth is an inherently unpredictable event, no guarantee of a particular outcome can be made.

Christina Rochette - Doula

PICTURE - BEING BORN: THE ROLE OF A DOULA - FRONT COVER

What Birthing has Taught Me

In my personal birth experience, I learned that the right education and true support can make the difference between a passive, mainstream I'll-do-whatever-you-say birth and an active, empowering I-am-strong-and-capable-of-deciding-everything-for-myselfbirth. I switched practices when I was 7 1/2 months pregnant because I didn't want to be on the baby-conveyor-belt that the mainstream maternity system puts all of us on.

I wanted individual care with a person I knew would be at my birth and who cared about me and wanted to listen to me and really discuss all of my concerns with me. I wanted someone I could trust during my birth so I didn't have to wonder what was going to happen and if a suggestion was really in my best interest or was just because of some medical convenience.

What made this change? I went to a birth meeting in town and was told by a few of the women there (childbirth educators and doulas) that I could do what I wanted, that this was my birth and my body and I could change practitioners if I wanted to. I was on Medicaid and thought I was trapped with the public health department's program, but I wasn't. Medicaid covers a lot of midwives and OBs. I switched and only looked back to see how amazingly different my birth experience would have been if I hadn't done what I did. I also hired a doula and invited my mother and sister to attend my birth (along with my wonderully supportive husband).

I had an unmedicated, active hospital birth with my wonderful midwife and all the other support people I mentioned above and I don't think I could have done it without hearing a few people telling me that I needed to take control and own this experience because it's not something I will experience often and it's something that will change my life forever.

I'm now a labor doula and I'm working on my childbirth educator certification. That's how much my childbirth experience affected me.

As a childbirth professional, I've learned a lot as well. I've learned that the place and people you surround yourself with at birth can be the difference between a natural birth and a cesarean for having a pelvis that's "too small." I've learned that location and attendants can mean the difference between an epidural and a natural birth. I've learned that some hospital childbirth classes are pretty good and some are horribly awful (call and see if the teacher is certified to teach).

I've learned that good education and support make for better experiences, even if the events take turns you didn't want or expect. I've learned that hospitals and doctors do not always have our best interests in mind, even if they have them in their hearts, and you might end up with a "problem" that isn't a problem or a procedure that isn't necessary but may affect you for the rest of your life. I've learned that informed decision making only happens when we ask questions until all our doubts and surmises are fully addressed AND the people answering our questions give their answers based on verifiable evidence, not just hear-say or hunches.

I've learned that a lot of women feel like they are broken - that their bodies just can't do birth, at least not naturally. I've also learned that this is often because they weren't given enough support, enough time, enough education, enough power, enough freedom of movement and freedom in general, not because their bodies are broken. The World Health Organization states that cesarean section rates should never rise above 10-15% (even for developing nations) because above this number, women and babies suffer more than they do when birthing vaginally, even when they need assistance there. The national American cesarean rate is over 30%. It's not because women are broken. It's because women lack support, time, education, power, and freedom in many birth locations and with many medical attendants.

For instance, homebirth midwives have an average cesarean section rate of 2-4%. Now this is for low-risk women, but aren't most of us low-risk women? There are hospitals in the US with 50% cesarean section rates. Isn't there something wrong with this picture? Women who are given 12 hours to birth their babies after their water has broken are at risk because people are doing vaginal exams! Women whose waters break months prior to their due dates are not induced and given 12 hours to have their babies! No, they're put on bedrest and there are no vaginal exams because that increases their risk of infection. Hmmm... Moms who are induced at 39 or 40 weeks for their first babies are being induced a full 1-2 weeks before the average first-time mother would naturally go into labor!

To be sure, doctors and hospitals are wonderful to have when women are in high-risk situations or when the rare low-risk birth needs intervention, but with studies showing that low-risk women giving birth are safer in their homes than in a hospital, isn't there something wrong with the way mainstream birth culture addresses birth?

I've learned a lot about myself and about birth in since I had my first baby two March's ago and I'm still learning. Now I'm starting to plan for baby #2, who is due sometime in late July-early August. I'm planning a homebirth this time, and not because I had a bad experience in the hospital - I didn't - but because it's statistically safer for me and my baby than a hospital birth and my last birth proved to me that I am powerful and capable and intelligent enough to make this decision for myself. Go figure.

I am a Colorado Springs doula and childbirth educator who is passionate about supporting women and families. If you are interested in learning more about my business, visit http://www.saffrondoula.com/doulaservices.htm

Christina Rochette

PICTURE - BABY FEET - SAFFRON DOULA WEBSITE

Mother Blessing

My first experience of a Mother Blessing was a ceremony I had whilst pregnant with my second child. A group of close female friends and family got together to celebrate my pregnancy with an afternoon of nurturing. My favourite part was sitting in a circle and binding our left wrists with red wool and as each person bound her wrist, she said what she wished for my baby and I.....it really was beautiful.

The good intention and love that this ceremony brought out in my friends was so palpable that I felt absolutely treasured and could see a community already waiting for my baby when he arrived into the world.

When he was born and we symbolically broke the wool it made everything somehow more immediate: this is it, we have now welcomed another person into our community. I grew great strength from that little piece of wool in the months leading up to the birth.

My other experience with a Mother Blessing was when my friend had a Blessing which involved each person giving her a bead to create a necklace for her to wear during her pregnancy. It was quite amazing, I remember the electricity going off as we started passing the beads around to bless them and we meditated pretty much silently in the darkness while we sent Mother and Baby (who's now 4 months old) love and good wishes. The lights came on half an hour later in time for supper.....very interesting!

Later the group painted a mural. The idea was for Mother to focus on the images as she laboured and draw strength from those who love her. It was a really moving experience working co-operatively with others in this way, and the mural was stunning in its originality.

We finished off with the all important meal roster...as Kelly wrote in her Blessing Way post yesterday, it's a wonderful, practical idea. Afterall, isn't that what most new mothers need, someone to show they care about you, and to bring around emergency food supplies when you've been pacing the floorboards half the night? I know I did...

Cynthia Marston

PICTURE - RED WOOL - GOOGLE IMAGE

Blessing Way

Like most women, you probably already know what a baby shower is, and chances are you have either attended one or had one planned for you in the weeks leading up to an impending birth. However, there is a beautiful pre-birth tradition which is becoming more popular as word spreads: a blessingway – which is also known as a Mother Blessing.

A blessingway is an old Navajo (native American) ceremony, which celebrates a woman’s rite of passage into motherhood. A westernised version of this is the ‘Mother Blessing’ which is the term I will use out of respect of the Navajo tradition, especially having read that the Navajo people don’t approve of the name being used this way. Unlike a traditional baby shower, where gifts are purchased for the baby, a Mother Blessing is all about nurturing the mother-to-be and celebrating motherhood.

As with most special events in modern society, baby showers have become very commercialised. If you were to ask someone to describe what happens at a baby shower, the answer would probably be something like, ‘where women get together and give gifts for the baby’. There is also so much focus on the new arrival and excitement of meeting the baby, and very little focusing on and nurturing the mother – ‘filling her cup’ – so it overflows with love. A woman who is given lots of love has more love to give in return – and there is nothing like a circle of loving women to get that oxytocin (hormone of love) flowing!

A Mother Blessing is a beautiful and unique way to honour the mother, spend time with her, share stories, debrief fears and to instill confidence and strength.

What Happens at a Mother Blessing?

A Mother Blessing involves a gathering of the mother-to-be’s most trusted friends and family, who sit in the power of a circle and share amongst one another. Traditionally it is a woman-only gathering and may include her mother, sisters, aunts, daughters, best of friends, mentors – anyone she respects, looks up to or values. It helps the woman to prepare herself for the birth, emotionally, spiritually and mentally, for the all important role of a new mother. She feels ‘held’ and supported by those she loves and respects – a great way to help her release any blockages she may be feeling and to allow her to embrace what’s to come. Hearing other women’s birth stories as you share around the circle can be surprising, exciting and heartwarming to hear. A Mother Blessing can be very affirming, empowering and uplifting.

• It doesn’t matter what religion (if any) the mother is – a Mother Blessing honours all belief systems.

• The guests can bring a plate of food to share (to follow in the theme of sharing), although you may like to provide all the food yourself if you are planning one – but don’t forget to include it on the invite if you wish for them to bring a plate to share.

Mother Blessings will vary in proceedings and rituals, there is no set order or agenda, so you can choose what you would like to do. Since I have not attended a Mother Blessing myself, I decided to ask some women who have had one planned for them, as well as those who have planned Mother Blessings for others, to find out what they and the other guests enjoyed the most.

What is it Like to Have a Mother Blessing?

Kym had a Mother Blessing organised for her by her best friend, who was also her Doula. “It was a beautiful afternoon and really helped me face some issues i had about the birth. During the afternoon [after the Mother Blessing], my two daughters brushed my hair and placed flowers in that guests had brought. My doula made a bracelet for baby out of beads that each guest bought and they also bought me a candle each that I lit during labour. I had my feet bathed and massaged. We discussed our hopes and dreams for our family and we prayed about my concerns for the birth.

I had been sceptical about the event but it was so inspiring, and put all the family into such a positive place for the labour and birth. It also gave me the confidence to have a lotus birth, which I felt this daughter was asking for.”

Georgia recently had a Mother Blessing and says and it was wonderful!

“All my mama friends brought me a bead and said a little blessing for me and my upcoming labour. I made a bracelet from these which I wore while I was in labour (you can see it in my birth film http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDexz5ObYzQ).

Everyone told me their experiences from their births (my nana surprised me by telling me she’d had 4 vbacs [vaginal birth after caesarean] in the 1950’s!), then while everyone chatted, we all worked on a square for a quilt for my son. He now has a quilt sewn by all these amazing women who supported me.

It was really beautiful!”

Some Ideas for Planning a Mother Blessing

Helen, who has been involved in 4 Mother Blessing and helped to plan others, found the things that everyone seemed to enjoy the most were:

“The bead ceremony. This is a nice way to get EVERYONE, not just those who can actually make it to the event, involved. In one case I managed to get hold of the email addresses of a friend who had friends and family scattered all over Australia and the world. Most of them sent in a bead and a note, which meant so much to the mother as she read them. It gives a really nice feeling for the mother to be to feel that she’s surrounded by so much love from those around her, with a physical reminder of their presence to have with them at their birth.

The cord ceremony – Binding everyone’s wrists with a single cord of red wool or some other yarn. Everyone then keeps the string around their wrists until they hear that the birth is happening – then they all cut the cord as a symbol of unity. Plus the cord is a nice way to remind others to be thinking of the prospective mother.

Flowers and/or Henna – A crown of flowers made for the mother always makes her feel special, and henna [body art, typically on the belly and/or hands] (if you can get someone who does it) is always good fun for the mother and other guests. There are loads of traditions associated with “mother” henna.

Massage – Always bliss for a pregnant mama. Head, shoulder, hand and foot massage (maybe not hand if she’s getting henna done!) needs no explanation. All these things are done to make the mother feel nurtured, protected, surrounded by love, and supported.

The final one that isn’t so much a blessingway thing but it is sooooooooooo important. The Meal Roster! Getting everyone who comes to commit to making one, maybe two dinners on a particular day for the family. The idea is to try to cover two weeks at least where the new parents won’t have to worry about at least one meal of the day!”

Bella threw a Mother Blessing for her sister for her last pregnancy.

“We all brought a meal to put in her freezer and a bead for her to make into a necklace (actually she made it into a mobile that she attached to her birth pool). We all gathered at one point and as we gave her our bead we told her why we had picked what we had for her. Then we held onto a ball of red yarn and threw it back and forth around a circle to each other and as we threw the yarn we said to the mother what we wanted for her, for her birth. Before we let go of the yarn we wrapped it once around our wrists. At the end we cut the yarn around our wrists and threaded onto it a small red bead my sister gave us and tied them on our wrists. We kept our bracelets on until after the birth. After that we gave her a foot and hand rub and shoulder massage. We also painted her belly with henna – it was gorgeous!”

Gabrielle has attended several Mother Blessings.

“Some beautiful experiences i’ve shared at blessingways are the sharing of birth stories around the circle – positive stories of the journey of the women in the circle, as well as crafting blanket patchwork pieces for the mother to use with her new baby, singing sacred circle songs, meditations, bellydancing… another thing women can do is introduce themselves with their maternal line of ancestors, for example, I am Gabrielle, daughter of Catherine, granddaughter of Patricia, great granddaughter of etc etc… it’s a nice way to honour those women who have gone before us.”

More Mother Blessing Ideas

You can search on the internet for more ideas, but here are some extras to get you started:

• Some women make an agreement to the mother at Mother Blessings to light a candle (even say a prayer as well) in the mother’s honour, as soon as they hear that labour has begun.

• Traditionally, a blessing is done in the form of a prayer or poem. It’s a lovely idea for the guests to bring a poem or prayer they have found or personally written, to share with the mother-to-be. Someone could be in charge of collecting the blessings and collating them in a book/journal/scrapbook or other special place.

• Bellydancing! Contrary to what most of us may understandably assume – bellydancing was originally done by women, for women. It is a beautifully feminine art and perfect for your Mother Blessing.

• A plaster belly cast is a fun idea for a Mother Blessing which is also a great keepsake. It can be messy, but guests and the mother-to-be will probably enjoy it even more!

• Mothering the mother – brushing her hair, washing her feet in warm water (essential oils are a nice touch – but first check they are safe for late pregnancy) or painting her toenails is a lovely way to nurture her.

What Next?

If you’d like a Mother Blessing, or for someone to plan one for you, then there is plenty of information online – you can share this article with your friends and family and search for other information. if you’re not confident doing it on your own, some women have started businesses to run them for you, some of them are also doulas.

A Mother Blessing can be a completely healing and loving time for a mother-to-be, at a time when we need to nurture our mothers more than ever. Enjoy… and spread the word!

Kelly Winder is a birth attendant (aka doula), the creator of BellyBelly and mum to two beautiful children.

IMAGE - HENNA BELLY - GOOGLE STOCK

Waterbirth Story

Hi Everyone,

Today I'm sharing my experience of labouring in the water with my now 6 year old son Jay since we're on the waterbirth theme...

Throughout my entire pregnancy with Jay I felt connected to water...we lived 15 minutes walk from the beach and I used to drop Alexandra, our elder daughter at school in the morning and walk along the cliffs above the beach religiously. I felt it relaxed me and gave me extra energy to be exposed to so much fresh air and wind.
When the afternoon came that he let me know he was on the way, I felt a twinge and things moved fairly quickly. I labored at home for a couple of hours, I just needed to be alone to centre myself and my breathing. Then Peter, my husband, loaded Alexandra into the car and we headed for the beach. I felt that walking helped while I managed labor movements.

I found peace again by being outdoors near water and we stayed there for quite a while until I said This is it, it's getting close and we headed to the birth centre. I laboured in the birthing pool, and Peter put on Prominotory Waves, a CD I had been using throughout the pregnancy and read a water visualisation from Gentle Birth Choices that I had been meditating to also throughout the pregnancy. The labour was fairly fast and I felt absolutely calm...it was a surprise to me because I wasn't at all calm for my first birth experience...must have been all that healing work and preparation I'd been doing. Anyway...I got an urge at the last minute to birth outside of the birthing pool...still don't know why but that must have been what Jay needed. He was born in the sac after just a few hours of labor and without a sound.....my beautiful boy.

Sonia, our mid-wife was absolutely amazing and an inspiration to me...she just appeared when needed and left us to it when we were doing fine....perfect. And Peter...my rock x

Jay, Peter, Alexandra (then 8 years old) and I all slept together that night in a massive bed in the birth centre and went home the next day at lunchtime.

Cynthia Marston

The History of Waterbirth

Hi Everyone,
For this post on water birth I am going to quote shamelessly (with permission of course) from my pregnancy/birthing bible Gentle Birth Choices by Barbara Harper, R.N. for the simple fact that I would never write about it better than her......

In the sixth century B.C., Aristotle concluded that water was the first principle of life. He observed that the seeds of everything had a "moist nature". However, it was not until the 1700s that scientists began to understand and identify the properties of water, including its value as a form of hydrotherapy. An obscure book called Water Cures, printed in London in 1723, describes the benefits of water used for all kinds of conditions, including bathing during pregnancy and labor. Intuitively, human beings have always been drawn to the soothing comfort of water.

Historically there is little concrete evidence that ancient cultures practiced water birth on any scale, but it has been used by cultures all over the world. There are legends that the ancient Egyptians birthed selected babies under water. These babies became priests and priestesses. The ancient Minoans on the island of Crete are said to have used a sacred temple for water birth. Art on frescoes in the Minoan ruins depict dolphins and their special connection with humans and water. One can only speculate about the connection between these pictures and their creators. The Chumash Indians of the central California coast tell stories about their women laboring in tide pools and shallow inlets along the beach while the men of the tribe drummed and chanted. Chumash elder Grandfather Semu, now in his late eighties, recalls that when he was a boy, women would often go to the beach and labor in the shallow water. He also remembers that on many of these occasions, dolphins would appear nearby in the water, staying close to the woman until the baby was born. Other Indian tribes in North, Central, and South America, as well as the Maoris of New Zealand and the Samoan people of the Pacific, may have given birth in shallow ocean or river environments. Traditions from the Hawaiian Islands maintain that certain families on the islands have been born in water for many thousands of generations.

Many midwives suspect that water birth was taking place before the advent of physicians and hospitals, even though it has not been documented. Where there was water, especially warm water, women used it to relieve labor pains. The first recorded modern water birth took place in France in 1803. The case, which was detailed in a French medical society journal, reports that a woman who had been laboring for forty-eight hours sought temporary relief from her non progressing labor in a warm bath. After just moments in the tub, the baby came out so quickly that she didn't have time to leave the water to deliver her child. Subsequent reports of waterbirth were scattered until the 1960s, when documentation of water births began in the Soviet Union.

Around that time interesting stories emerged from the Soviet Union about the work of Igor Charcovsky, a primarily self-educated Russian scientist and healer who conducted research on animals laboring and birthing in water. He also observed human babies' behaviour in water, including that of his daughter Veta, who was born prematurely in 1963. Charcovsky placed his newborn daughter in a tub of warm water for several weeks, theorizing that she would not have to combat gravity and subsequently would not waste as much energy to survive as she would struggling in the hospital incubator. Charcovsky's daughter survived, and he continued experimenting with water, newborns, and the effects of gravity on all aspects of human labor.

Excerpt from Gentle Birth Choices

Personally I labored in a birthing pool with two of my three children and had a profoundly positive experience. If you have an inspiring birth story whether it be waterbirth or not, please feel free to share it....your knowledge and experience may just be what someone else needs to hear :)

All the best Cynthia Marston

Details for Gentle Birth Choices are as follows:

Harper, Barbara R.N. Gentle Birth Choices: A Guide to Making Informed Decisions About Birthing Centres-Birth Attendants-Water Birth-Home Birth-Hospital Birth.
Rochester Vermont: Healing Arts Press, 1994.

PICTURE - IGOR CHARKOVSKY WATER BIRTH