Giving Birth to Peace in the Middle East

I have read several articles about birth from Israel, and maybe it's coincidence, but there's a simple respect, almost reverence, that comes through. This story is about a group of Israeli and Palestinian midwives who have been meeting to share information and support each other in the role of "wise woman."

Says Sera Bonds, the midwife who started this group, "We managed to avoid politics in the beginning, as we felt it was more important to get to know each other as midwives, as women, as wives, and as mothers. The two days were full of laughter, learning, and open hearts as these women boldly demonstrated through their participation their commitment to partnership, peace and professional development. It was an honor to bear witness to the trust and humility expressed during the meeting."

I like this thought best: "By working towards non-violent birth," said another participant, "we are working to create a non-violent world."

~s~

Great Quotes

I found a page of quotes at BirthSource, and so far, this is my favorite:

"A pair of substantial mammary glands have the advantage over the two hemispheres of the most learned professor's brain in the art of compounding a nutritive fluid for infants."

~Chief Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809-1894)

:)

~s~

Birth Summit

Connie, of the Childbirth Today from Birthsource blog, asked herself a month ago, "What if all of the leaders of childbirth organizations came together for a summit meeting to talk about the state of birth in the US?" Well, I get the impression she is involved (bless her heart), but it's going to happen. In Chicago on November 8, "Nurses, physicians, midwives, childbirth educators, doulas and lactation consultants will be meeting ... to set the evidence-based record straight regarding midwifery care and childbirth in hospital settings in the US." (link) BirthSource and Birth Facts appear to be associated with this event. I'll try to keep you posted!

Motherbaby International Film Festival

So there's a traveling film festival, which features many short films (7-30 minutes) and several feature-length, including Orgasmic Birth. You can read a list of descriptions here. (I had trouble with the site being slow, so give it another chance if it doesn't come right up.)

I'd love to see a few of them, like "Luna:" This luscious birth video is narrative free. It is set to an amazing and beautiful blues rendition of “Silent Night.” In playful hours before the birth, the camera chases Luna’s toddling sister, Sol, through the house and into the bathtub. When Luna arrives, amniotic fluid and bag still intact, we feel refreshed, invigorated, playful and so glad that all of this was ‘captured’ on film.

Or "A Cow Trough???:" A cow trough is turned into a sumptuous birthing spa with the creative genius of a mother and her toddler. Set to music and humorously edited by Matt and Frank Ferrel, you will never look at a cow trough in the same way again.


I first learned of the MBIFF because it is going on the same weekend as the MANA Midwives Alliance conference.

~s~

"Birthing From Within" class in Wyoming

So, just over the mountains (OK, a few mountains), in Cody, WY, a gal is teaching childbirth classes from Birthing From Within. These classes are different in that they have you address your fears, thus paving the way for confidence. You can read reviews for the book here. Wouldn't this be great for our area? Do you think they'd be popular?

~s~

Milbank report

This report from Childbirth Connections, called Evidence-Based Maternity Care is a whopping 128 pages long. Only half of it is the actual report; the other half is citation and appendices. But, if ever faced with a difference of opinion with a health care provider concerning any childbearing issue, you're sure to find helpful and well-cited information within its pages.

From what I can gather, though, it can be boiled down to these two ideas:

1. Today's U.S. maternity care costs a lot and performs poorly.
2. Both of those problems can be remedied with evidence-based practices.

The report spends most of its length describing in detail these preferred, safer, more effective evidence-based practices. They include: limiting labor induction, epidurals and cesarean sections; while more routinely utilizing midwives and family doctors, good nutrition and lifestyle choices, doulas (or other continuous labor support), spontaneous (rather than forced or too early) pushing, early skin-to-skin, breastfeeding support, minimizing newborn discomfort, and psychosocial postpartum support.

Well, let's get the great big "Duh!" out of the way, and move on to more constructive remarks.

I tried to find specific comments about the safety of different birth places, but the report focuses on practices, not birth place, although it is assumed that home is a viable choice. So, no points for or against homebirth from this report, except that you're likely to have fewer overused birth technologies at home, that's for sure!

The conclusions at the end are not written for the parents' (or consumers'), but for the birth community as a whole: parents, health care providers, insurers, administrators, etc. I like this statement best:

"Maternity care decision should be guided by the best available evidence and the principle of effective care with least harm, as well as the informed preferences of women and their families, rather than by unsupported beliefs about appropriate care, convenience, liability pressure, or other extrinsic factors. " (page 68, emphasis mine)

It's actually more readable than I thought it was going to be. I hope it's of interest to some of you.

~s~

Plan for your postpartum

I found this wonderful list of suggestions for planning ahead, to make sure that your postpartum time is as restful and healing and baby-bonding-delicious as possible. Simple things like making a list of foods that your family likes/can't eat so that friends bringing food know what to make. My other favorite was "make signs" for the door, like "we're resting, check back later," or "come on in," or whatever suits your needs.

Read the whole article, written by a midwife, here.

~s~

Fascinating Womanhood

Do you want a better marriage? What are many of those women with happy marriages concealing?
Warning: This is not your typical how-to-have-a-happy-marriage-book! This is not what most modern women have been brought up to believe. In fact this book could actually be quite aggravating!
FW has been around for ages, and it's still one of the best around. Its good, old-fashioned wisdom proves true even today. In fact much of the wisdom in this book was taken from an old booklet years ago by FW's author, Helen Andelin. The success of this book and the number of marriages it has saved speaks for itself.
What better gift can you give your child(ren) than to nurture your marriage? It's time these truths were back in vogue!

http://www.fascinatingwomanhood.net/

J

Midwifery Care vs. OB Care

http://cochrane.org/reviews/en/ab004667.html

J

Consumer Reports Article and Quiz

Consumer Report has posted an interesting article and quiz in connection with the new report, Evidence-Based Maternity Care: What It Is and What It Can Achieve which was developed through a collaboration among Childbirth Connection, the Reforming States Group, and the Milbank Memorial Fund. Take a look -

http://www.consumerreports.org/health/medical-conditions-treatments/pregnancy-childbirth/maternity-care/overview/maternity-care.htm http://www.consumerreports.org/health/medical-conditions-treatments/pregnancy-childbirth/maternity-care/maternity-care-quiz/maternity-care-quiz.htm

J

Childbearing Women's Rights

Let's start with your rights. Did you know you have rights? Well, they come in different flavors. There are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And, the one that states that all beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. And when it comes to medical rights, I believe that every patient, to the extent she can, should be an equal partner with his doctor in getting well and staying well, but I don't know if that's an actual legal right.

The Childbirth Connection have compiled a list of Childbearing Women's Rights, and have even indicated which ones are currently upheld by US law, and which ones would be, if challenged. Here they are, 20 in all. What do you think of them? Do you agree? Do you think these are generally respected?

The Rights of Childbearing Women

* At this time in the United States, childbearing women are legally entitled to those rights.
** The legal system would probably uphold those rights.

Every woman has the right to health care before, during and after pregnancy and childbirth.
Every woman and infant has the right to receive care that is consistent with current scientific evidence about benefits and risks.* Practices that have been found to be safe and beneficial should be used when indicated. Harmful, ineffective or unnecessary practices should be avoided. Unproven interventions should be used only in the context of research to evaluate their effects.
Every woman has the right to choose a midwife or a physician as her maternity care provider. Both caregivers skilled in normal childbearing and caregivers skilled in complications are needed to ensure quality care for all.
Every woman has the right to choose her birth setting from the full range of safe options available in her community, on the basis of complete, objective information about benefits, risks and costs of these options.*
Every woman has the right to receive all or most of her maternity care from a single caregiver or a small group of caregivers, with whom she can establish a relationship. Every woman has the right to leave her maternity caregiver and select another if she becomes dissatisfied with her care.* (Only second sentence is a legal right.)
Every woman has the right to information about the professional identity and qualifications of those involved with her care, and to know when those involved are trainees.*
Every woman has the right to communicate with caregivers and receive all care in privacy, which may involve excluding nonessential personnel. She also has the right to have all personal information treated according to standards of confidentiality.*
Every woman has the right to receive maternity care that identifies and addresses social and behavioral factors that affect her health and that of her baby.** She should receive information to help her take the best care of herself and her baby and have access to social services and behavioral change programs that could contribute to their health.
Every woman has the right to full and clear information about benefits, risks and costs of the procedures, drugs, tests and treatments offered to her, and of all other reasonable options, including no intervention.* She should receive this information about all interventions that are likely to be offered during labor and birth well before the onset of labor.
Every woman has the right to accept or refuse procedures, drugs, tests and treatments, and to have her choices honored. She has the right to change her mind.* (Please note that this established legal right has been challenged in a number of recent cases.)
Every woman has the right to be informed if her caregivers wish to enroll her or her infant in a research study. She should receive full information about all known and possible benefits and risks of participation; and she has the right to decide whether to participate, free from coercion and without negative consequences.*
Every woman has the right to unrestricted access to all available records about her pregnancy, labor, birth, postpartum care and infant; to obtain a full copy of these records; and to receive help in understanding them, if necessary.*
Every woman has the right to receive maternity care that is appropriate to her cultural and religious background, and to receive information in a language in which she can communicate.*
Every woman has the right to have family members and friends of her choice present during all aspects of her maternity care.**
Every woman has the right to receive continuous social, emotional and physical support during labor and birth from a caregiver who has been trained in labor support.**
Every woman has the right to receive full advance information about risks and benefits of all reasonably available methods for relieving pain during labor and birth, including methods that do not require the use of drugs. She has the right to choose which methods will be used and to change her mind at any time.*
Every woman has the right to freedom of movement during labor, unencumbered by tubes, wires or other apparatus. She also has the right to give birth in the position of her choice.*
Every woman has the right to virtually uninterrupted contact with her newborn from the moment of birth, as long as she and her baby are healthy and do not need care that requires separation.**
Every woman has the right to receive complete information about the benefits of breastfeeding well in advance of labor, to refuse supplemental bottles and other actions that interfere with breastfeeding, and to have access to skilled lactation support for as long as she chooses to breastfeed.**
Every woman has the right to decide collaboratively with caregivers when she and her baby will leave the birth site for home, based on their conditions and circumstances.**

1999, 2006 Childbirth Connection

~s~

The Evidence behind the Rights of Childbearing Women

A childbirth advocacy group called the Childbirth Connection recently released a report called "Evidence-Based Maternity Care: What It Is and What It Can Achieve." The newspaper USAToday covered aspects of it, and Rixa at The True Face of Birth posted excerpts of it.

It's of such sweeping scope, and so well-written, that I think it deserves a series of posts. So, stay tuned, and get ready to make comments!

~s~

Gentle Potty Training

Since I just added a few "Nurturing the Baby" links about being diaper free, I thought I'd tell you a little of my experience with that idea. For years now, I've been the kind of person to "take what I like and leave the rest," so I can't say I've followed any of EC guidelines verbatim. But the idea of making potty training as gentle as possible and respectful of the child's readiness makes total sense. And mostly, I really don't relish the idea of a week of "potty training bootcamp," which is how many parents approach it. I'm too lazy for that!

I read once about someone's Russian grandparents teaching that you can simply hold an infant over the potty, making a "shh-shhh" sound (like the sound of water), and eventually they associate being over the potty with peeing, and can be reliably potty trained by one year old. This coming from a generation of people who didn't have the luxury of diapers, so this is simply what was done.

Well, of course, I thought. What did the rest of humanity do before cloth, then paper disposables? I'm sure they managed to keep their babies and selves and houses clean from constant pee and poop.

With my older 2 kids, I didn't understand any of this, but being too lazy to organize a potty training week, I simply waited until they were good and ready. That maybe took a little longer than it needed to. With my 2 year old, I've been putting her on the potty since she was about 8 months old, and she can pee on it whenever we do that. Poop is another matter, but it will come. What it comes down to is that it has been a gradual thing, but started early, and she's showing signs of being *really* ready soon here, and she's barely 2 years old.

And my methods are still a long way from "diaper free," but incorporate the parts that work for me. What about you?

~s~

Birth Quilt

Thanks to Rixa for posting about this beautiful Birthing Quilt. You can read the story of the quilt here. Also of interest is the blogger who brought the quilt to Rixa's attention, Susana. Some of you may enjoy her faith-based views on unassisted birth.