It should be so simple…

I’m pleased to be a new blogger here at birth activist. I have to say I was honored to be asked. I’m loud and opinionated, so I hope you can tolerate me.

I guess I should start by summing up about how I feel about birth.

Birth is simple. It really is. It boils down to be just the basic sciences - biology, chemistry and physics. Now, I know that there are those that take a different spin on things - the beautiful pictures of elegant women laboring serenely, which is all well and good. But basically, we’re all about the ologies.

Biology - life, pure and simple. It’s how you got here, it’s how you got pregnant and it’s how you’ll have this baby.

Chemistry - have you ever looked at the complex system of chemicals (hormones) that are needed to run the show of pregnancy and birth? Amazing. And even better - we don’t have to think about it.

Physics - movement is key. Overcoming inertia to move the pregnant body and responding to the necessary mechanical changes to allow your baby to be born with ease is what it’s all about.

So the next time you talk to someone who tells you that birth is hard or they can’t do it - remind them it starts at a cellular level.

I love a good birth story!

If you’re like me you love to read or watch a good birth story. There are so many places that offer birth stories, though not always positive ones. I came across a really great story today at the Lamaze Blog:

Right on her due date Keiko started having contractions. As planned, she stayed home until they were strong and close together. When I joined Keiko and her husband at the hospital, I found her standing, wrapped rather elegantly in a hospital blanket that she had somehow fashioned into a garment. She looked beautiful. “I think it is working!” she said smiling. Whenever a contraction came, she quietly and gracefully moved in rhythm with her breathing. Unless you were watching closely, you wouldn’t even know that she was having one. When it was over she would smile again. “I really love the rest periods.” she said.

When the contractions became very intense, she had to work hard. She spent the entire labor out of bed. She said she couldn’t imagine not being able to move. All the way through, she kept her positive attitude. “It’s very hard.” she said several times.

To find out what happens to Keiko, be sure to check out the rest of the story. While you’re there you should look around too!

BIRTH - radio documentary

I am not sure how many have heard about BIRTH the tour and the resulting one hour public radio documentary. The tour is done and now it’s time to contact our local Public Radio stations and encourage them to carry the documentary during women’s history month - March 07. Here’s the link for more information:
http://www.thinairmedia.org/birthtour.html

with a passion for birth,
Teri

PS I am getting hooked on posting! It’s not hard, join in!

Birth Anywhere

My son (18 y.o. college freshman) reads The Onion and forwarded this to me - he thought I would enjoy it - this woman makes a strong stand to birth anywhere and she means anywhere!
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/55261

with a passion for birth,
Teri Shilling

Fetal Oxygen Monitor study ended early

I found this to be an interesting article about the study that ended about the Fetal Blood Monitors in the LA Times.

I really thought they had come up with an alternative to the fetal blood sampling process. However instead of setting up the study to look at those babies who looked they were having oxygen issues, they made it a ROUTINE intervention. Will they ever learn? Maybe if they would have only used it for questionable monitor strips, they could have reduced the cesarean rate.

with a passion for birth,
Teri Shilling

30.2% and Rising

The Preliminary Birth Data for 2005 was released this week. It shouldn’t be a surprise that the cesarean rate went up again to 30.2% - a 4% increase over last year alone, but an overall increase in the last 10 years of 46%. Yikes! Am I the only one who thinks it’s heading in the wrong direction? Actually no, I’m not, even the World Health Organization is in my corner this time.

In other birth news, the out-of-wedlock births hit a new record as well, 4 in 10. Though the data doesn’t say who is in a relationship, who is single and planned it this way or even how old the women are…

Industrialization of Birth

I’m a bit late commenting on this post from the New Yorker. In the middle of a tale of one woman’s birth, the narrator gives us a view how far we’ve come in birth.

He talks about the APGAR score and how they are working on a surgical score - after all, it’s not just good enough to take the mother’s well being or death as the only way to tell if she’s okay with the experience. There has to be an emotional factor as well as a “wounded” category, the I’m alive but not whole or well. (Like the Optimality Score I heard Amy Romano, CNM, discuss at a CIMS meeting last year.)

It was sad to watch this mother in the story get railroaded, at least from an emotional standpoint. She seems to fit my category above so well. Though the real tragedy is that she is led to believe that she can’t be happy she’s got a health, beautiful baby and still upset about the process…

Breastfeeding Icon Runoff Vote

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