The New Cesarean Rates Are Out…
And the answer wasn’t surprising - it’s up again.? For 11 years in a row the cesarean rate has gone up.? The national average for 2007 was a 31.8% cesarean rate.? The range is from about 22-nearly 50%.? That’s a wide range given that the bodies of women are fairly similar through out the world.? Are we really that broken?
Women’s Health Hero
Do you know someone you’d like to thank for her (or his) work in women’s health?? The good folks over at Our Bodies, Ourselves have just the award for you.? Consider nominating someone you know…
Solace for Mothers Launches New Friends and Advocates Discussion Board
We are pleased to announce the Solace for Mothers Friends and Advocates Online Community which provides a forum for those who support mothers who have experienced birth trauma, have been impacted by witnessing birth trauma, or want to connect with others to advocate for gentler birth practices.
Solace for Mothers is committed to providing resources and support to professionals and loved ones supporting women through the difficult emotions following a disappointing, hurtful, or violating birth experience. Spouses, family, and friends of mothers who have experienced traumatic births are offered a space to find information, support, and resources through participation in the Friends and Advocates Forum. Birth attendants are also provided with the opportunity to process their own emotions in response to births they have attended. Birth professionals and birth advocates are provided a space to discuss the causes of birth trauma, how policies and programs can be enacted to prevent trauma from occurring to childbearing mothers, and methods of treatment when trauma has occurred.
The Solace for Mothers Friends and Advocates Online Community welcomes birth activists, mothers, families, and professionals, all of whom are stakeholders in providing healthy, safe, and empowering births that enable families to successfully transition to parenthood. Users of the online community are invited to contemplate and discuss the current state of birth and what evidence based practices best support childbearing women, their babies and families. Advocates who are interested in becoming involved in organized efforts to promote these practices are encouraged to participate and share their thoughts.
The Friends and Advocates Online Community can be entered from www.solaceformothers.org/advocates-forum.html. The forum is made public for browsing and registration is required to post and respond to topics. To view the online community, go to: http://forums.solaceformothers.org/mb/birthtrauma
Mothers are welcome to participate in the Friends and Advocates role but they are invited to register and participate in the Online Community for Healing Birth Trauma (www.solaceformothers.org/forum.html) which provides peer support to women who have had traumatic childbearing experiences. Birth professionals, family members, and friends please respect the privacy of the Community for Healing Birth Trauma and register only for the Friends and Advocates Community.
If you have something to say regarding childbirth and want to be a part of a larger conversation, please join us. We are interested to read your stories, thoughts, hopes and goals for the future! Please also feel free to pass this invitation on to organizations and individuals who would be interested in the topics of birth trauma and improving maternity care.
Warmly,
Sharon Storton, Founder of Solace for Mothers, Inc.
Jenne Alderks, Creator and Moderator of Online Communities
Jennifer Zimmerman, Creator and Moderator of Online Communities
What does a homebirth midwife do?
When I had my first homebirth, I had no idea what to expect from the midwives, the birth - not even a prenatal. Seriously, all I knew was that it had to be different from hospital birth and for me, that was enough. However, I was in a desperate place. Thankfully not all moms and dads make the homebirth decision from that place. Videos like the one below can really be helpful in answering the questions of what does a homebirth midwife do?
A Safer First Bath
One of the things that you may not think about as a benefit of homebirth is that you get to choose how your baby is first bathed. Having seen how some babies are scrubbed down in hospitals, I think it’s pretty scary. They may even use some baby products that you wouldn’t THINK of using at home. That’s why I was encouraged when I read about Adventist Bolingbrook Hospital in Oregon and their plan on using safer baby products for first baths. (Thanks to Tanya at Motherwear for alerting us to this!) How cool is that? If you read the article you will notice that this hospital has also Banned the Bags. Hooray!
Supporting Women with Epidurals
As I was lying in bed last night I was thinking about the differences in the way we treat women who have epidurals. For the most part, I think that women who are laboring without pain medication tend to command the attention of room. She *looks* like she’s in labor. But what about women, who for whatever reason, have an epidural? With of these births I think of the attention being drawn towards other things. Be that the dad, the grandparents or the television. How do we keep the focus on the woman and the birth when a woman is not feeling her body’s work? One thing that can help is hiring a doula. Doulas can help refocus the energy of the room. What about massaging her hands, talking to her about her baby, etc? What kinds of things do you think would help support a woman who is laboring with epidural anesthesia?
