Sara M's blog

Rally for Home Birth

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 11:47:46 -0500

My small city paper covers the "home birth" story about every three years. Something about the topic is edgy, dare I say "trendy"? If what is normal is trendy and gets the media's attention, fine. I was delighted to read The New York Times article "Baby, You're Home." I hope millions of others read the article and watch the slideshow attached to it.

As women in our society, we have much to learn from each other. Often we think that those of us who advocate for normal birth are enlightened, have already made the paradigm shift, and that it's the others in our society who need to change. While this may be true, we advocates also need to learn how to reach out to the mainstream, even the tech- and intervention-crazy birthers to dialogue with them, discover what it is they fear so that we can hopefully help them replace that fear with love and trust.

After all, isn't birth based in love and trust what home birth is all about?

A Serious Look at Post-Partum Depression

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 01:53:00 -0500

Post-partum depression hangs a dark cloud over what is otherwise supposed to be a happy, blissful time of unconditional love. Generalizations of tears, insecurities and hopelessness do not grasp the entirety of what PPD can entail.

A licensed professional counselor with a focus on post-partum depression recently gave a presentation to a moms' group in my area describing symptoms, signs and prevention of PPD.

She shared a checklist that you can view online. She also recommended Post-Partum Survival Guide: It wasn't supposed to be like this as a good resource for information, but I was unable to find it to purchase online. Surprisingly (or not), post-partum depression is still not widely studied and certainly not clearly understood. Some practitioners, be they doctors, counselors or psychologists, do not recognize PPD as an illness. For yourself or your friends, it is important to make sure that the person whose help you seek shares your philosophies and is compatible with the mom and her family.

Everyone is encouraged, of course, to research for themselves on this topic, and information provided here is not intended for medical advice. If you or someone you know shows signs of PPD, seek help. Sometimes just having someone validate the feelings is all that is needed. Other times, medication might be needed, but that is at the discretion of the doctor and client.

Here are a few suggestions, however, that are easily provided as a friend or that can usually be obtained if you only ask. We were told that these can help with regular depression, too.

Take time for healing
Eat, sleep, exercise
Take breaks
Maintain marital intimacy, dates (does not have to include sex)
Recognize achievements even if it's just changing the diapers all day
Laugh daily
Express negative feelings
Attend to positive feelings, a gratitude journal might be helpful
Act to change, don't just talk about it
Let go of self-blame
Get social support
Recharge your batteries
Let go of expectations
Have a loose structure; plan to rest
Allow some crying time; set a timer for 20 minutes if needed, but cut yourself off when the timer goes off
Avoid major life changes, if possible

With up to twenty percent of American women experiencing PPD, it is necessary to be aware, especially for African-American women and women in lower income levels who are more at-risk.

There is also Postpartum Support International that has a toll-free helpline and is working to pass legislation in support for mothers. Please visit their site for more information. An additional good article on PPD is on Scientific American.

Know the resources in your area. Be familiar with the signs and symptoms. Be willing to help a fellow mom. Be willing to ask for help.

Hug Your Midiwfe -- National Midwifery Week Oct. 5-11

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 15:55:20 -0400

If you can't offer a hug, at least buy some stamps! Now we can spread our respect for the Midwifery Model of care by sending a token on all our correspondences. An article from Medical News Today shares information about the stamps and the American College of Nurse-Midwives.

"Stamps are a simple way of making a statement. Now, with the launch of midwifery-themed postage stamps, supporters of midwives can send their message across the country: 'Choose a Midwife.'

"The American College of Nurse-Midwives is unveiling the new stamps in conjunction with National Midwifery Week, October 5-11. Stamps are available for purchase online. These unique stamps - authorized by the United States Postal Service - capture messages and images promoting midwifery."

The images are beautiful, and I hope to see many being used in the post soon.

Eco-friendly, Natural Birthing

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 13:09:35 -0400

With the global environmental crisis going on, I can't help but be surprised that there's not more being said about fundamental shifts needed in our thinking. What difference would it make if more women opted for intervention-free, natural births?

As a Bradley Method(r) Instructor, I'm inclined to see birth from a natural perspective. Dr. Bradley's ideas about birth came from the farm; he observed other mammals giving birth, and in his obstetric practice observed that the same characteristics benefit a laboring human mother. A quiet, safe, dark place. Abdominal breathing. Freedom of movement. Relaxed.

Take all these natural characteristics, apply them to the hospital room, and you've reduced the amount of energy used. The lights are dimmed or off, less plastic contraptions are used and discarded, and waste in general is minimal. If you consider a home birth, you take away the fuel used in transportation (except for the midwives), the waste is contained to whatever you use in your kit, there are no machines to use electricity, and precious human energy is saved to focus on what matters – the birth of a healthy child by a healthy mother.

Even more important, though, is the contact between mother and child. Most natural is the bonding between mother and child, whether animal or human. I love Michele Odent's theories about bonding he mentions in The Business of Being Born. “Can a society survive without love?” he asks in his French accent. (He further explicates his theories in this video series.)

Read the story and look at the slideshows about the elephant born at the Oregon Zoo. The elephant is sweet, yes, but do you feel that the mother is looking for something? Is she seeking a private place for herself and her new baby? Is she looking for support from others of her kind? (Note that in the story she seems “comforted” when getting to see others from her herd.) Is the baby trying to connect to the mother after an extended separation? Where does one get bottles like that in the African wilderness? Do we really learn anything from births like this, or are we just trying to impose our typical modern maternity care upon others? Does that mean one in three elephants have cesarean sections?

There are many birth videos to watch online (many collected at Free Birth Videos ). We are blessed to have so many. We are blessed to have the technology when it's needed. For the most part, though, we do our society and our planet a favor when we birth as nature intended, and that's a fundamental shift our maternity care system can use.

Celebrity Homebirthing

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 12:39:07 -0400

When I read stories like this one about musician, actress Charlotte Church, my faith in the media is somewhat renewed. There are positive influences for young women pertaining to birth, though in America in particular, those good influecnes are too few and far between. But there is hope.

I remembered hearing about Celebrity Baby Blog. Their year in review for celebrity homebirths received several positive, encouraging comments. What's more, these celeb-moms have a great influence over their legions of fans and even for trends of the season. In 2008, Laila Ali anticipates a home birth along with Charlotte Church, and other homebirthers are speaking out, like Maria Bello, from the latest Mummy movie.

But birthing isn't a fad; our survival depends upon it. Natural births, home- and waterbirths, all births in which families realize their options and responsibilities give us that much more positive influence on the world around us. The work we do as birth activists is ultimately to awaken others to the importance of positive birthing, mother- and baby-friendly care, education and empowerment.

"Birth is the epicenter of women’s power," says Ani DiFranco, which says much coming from such a feminist icon. Nearly all mothers are superheroes, and we have the power to do amazing things, even if we're not super stars. How many have you awakened lately?

Another Look at Group B-Strep

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 12:37:19 -0400

Perhaps it's just my perception, but it seems like out of my last few childbirth classes, more than half have tested positive for Group B-Strep (GBS) -- weeks before the last month -- and then went on to make a decision to take the antibiotics in labor.

The CDC, ACOG and the AAP recommend screening for all pregnant women around 35-37 weeks pregnant, later in pregnancy so as to tell if the bacteria is heavily colonized close to labor and delivery, the time when it could be passed to the baby.

Wonderful articles have been written to illuminate the subject, and even if you've read them before, I feel it is worth revisiting. Good reads can be found at Childbirth.org and Holistic Pediatric Association (HPA).

Years later, we are still giving women antibiotics when they may not be necessary, increasing resistance of the bacteria. "Ampicillin and amoxicillin have been rendered virtually useless for treating GBS by their prior overuse in laboring women in an effort to prevent GBS infection in newborns," according to the HPA. Additionally, we are still putting mothers at risk of dealing with thrush from the beginning, endangering the success of breastfeeding.

The "Awareness" article at Childbirth.org states that for many physicians "the focus is on the high risk patients. If a woman is found to carry GBS and falls into one or more of the high risk situations during labor, her doctor can immediately start antibiotic treatment which will help protect the baby and the mother."

Individualized care and treatment that can lead to true informed consent or refusal, now there's an idea.

52 Things You Can Do to Be a Birth Activist

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 09:59:50 -0400

After our local BirthNetwork's community activist meeting, I got to wondering what was out there on the web in the way of birth advocacy. The Journal of Perinatal Education provides endless amounts of support for normal birth and evidence-based care, and of course there's CIMS advocating mother- and baby-friendly care.

Then I happened upon Birthing the Future, a Colorado-based 501(c)3 working on birth advocacy and education, headed up by Suzanne Arms.

In the "Take Action" part of the site, there's a list of 52 actions you can do to advocate birth, to "make every birth better for everyone," and other links to follow. 52! And these are things the average person can do. There's work to be done here, folks. May we all be busy!

C-Sections = More Preemies?

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 08:40:07 -0400

Not only has the rising caesarean rate been a concern to those devoted to mother-friendly maternity care, but now a correlation is more publicly being made between caesareans and premature births. An article on MSNBC, "C-sections May Be Behind Rise of Preemie Births" suggests that arbitrarily picking a date for delivery may indeed lead to the rising number in premature births.

From the article: "Premature babies are at greater risk for a number of medical and developmental problems such as troubled breathing, bleeding in the brain, birth defects and death. Premature birth is defined as delivery before the 37th week of pregnancy, rather than the typical 40 weeks."

Due dates are estimations based on generalized numbers and cycles. Unless a mother goes into labor naturally, there is really no one hundred percent accurate way to tell when a baby should be born. Exceptions would be for complications, of course, which according to the World Health Organization should be less than ten percent -- more accurately around four percent.

"There was an increase of 60,000 (between 1996-2004) who were pre-term, and 92 percent of them were by Caesarean section," cites Dr. Alan Fleischman, medical director and senior vice president of the March of Dimes infant health advocacy group. He is particularly concerned about the number of unnecessary cesareans.

Between mothers recovering from major abdominal surgery and infants in critical health condition, our health providers should be concerned as well.

Tipping Point for Better Maternity Care

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:42:51 -0400

In The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell, the author strives to show people how "to start 'positive' epidemics of their own." That's exactly what we want to do.

We, as birth activists, are a gathering storm. Our growing numbers of individuals and groups striving for better prenatal/postpartum care and better births ascertain that the time is coming when the consumer's voice will be heard.

With a clear focus on mother-friendly maternity care and a passionate, positive energy for it, there's nothing to stand in our way for making our goal a reality, except maybe doubt, fear and anger.

With our eyes looking forward, we'll encourage each other when we go astray and make mother-friendly maternity care a social and medical epidemic. Keep up the good work!