A Healthy Baby - Birth Poetry Contest

All she wanted was to birth a healthy baby
She was excited about the months ahead
She knew her baby was a blessing
She wanted what was best
She changed her diet and started exercising
She wanted to birth a healthy baby
So she did what the books and websites told her

All she wanted was to birth a healthy baby
A boy is what they told her
She never NEEDED an ultrasound
She knew EXACTLY when the one night of passion that created the life happened
She wanted the gender to be a surprise
Her measurements were always right on target
She never really wanted an ultrasound
But they made her feel like something could be wrong
Something that only the magic wand with goopy gel could tell her
She wanted to birth a healthy baby
So she conceded and did what her providers told her

All she wanted was to birth a healthy baby
They said the baby looked big
Just last week, her measurements were right on target
She did not understand
She wanted to birth a healthy baby
Would his size really make a difference?
Before now she had faith in her body
But they made her feel unsure
She wanted to birth a healthy baby
So she listened, and scheduled another ultrasound

All she wanted was to birth a healthy baby
The repeat ultrasound showed the baby had gained more weight
How accurate are those things anyway?
Wasn?t the baby supposed to be gaining weight?
Nine pounds didn?t sound too big to her
Big babies ran in her family!
But predictions of a term birth weight of 10lbs made her doubtful
Her trust in her innate abilities began to fade. She became fearful
She wanted to birth a healthy baby
So she listened to her providers and scheduled her induction with a closed cervix, and intense fear

She came as she was instructed at 5am
She had gotten no sleep,
She had eaten no food
She was operating off adrenaline, and she was full of fear and anticipation
She wanted to birth a healthy baby
So she followed the rules and listened to what they said was best
The entire day seemed to be a rapidly moving blur of various demands, commands, and instructions

Put on this gown
Get in this bed
Let me start this IV
We are going to start Pitocin
You have to keep still
You have to stay in bed
You have to keep the monitors on
They are here to break your water
No you can?t get out of bed
We need to use these internal monitors
No you can?t have any water and certainly no food
Here? are a few ice chips
Didn?t your doctor tell you how this was going to go?!
Yes of course it?s painful
YOU should get an epidural and for the last time NO you can?t get out of bed
I am glad you are finally comfortable
Let me put this tube in your bladder, you won?t feel it
Hope you don?t get an infection
We are going to increase the Pitocin
Your baby?s heart rate dropped
Quick, turn to your left side
Breathe this oxygen
You are only 4 cm dilated
I?m going to call your doctor
Open the OR its 5PM!
Lets get her ready for her c/section?..

All she wanted was to birth a healthy baby
In her heart she wanted to speak up,
But she wanted to birth a healthy baby so she took their advice
She listened to her doctor
She listened to her nurse
When all along she was waiting for someone, anyone, is there one? all she wanted was one,
One person to hear HER voice
One person to help make HER voice louder and stronger

All she wanted was to birth a healthy baby?.and it seems everyone else, just wanted to control the process

Nicole Deggins, CNM -? www.yourbirthright.com
_{This poem was used as the opening to a presentation I gave at the national AWHONN Conference in San Diego Presentation title:? Using the Evidence to Reclaim the Role of Patient Advocate.}

This is a part of the birth poetry contest.

Postpartum Depression, Bottle Feeding and Infant and Mother Separation at Birth

There is a new study out by the University of Albany done by evolutionary psychologists that puts forward the idea that a woman who feeds her baby a bottle instead of breastfeeds may be at risk for postpartum depression due to the fact that her body will interpret this as an infant loss. The article states:

“for most of our evolutionary history the absence or early cessation of breastfeeding would have been occasioned by the miscarriage, loss, or death of an infant, and, at the level of basic biology, a mother’s decision to bottle feed rather than nurse unknowingly simulates that loss.”

This was a small scale study, only 50 mothers were surveyed. However, they still found interesting information:

“those who bottle fed their babies scored significantly higher on a postnatal depression scale than those engaged in breastfeeding.? The increased risk of depression among mothers who relied on bottle feeding held true even after controlling for such factors as age, education, income, and the mother?s relationship with her current partner.”

They also found that mothers who bottle feed tend to hold their infants more, which they have seen in primates whose babies have died and they cling to those babies for prolonged periods afterward. What I found most interesting though was this:

The UAlbany research team noted that the common hospital practice of isolating newborn infants together in a nursery for the first couple of days after birth, and the resulting intermittent separation of the mother from her baby during the initial post childbirth period, could also serve to simulate child loss and contribute to or set the stage for subsequent postpartum depression.

“Bottle feeding and hospital procedures that simulate child loss may increase the risk of postpartum depression,” Gallup said. “These practices fall within a growing number of medical issues that could benefit from a perspective of human evolutionary history.”

It is very interesting and significant that the common hospital practices here are linked to an increased risk of postpartum depression. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression scale was used in this study to asses whether women were suffering from postpartum depression. However, they could also have been suffering from postnatal traumatic stress, since the Edinburgh scale only picks up depression symptoms and not trauma symptoms, and separation from infants is a key trauma risk. Either way, connecting postpartum mood disorders with the routine practices of separation of infants and mothers in a hospital seems to be a step in the right direction toward reforming maternity care.

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!

Breastfeeding Mom Told to Cover Up

Apparently Allegiant airlines didn’t learn anything from other “breastfeeding on a plane” stories. Watch this video to hear about a mom who says she was told to cover up and when she covered up with a napkin, it wasn’t good enough. The flight attendant went and got a second flight attendant to tell the woman to “fully cover” her breast and her child. There is no way my baby would stand for that! Do you think there will be lactivism response to this? Nurse-ins, etc?

Choices in Childbirth

There are lots of things that influence women’s decisions on where to give birth. A lot of it has to do with what happens during labor but recently I’ve been talking to a lot of women who made their choice based on what happens after the birth. Many hospitals aren’t doing Kangaroo Care, despite the research giving touting its benefits. Many women are afraid of what happens in the nursery when they aren’t around. I’ll admit, I’m one of them! Was your choice influenced by hospital or birth center policies about infant care?

Trace Melamine Found in US Formula

Yet another reason to breastfeed: after reports of over 50,000 sick babies and 3 deaths related to formula in China, the US began to test its formula. The FDA released a statement today that some formula has trace elements of Melamine. Since a safe level has not yet been established there will be no recall. Read the rest of the story here.

The Chemistry of Breastmilk

When my husband, a Chemical Analyst, brought home an issue of Chemical and Engineering News with an article entitled “Unraveling Breastmilk” I was a bit skeptical. There was a photo of a breastfeeding infant on the cover, which addmittidly was quite impressive. However, the objective of unraveling the chemical components of breastmilk seemed to be to create a superior formula, and I wondered how a superior formula would help with encouraging women to breastfeed, which has far greater benefits than the nutrition and antibodies alone.

I read the article with a critical eye, but I found it to be both respectful of the amazing substance that is breastmilk, and extremely fascinating. To see just how complex breastmilk is on a scientific level, and how hard it is for them to replicate this amazing substance was really very interesting.

The article can be found here: Unraveling Breast Milk: Analytical scrutiny reveals how complex fluid nourishes infants and protects them from disease

I have to warn you that the article is written for chemists, so it is not the easiest thing to read. Even though I didn’t understand the entire thing, reading about the chemistry of breastmilk really gave me a new understanding and appreciation for the substance. I think the last sentence of the article sums it up nicely; “It is a remarkable fluid,” German emphasizes. “It’s extremely embarrassing how little we still know about it.”

International Baby Wearing Week (Activist Alert)

As the mother of many, I’ve found baby wearing. Unfortunately it wasn’t until baby number two. But once I found it I never went back. It was so much easier to carry my children, not to mention it was nice to be close to the and have my hands free. I talk to a lot of moms about how to carry their babies so that they can enjoy the benefits of baby wearing.

I was thrilled to see that November 12-18 is the inaugural Baby Wearing Week. It will hopefully help spread the word about baby wearing and the benefits to moms and babies. I actually have some pretty hilarious photos of me wearing the twins in two slings!

So whether you’re a fan of a sling, a mei tai, moby wrap or baby bjorn, join together and send a note to Motrin. For this week, they’ve decided to post an ad that is very anti-baby wearing. You can check out the ad for yourself. You can also contact them to offer your opinion.

Anesthesia and Brain Development

Today I came across this article in which the author describes research being performed to determine anesthesia’s effect on developing brains. The article is talking about children who undergo surgery but can easily relate to the use of epidural anesthesia in birth. Many practitioners blow off parental concerns related to effects of anesthesia in labor, despite their validity. While a lot of investigation is going on about the effects of television, vaccinations, video games, etc. on our children’s brains why are we not spending more time/money/energy on the events surrounding their entrance into the world?

Northwestern Women’s Law Center Writes Article About Birthing Women’s Legal Rights

Sarah L. Ainsworth is senior legal and legislative counsel at Northwest Women’s Law Center. She is the author of a recent article in a Washington paper. The article is entitled “High rate of C-section births is health concern for women”.

Some notable quotes from the article:

Both the law and respect for women’s humanity require that every pregnant woman be fully informed of the risks of all forms of labor and delivery in a language she can understand; that she be supported in her decisions about how to bring her children into the world, whether it be in a hospital, a birthing center or at home; and that she not be penalized for those decisions either medically or legally.

A pregnant woman must either submit to a subsequent C-section, whether she thinks it is a wise medical decision or not, or deliver her baby outside the hospital. For those women who do not want a home birth, or who cannot have one because of lack of health insurance coverage or lack of available midwives within a safe distance of home, this is coercion, not consent.

Policies and practices that force pregnant women to submit to unnecessary surgery cannot be justified. We would never countenance that practice for any other patient. Pointing to potential risk to the baby does not justify ignoring the mother’s decisions about her medical care.

Such reasoning inappropriately views a pregnant woman’s decision about her and her baby’s needs as suspect, and it ignores her legal rights as a patient. All pregnant women, whether they view birth as a natural event only rarely needing medical intervention, or whether they willingly accept medical assistance with the birth process, have the legal right to informed consent and to direct the experience of bringing their children into the world.

Cesarean’s are just one of many procedures that many birthing women are not allowed to give informed consent to. This is the first article or statement I have ever seen by someone in the legal field that says that this is legally wrong to do to women. I personally have contacted several lawyers and not one would talk to me, or allow me to pay them for an hour of their time while I presented my case to them. I am thrilled to see some acknowledgment by a legal organization that ignoring a pregnant woman’s rights is illegal and cannot be justified.