Grandpa - update

Thank you for those who were praying for our trip and Grandpa.

We were going to wait until Wednesday morning to leave for MI, figuring 'less' late of an arrival time, but both felt an urgency we couldn't deny, so we packed up mid-day Tuesday and left for MI - arriving at 3a.m. on Wednesday morning to our hotel.

At 11 a.m., we arrived at Grandpa's house and the twins, Xman, and I were introduced to him for the first time. Briaunna sang "Thank You" by Ray Boltz and "Tomorrow Needs Us" for Grandpa. Kairi sang "Jesus Loves Me" for him and Calvin spent some good time with him. Around 4:00 it was apparent he was leaving us, so I ushered the kids out of the home and into the yard to play while the adult children surrounded him. He left us on Wednesday at 4:03pm.

I am so glad we left for MI when we did.

The viewing was on Friday, from 2-9pm, while the funeral was on Saturday at 10. Afterward, there was a lunch at a local Brewery restaurant. This family is SO Italian... lots of food, friends who are considered family, loud conversation, long visits... FAMILY.

Calvin was blessed to get to know his Grandfather for the short time that he did. He has gained 2 Aunts and Uncles as a result and quite a few cousins.

BTW, did I mention Gramps was a strong arm in the Mafia? lol... that stands for another post at a later date.

Prayer Request

For those of you who are of the Believing persuasion, please keep us in your thoughts and prayers. We have a family member (DH's grandpa) who is failing fast. We are packing the clan up to go be with them - it will be a nice 9-12 hour drive.

Taking Away The Choices - We'll Be Left With What?

Surprise, surprise, the AMA wants to take away our right to home birth. Great, strip us of our right to birth our children without policies, procedures, and increased risk? Why would we not passively let you do this? Ugh.

The blog world is COVERED in responses to this - including Ricki Lake's response. I won't link them all, but here are a few...

• A Doula Too
• FireFly Mama
• Journey Birth Wrote Two - A response to the AMA and Ricki Lake's response.
• Spirit Led Birth Wrote Two - A response to the AMA and Ricki Lake's response.
• Hathor the Cow Goddess wrote a response and created a comic.
• Woman to Woman
• Even the Huffington Post
• Permission to Mother - a doc's weigh in

And to end the list, only one of the many reasons we can't let this get ANYWHERE in legislature.


Finally, I am adding the little guy at the top of this post to my sidebar - please consider doing the same.

You Do What With Your Organs?

I am simply fascinated and excited to see so many women (especially more 'main stream mamas' - it seems to make things more acceptable) DOING with their placentas rather than just DISCARDING.

Small disclaimer, most of these links include pictures, so this is not for the squeamish.

• A couple that I just attended last week took their placenta home to make placenta prints with it and then plant it. If they give permission and take pictures, I will be sure to share. (no pics)
  
• A peer of mine in this area just started her own placenta encapsulation service.
• A funny-guy hosts a placenta party for friends and family (lots of humor and pictures).
• Family Colvin had their sister encapsulate her placenta.
• The Placenta Blog talks about everything to do with placentas
• Mary talks about a placenta consumption experiment and how it affected her overall (no pictures).
• Gifts of the Third Stage talks about cultural customs of the placenta and what benefits it has overall
• La Victoriana linked a great downloadable pdf for printing all about the placenta. A great read.
• And this amazing blogger (heh heh) wrote an article on why someone would consider some of the more 'extreme' placenta issues - just so you don't write them off as quacks before you hear their reasoning.
• The Green House talks both on consumption (no pics) and burying for memorials (PG pics)
• There is even a great book out called Placenta: the Gift of Life (psst, it is on my wish list - hint hint) and has a good book review here.

And finally, the placentophagy experience of one London bloke:



Oh what fun!

Willow Tree

I am a willow tree,
Strong, yet fluid
graceful.
I can bend with the wind,
but my roots are tough,
indestructible.
Opening to birth my child
is flowing with the wind:
from a soft and gentle breeze
to a stormy gale
back to a soft and gentle breeze.
My body is strong, but flexible.
It is my friend, it knows how to open.
I am a friend to my body
eating well, walking, and loving myself.
I shall birth safely, freely, openly . . .
among my loved and trusted ones.
I am the willow, flexible
beautiful resilient
endowed with the power of surrender
to the wind rustling through my leaves,
my branches.
My roots reach deep into Mother Earth
Anchored in Her strength
I bring forth life
In joy!

—Author: Anonymous

Did you know I am co-leader of our local chapter of Birth Network National?

Random Thought

“I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.”

-Frank Herbert, Dune

What do you fear about pregnancy, labor, or birth? Every woman fears inherently, it is in our nature. It is what we do about that fear that makes us successful at our endeavors.

Oatmeal Chocolate-Chip Lactation Cookies

These delicious cookies can help breastfeeding mothers increase their milk supply. Made with key ingredients such as oatmeal, brewer's yeast, and flaxseed meal, these would be a perfect treat to take to your next breastfeeding support group!

Ingredients:
- 3 cups oats
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 1 cup butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 4 Tablespoons water
- 2 to 4 Tablespoons brewer's yeast
- 2 Tablespoons flax seed meal
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F (175C).
2. Mix the flax seed meal and water, then let sit for 3 - 5 minutes.
3. Beat butter, sugar, and brown sugar well.
4. Add eggs and mix thoroughly.
5. Add flax seed mixture and vanilla, then beat well.
6. Sift together flour, brewer's yeast, baking soda, and salt.
7. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture.
8. Stir in oats and chocolate chips.
9. Scoop onto prepared baking tray.
10. Bake for 8 - 12 minutes.
11. Let cookies set for a couple minutes before removing from tray.

Additional Resources:
Increasing Low Milk Supply - http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/low-supply.html
Lactogenic Foods & Herbs - http://www.mobimotherhood.org/MM/article-diet.aspx

Whale Birth

There is an amazing video of a whale birthing her calf in the news. Watching her, I was struck at how easily and fluidly her baby slid from her body. Her heavily pregnant body moved gracefully while her posterior undulated to move baby down and out. She was doing 'pelvic rocks' to move her calf!

Interview With a Home Birth Midwfe

This is a great series of 7 videos on Youtube of an interview with a midwife on the basics of home birth.

Introduction to a Midwife


Why Birth At Home Is Safer


Before The Birth


The Birth


After the Birth


Parental Responsibility


If Complications Arise


Go positive education!

Hi, My Name Is Nicole and I am a Conspiracy Theorist

I have been called a conspiracy theorist for touting that women's options are actually disappearing the more liberal we get with our birth practices.

With recent articles like Choosy Mom's Choose Cesareans, and responses from myself and others, it sounds like we are just hot under the collar and making up dark images of a 'right to choose'.

But are we?

Emotionally and physically, women are hurt, and their options are forever limited or made to be seemingly insurmountable uphill battles. Cesareans are becoming so prevalent and rates are increasing because of 'choice', policies, and iatrogenic complications, that we made an awareness month about it to promote more public education regarding this major abdominal surgery.

ICAN has a great resource on hospitals and VBAC bans... check it out for yourself BEFORE you go into labor or choose a cesarean... you will have a better idea of if you will be 'allowed' a VBAC next time around. That is one battle that many of us were already aware of...

But the battle just got bigger.

Now, after a cesarean, women with abdominal scars could very possibly find themselves without insurance. Some insurance companies are beginning to refuse women coverage if they have had a previous cesarean or give them higher insurance costs.... Unless they are sterilized or infertile!

“Obstetricians are rendering large numbers of women uninsurable by overusing this surgery,” said Pamela Udy, president of the International Cesarean Awareness Network, a group whose mission is to prevent unnecessary Cesareans.

Not only are women feeling pressure to have Cesareans that they do not want and may not need, but they may also be denied coverage for the surgery.

“You have women just caught in the middle of this huge triangle of hospitals, insurance companies and doctors pointing the finger at each other,” Ms. Udy said.

ugh! This is not how I, or any other professional in my field, wanted to be vindicated. I would rather be considered a conspiracy theorist than to see our healthcare and the lives of children and moms be affected in such a profound and inhumanitarian way.

• A Doula Too blogs about the horrible realization that our public is coming to: our cesarean rates are out of control, hurting our healthcare options, and hurting our babies.
  
• Karen The PA Doula is outraged and incensed - wanting to find a way to fix this mess.
  
• Navelgazing Midwife positively lights on the fact that this might make VBAC more possible and sought after and make cesarean a 'less achievable' OPTION for women when not medically necessary - will women start making more informed and mother-friendly, newborn-friendly healthcare choices?
• Pushed Birth reminds us that, with cesarean rates on the rise, it is a horribly unfair and hard place for families to be: coerced into unwanted cesareans either by default or by iatrogenic complications, and then refused basic care and health coverage - limiting their choices for care even more.
  
• Crunchy Domestic Goddess gives a great post on how others are responding to this article and have foreshadowed this day previous to it.
  

What next peeps? What do we have to do and be put through to get the information in between those plates of bones resting on top of your spine? Those of you in white lab coats - is it worth it to be home in time for dinner?Oi. I am going to the pool to cool off.

Epidurals Are For Tolerating the Hospital, Labor Is The Easy Part

This is a great article by a woman who explains SO WELL why many women who want unmedicated birth end up with medication. Take a gander and let me know your thought oh ye commentors.

Standard of Care?

I know, I know, my Soapbox seems to have come out from under my bed and is taking up permanent residence in front of my wireless keyboard. lol!

I have issues. Issues with terminology, to be exact. I have had a few clients and friends recently who have expressed their distaste for how they were treated in labor/birth by their birth team. If you ask them about their birth experience, it will seem everything was on the up and up, everything was clean and kosher. Everything resounded that they had received a high standard of care, which is expected of U.S. hospitals.

The problem is this: the standard of care is not caring to mom and baby. It's covering the hospital and their staff.

Case in point: Mama Bear hits 42 weeks and lovely Dr. Crank pulls out of her hat of tricks that Mama Bear will be coming in for a scheduled induction that same day. Mama Bear says she cannot do it because she is not mentally prepared for it, please give her a few. Dr. Crank comes back with an empty threat to refuse her at the door if she is not there within 1 hour. S/He then goes on to belittle Mama Bear, calling her 'stupid' and 'risky' and even putting her babies life in danger. Wow... because we all know that the magic number for babies that placentas just 'poof' and quite working at 42 weeks and 2 hours. (rolling eyes).

Ei. I. I... will probably get blasted by some snarky OB or L&D RN...

So, do your own research... and read some interesting fodder for thought on some things that may not have crossed your mind before:

Here is a great breakdown on a Symbolic Analysis of Standard Obstetrical Procedures

And just for all ya'll (OMGosh, I have been in the South too long - lol) who are chompin at the bit, wanting to get your hands on some good internet information regarding all of these lovely procedures that are done routinely often with no medical justification, see Choices in Childbirth - an internet research link page.

All In A Day's Work...

Ok, you have been warned, this is a total. TOTAL. Snarf Post.

""The father had the baby in his hands. Our guys grabbed their obstetrical kit from the rescue, they wrapped the baby, they clamped off the umbilical cord and as [hospital ambulance] arrived, they told them to cut the cord.""

Ok... so... what did they do?

C'mon, don't you all feel SO SAFE now? I mean, after a completely (evidently) safe unassisted 'emergency' birth, the firefighters WHISKED in and saved the day by....

by...

lets see.....


Taking a newborn from his/her father's hands (interrupting early bonding that was going nicely, it seems)....

and then....

Clamped off the cord, then cut it.... even though there is medically no reason to so early........

Hmmm...

and then whisked them off to a hospital to have mom and baby poked and prodded, newborn family bonding interrupted with no good reason and time that cannot be reclaimed...

I. feel. so. THANKFUL that medical help arrived JUST in the nick of time!

Snarf.....


(BTW, Linds, your husband is a gem, nothing against him)...

McDonald's?

Hmmm...

Oh how far McDonald's has come... or gone?

You decide.....


Then:

Now:

Video of a Doula In Action

This is a BEAUTIFULLY done video - and is also a great vid of a doula in action.

Breathless

Munchausen Obstetrics

Munchausen Syndrome: a psychiatric disorder in which those affected fake disease, illness, or psychological trauma in order to draw attention or sympathy to themselves. It is in a class of disorders known as factitious disorders which involve "illnesses" whose symptoms are either self-induced or falsified by the patient. It is also sometimes known as hospital addiction syndrome.

Let's see by raise of hands how many of us have witnessed or met Obstetricians who exhibit many of the symptoms of Munchausen's Syndrome?

Every once in awhile I bring this great article back in my www-sphere. The following is letter written by Rich Winkel of Columbia, MO

I've been horrified to discover a pattern of wholesale institutionalized medical malpractice and quackery surrounding the business of birth and child health. I can't account for how this could have come to pass, but the science is difficult to ignore.

First let me mention the epidemiology: a steadily rising rate of symptoms of trauma and brain damage, including ADHD, autism, mental illness and addiction among US-born people, a trend dating back to the post-WWII period when certain obstetrical practices became commonplace.

These practices are now thoroughly entrenched and seem to be immunefrom appeals to science, human rights or common sense. It appears that medicine views the bodies of women and children as some kind of empty wilderness waiting to be conquered and colonized.

I assume you're familiar with some of the huge body of research relating to the enduring effects of early imprinting and abuse of children. Everything from post traumatic stress to sadism, suicide and specific suicide methods have been strongly connected to early experiences in infancy. The implication is that this is the most pivotal time to ensure that the rights and well-being of children are respected and protected, not just for their sake, but for the sake of the people who's lives they impact as adults.

Briefly, this crucial imperative is simply a non-factor in American birthing practices. The huge dinosaur of american obstetrics is creating generation after generation of unconsciously traumatized and often subtly brain-damaged people, people whose lives are often subsequently burdened with criminal behavior, learning difficulties, ADHD, addiction, depression and other mental illnesses and symptoms of brain damage. These iatrogenic outcomes are entirely preventable, in fact in most cases can be avoided at less cost than the procedures which cause them. The question of whose interests are served by making birth needlessly difficult I'll leave to your imagination.

The american way of birth (unfortunately spreading world wide) has now been linked to large increases in rates of mental ailments including depression, anxiety disorders, substance abuse and dependencies by at least 2 large well controlled studies, which both studiously avoided the most obvious conclusion.

http://www.sciencenews.org/pages/sn_arc98/9_19_98/fob1.htm
http://www.math.missouri.edu/~rich/MGM/birthUSA2.txt

Post traumatic stress reactions have been noted in american infants returning to hospitals, again while neglecting the obvious possibility that they were remembering birth trauma.http://www.math.missouri.edu/~rich/MGM/old...oop.com/newsdet
ail/93/512690.html

In fact these researchers actually call for more medical intervention to treat "mentally ill infants." The level of denial going on in medicine surely deserves a DSM category all its own.

Furthermore, most of the medical "heroics" which lead to these iatrogenic outcomes are a product of legal pressures and medical culture and incentives rather than responses to actual medical crises. For instance:

1) "The majority of hospitals and obstetricians in this country (still) insist on a birthing position that quite literally makes the baby, following the curve of the birth canal, be born heading upwards.

States Williams: "The most widely used and often the most satisfactory (position for delivery) is the dorsal lithotomy position on a delivery table with leg supports" (Cunningham et al. 1989:315). No reasons why this position is "the most satisfactory" are given, but a strong clue is provided in an earlier text:

The lithotomy position is the best. Here the patient lies with her legs in stirrups and her buttocks close to the lower edge of the table. The patient is in the ideal position for the attendant to deal with any complications which may arise (Oxorn and Foote 1975:110)

"This position, in other words, is the easiest for performing obstetric interventions, including maintaining sterility, monitoring fetal heart rate, administering anesthetics, and performing and repairing episiotomies (McKay and Mahan 1984:111).

"Roberto Caldeyro-Barcia, past president of the International Federation of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, states unequivocally, "Except for being hanged by the feet, the supine position is the worst conceivable position for labor and delivery""

Lithotomy Position

http://www.birthingnaturally.net/barp/lithotomy.html

This dysfunctional medicalized birthing position is the cause of most difficulties and medical interventions in birth, interventions which are often traumatic and dangerous to both the baby and the mother.

2) "Immediate clamping of the umbilical cord at birth has become a standard procedure during the past two decades. This merits investigation as the cause of increased incidence of autism. Clamping of the umbilical cord before the lungs function induces a period of total asphyxia and produces severe hypovolemia by preventing placental transfusion - a 30% to 50% loss of blood volume – resulting in a hypoxic, ischemic neonate at risk for brain damage.

As in circulatory arrest and other factors that disrupt aerobic metabolism, damage of brainstem nuclei and the cerebellum can result.

Visible damage seen in some cases of autism also involves brainstem nuclei and the cerebellum. The brainstem auditory pathway is especially vulnerable to brief total asphyxia. Impairment of the auditory system can be linked to verbal auditory agnosia, which underlies the language disorder in some children with autism.

Due to blood loss into the placenta, the immediately clamped neonate is very prone to develop infant anemia that has been widely correlated with mental deficiency and learning / behavior disorders that become evident in grade school.

We propose that increased incidence of autism, infant anemia, childhood mental disorders and hypoxic ischemic brain damage, all originate at birth from one cause - immediate umbilical cord clamping.

This deserves to be investigated as extensively as genetics or exposure to toxic substances as an etiological factor for autism. Normal cord closure, with placental oxygenation and transfusion, prevents asphyxia and ischemia.

Allowing physiological cord closure at every delivery could at least reduce the incidence of birth brain injuries."

"Immediate clamping of the umbilical cord before the child has breathed (ICC) has been condemned in obstetrical literature for over 200 years. [1] [2] In the 1970s, primate research [A][3][4] using ICC to produce neonatal asphyxia resulted in brain lesions similar to those of human neonatal asphyxia."

http://www.cordclamp.com

The trauma of being asphyxiated at birth after losing half your blood to the placenta can only be imagined.

3) "In 1975, the College Entrance Examination Board commissioned an advisory panel to examine the possible reasons for an alarming continuing decline in the scores of high school students on the Scholastic Aptitude Tests or, "SAT's," a decline which had started with the 18-year-olds born in 1945 and thereafter.

From 1963 to 1977, the score average on the verbal part of the SAT's fell 49 points. The mathematical scores declined 31 points. (1)(...)

"The SAT is designed to be an unchanging measurement. Considerable effort has been made to keep the test a sufficiently constant measure so that any particular score received on a current test indicates the same level of ability to do college work that the same score did 36 or 20 or 5 or 2 years ago. The SAT measures individual students' capacities not only in comparison with their peers in the particular group but also in comparison with those who took the test in earlier years .... The SAT score decline does not result from changes in the test or in the methods of scoring it." (2) (...)

"What happened around 1945 that might have contributed to declining academic performance in the United States in the years that followed? Consider this brief history: According to figures from the National Center for Health Statistics, hospitals were the setting for only 36.9% of American births in 1936. By 1945 that figure had more than doubled to 78.8%. In 1950, 88% of Americans were born in hospitals. In 1960 the figure was 96.6% and in 1970, 99.4%. (...)

"A reading of the obstetric literature indicates that there had always been philosophic differences among doctors regarding normal childbirth. There were those who felt it was best to allow nature to take its course and there were those who felt that intervention was better. In the years following the 40s and under the stresses of the population explosion, there was a tremendous acceleration of intervention in obstetric care. Instead of adapting to the time- consuming demands of normal childbirth, the obstetric community (with very few exceptions) changed normal childbirth to conform to the comfort of the mothers and the convenience of the doctors, hospital staffs and hospital routines -- all at the expense of the fetus and newborn."

http://www.aimsusa.org/academic.htm

4) "The practice of routinely cutting the perineum during hospital deliveries in the United States, episiotomy, has been shown to be the principal risk factor for severe tearing during delivery, which is the injury that it is supposed to prevent.

Nonetheless American obstetricians continue to overuse this procedure ten times more often than is called for. Episiotomy is also a major risk factor for infection, loss of sexual pleasure, and incontinence. Women who have been subjected to episiotomies take longer to heal from delivery, even compared to women who have equivalent tears." Episiotomy: Ritual Genital Mutilation in Western Obstetrics

http://www.changesurfer.com/Hlth/episiotomy.html

5) Male circumcision has been linked to severe child psychological trauma,

http://www.cirp.org/library/psych/cansever/

adult male violence, addiction and violence against women,

http://www.cirp.org/library/psych/rhinehart1/

and brain damage.

http://www.cirp.org/library/psych/immerman2/

http://www.cirp.org/library/psych/brain_damage/

Other research implies that the neurological impact of circumcision is likely to lead to adult violence, sadomasochism and addiction.

http://www.birthpsychology.com/violence/prescott.html

http://www.cirp.org/library/psych/prescott2/

Circumcision human rights primer:

http://www.math.missouri.edu/~rich/MGM/primer.html

6) "ABSTRACT: Twenty years of clinical and behavioral observation indicate that cesarean births cause considerable trauma to babies. The physical and psychological effects are subtle and powerful, occurring at the unconscious level of the infant psyche. Negative impacts include excessive crying, feeding difficulties, sleeping difficulties, colic, and tactile defensiveness. There also may be long-term psychological effects such as rescue complexes, inferiority complexes, poor self-esteem, and other dysfunctional behaviors and feelings."

http://www.eheart.com/cesarean/emerson.html

"Prima Non Nocere: Iatrogenic Cesareans

"When used inappropriately, medical interventions interfere with the normal process of birth and increase the risk of complications and cesarean deliveries.28, 29 A US national survey of birth practices revealed that 93 percent of women had electronic fetal monitoring, 86 percent had intravenous fluids administered through a blood vessel in their arm (an IV), 55 percent had their amniotic sac membranes artificially ruptured, 53 percent had oxytocin to strengthen contractions, and 63 percent had epidurals for pain relief. More than a third of labors were artificially induced. Almost three quarters of the women were restricted to bed, and three out of four were on their backs while pushing their babies out.30

"(...) Our physicians actively resist the implementation of evidence- based practice and dont believe a cesarean rate in the low twenties is a problem.31

"Personal accounts from women who have had a cesarean, as well as emerging research, suggest that despite a healthy baby and a timely physical recovery, some women experience cesarean birth as a
traumatic event. An unanticipated cesarean is more likely to increase the risk for postpartum depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). As in other traumatic human experiences, the symptoms of birth-related PTSD may emerge weeks, months, or years after the event.9,11 Women re-experience the birth and the emotions associated with it in dreams or thought intrusions. They avoid places or people that remind them of the event. Some mothers have difficulty relating to their infants, and some will avoid sexual contact that may result in pregnancy. They will also exhibit symptoms of hyperarousal, such as difficulty sleeping or concentrating, irritability, and an excessive startle response. Untreated post-traumatic stress often leads to clinical depression.12"

http://www.mothering.com/articles/pregnanc...orry-state.html

7) "Flat earth obstetrics is a 21st century version of a medical Dark Ages, in which contemporary medicine has forgotten or ignored the traditional knowledge base and physiological principles necessary for normal labor and safe, spontaneous birth. Flat Earth Obstetrics is the belief that medical and surgical interventions are necessary in every normal childbirth, despite evidence that such a policy is harmful. The term is derived from the insistence by religious and political leaders during the Dark Ages that the earth was flat despite evidence to the contrary.

"The problem with the current form of obstetrical care in the United States is the uncritical acceptance of an unscientific method -- the routine use of interventionist obstetrics for healthy women with normal pregnancies.

"Medicalizing normal childbearing in healthy women makes childbirth unnecessarily and artificially dangerous."

"Obstetrics has been rated as the least scientifically-based specialty in medicine" [Dr. Ian Chalmers 1987].

http://www.sciencebasedbirth.com/

8) The medical community's "guidance" on breastfeeding is a scandal in itself. Even without the now abundant evidence of the immunological, nutritional and psychological benefits of breastfeeding for the baby, and its psychological, hormonal and physiological benefits for post-partum mothers, common sense and human empathy would strongly argue against intervening in this intimate time of mother-child bonding. Yet generations of american children have been denied this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for normal health, growth and emotional well being on the basis of little more than uninformed medical hubris working in concert with a well-financed corporate marketing campaign.

http://www.lalecheleague.org/NB/NBbenefits.html

http://www.babymilkaction.org/

OB's are routinely pulling babies out with forceps and suction machines, pulling and twisting their necks and spines to compensate for the dysfunctional birth position. Babies often come out with huge bruises, dents and bulges on their heads where various devices were attached. Presumably the brain is easily injured in such situations.

The real kicker in all this is how easy it would be to avoid:

The Truth About Birth

http://unassistedbirth.com/uc/truth.html

Leaving Well Alone: A Natural Approach to the Third Stage of Labour

http://www.childbirthsolutions.com/article...stage/index.php


"I always thought there was no other way for me to give birth- that I was a birthing failure; incapable of birthing without an induction jumpstart or a surgical incision. For five childbirths I always "needed" my doctors to create my birth experiences for me, and to save me from my own birthing inefficiency and hopelessness. (I was actually addicted to their "helping" me, and was always effusive in my gratitude for their efforts.) But then with my sixth, I just couldn't do it again- I couldn't go back to another hospital to give birth... I was just too hurt and broken inside.

"I found a lay midwife, and had the beautiful, easy birth that I am intended to have. I finally gave birth as a full, luscious woman-all my own hormones, in my own safe place- with no fingers in me, or straps on my belly. (Or knives in my belly.) I simply pushed my baby out and went to bed."

A letter from Leilah McCracken

http://www.birthlove.com

Early organized medicine saw midwifery was successfully competing with them in terms of safety and affordability while undermining their claims to scientific authority, so they mounted a campaign to force them out of the birthing business in the early 20th century.

http://www.collegeofmidwives.org/safety_is...01/rosenbl1.htm

The next thing our altruistic medical profession did, after eliminating one of the few professional opportunities available to women at the time, was to discard their accumulated wisdom and pathologize and try to control the whole process, rather than let nature take its course. The results have been disasterous. It seems medicine's appreciation of its own ignorance and compulsion to intervene is governed by the same principles which guide the EPA's approach to chemicals in the environment: innocent until proven guilty. But while the economically conflicted medical research establishment is busy catching up with monkeys and dogs in its understanding of birth and child care, children are being hurt, with often life-long consequences.

I urge you to investigate this issue. Once you crack open this pandora's box, I guarantee your life will never be the same. But you will have many allies, and as public awareness is raised, this country will experience a time of self-reflection that will profoundly change it for the better.

Thank you.

Rich Winkel

Now, some profess that it is not that they truly BELIEVE and then ACT on supposed risk that has not presented itself, but instead that it is a business of profit that threatens their livelihood and the 'way that they do things'. Henci Goer published an amazing article called Spin Doctor Research to help reveal to the public how 'scientific studies' and medical articles can hardly be trusted when the tests are flawed to begin with. Go read, it is interesting.

I propose that it is a combination. There is a 'doc' out there who has perfected a combination of the above. I like to coin her Spin Munchausen's Doctor Syndrome. She truly believes these studies, but she herself, cannot interpret the data as what it is: faulty. It goes against everything that she believes in, regardless that solid evidence refutes her beliefs. And so, she truly, TRULY believes that unmedicated, intervention-free, homebirth, VBAC - you name it - births are stupidly risky because birth is a horrible risk waiting to happen and the only way that the human race has survived thus far is because of a miracle!

And on the end, thank you Kathy, for your post on this very similar subject.

Just blowin off some steam. Now I am going to go do something important. lol!

Shoulder Dystocia, Crash Courses, and Great Birth Teams

What a journey, what a ride.

Let’s start a few months prior. When I first met you, B, and you found out what I do for a living, your first words were ‘You’re crazy’. As time wore on, though, and your belly began to blossom and grow, your interest began to pique.

Bee, your mom, began taking my classes and had access to a multitude of resources which she began to share with you. Still, you were ‘interested, but not sure’. Around 5 and ½ weeks before your due date, you were handed a copy of The Business of Being Born. A few days later, we sat and talked, and the papers were signed – I was going to be allowed to witness the birth of your baby!

On March 19^th, I blogged this:

“I will be attending my friend's birth in mid/late April (though I *think* she will be around 1.5 weeks early)”

The Saturday and Sunday after that, you attended a Weekend of Relaxation hosted at your friend’s house. We talked about the sounds, attitudes, emotions, and actions of birth. Jo was a constant support and encouragement, trying out every relaxation technique and vocalization right along with you. It was great to see his active participation and involvement. I knew that he was going to be a great birth companion.

On Friday, April 11^th and Saturday, April 12^th, I could not get the two of you out of my mind. So, on Saturday, late in the afternoon, I called to see how you were doing. I saw you on Sunday at church and your baby had dropped considerably. You mentioned that you were having a lot of Braxton hicks contractions and you seemed rather breathless. I had a feeling it would be that day.

Sure enough, around 5 that evening B called to let me know she was pretty sure this was it, your contractions were coming consistently and demanding your attention. You were laboring at 1.5 weeks before your EDD. I let you know that Calvin was gone but that, if you thought you needed me then, I could call him and have him come home. You assured me you were ok and agreed to update each other as the evening went on.

We talked a few more times, then, at 8pm, as Calvin pulled in the drive, you called to let me know you thought it would be a good idea for me to come over. I arrived around 8:30 to find you walking with your hand on your lower back, with a look of ‘ah, this is it’ on your face. Jo was nearby working on his i-pod and sitting at the computer. Son was tiredly but excitedly walking back and forth from his room to you.

After he went down to bed, things seemed to pick up and soon we were able to time them about 3-5 minutes apart. B, you continued to pack your bag and, between contractions, you did your hair and makeup for last minute pregnancy photos. Around this time, Bee showed up, we began baking cookies for the nurses, and Jo took a few pictures of you.

Soon, you found your most comfortable position to be on all fours, draped over the ball. Sometimes you would alternate to kneeling beside the bed and placing your head and arms on the bed. As soon as your bag was packed, you got much more serious and laid down on the bed for a short time while Jo packed the car and we talked about when to move to the hospital.

That time came sooner than I expected. Your contractions soon picked up to about 3-5 minutes apart and they were demanding your full attention. As soon as you began making noises, Jo began to show concern and, after talking about how spousal anxiety can affect labor negatively just as much as arriving at the hospital too early, we decided to pack up the bags and move to the hospital.

On arrival, the receptionist had you fill out your paperwork while Jo parked the car. You were still quite on top of the contractions and you only really needed to get serious with contractions.

In triage, they found your contractions about the same as when we left the house, and your work was over half done!

Whereas earlier, rubbing your back and applying counterpressure felt good, at this point, you did not want your lower back touched and so Jo and I moved into more verbal encouragement.

Settling into the hospital room, we turned down the lights and Jo really began to merge into his role as protector and partner. He spoke lovingly to you between contractions and gave you undivided attention during them. A simple touch was all you wanted at this point, a hand resting on yours or your hair being swept back between contractions.

You were definitely in heavy labor. You favored lying on your side, and I knew you were nearing transition as your face became flushed and you were no longer sweet B.

Your progress picked up and soon we both knew you had, indeed entered transition. You began saying you didn’t want to do it anymore and you were ‘mad’ and ‘pissed’. We found out later you were mad at your mom for ‘getting you into this’ and she had never done it herself.

Jo drew near to your side at this time and soon you were feeling like you ‘wanted to poop’. Jo grinned from ear to ear as he looked up at me, knowing you were starting to push. Soon, you were actively pushing on your side, then you turned into the classic position when your doctor arrived.

B, you were such a good pusher, bringing your baby down quickly and easily. Without coaching or counting, your body and baby worked together seamlessly, and soon she was crowning. There was not even a hesitation as you slowly brought out her eyes, then her nose, and mouth. Once her chin passed, though, she stopped moving.

Your doctor was patient and unhurried, though, and waited to see if you would be able to move her down without help. After around 8 minutes of baby not moving with each contraction (which were still coming a close 2 minutes apart and now heart tones began showing worrisome variables), she and I began to piston your legs with each push in hopes of opening your pelvis to allow enough room for your baby to rotate herself. When that didn’t work, she asked the nurses to apply suprapubic pressure. When that was not helping, she asked them to apply fundal pressure while also offering suprapubic pressure. This whole while, she did not attempt to manipulate your babe, in hopes of reducing risk.

After it was obvious she was not moving and had a good case of shoulder dystocia, she let you know that things had to get heavy at this point. She never frightened you, but let you know this was important. You pushed harder than I had ever seen a woman push, bringing yourself to a nose bleed (wow, superwoman). At the same time, the nurses gave fundal and SP pressure, and your doctor attempted and internal rotation by hooking her shoulder to turn it.

At that time, Jo was so concerned with you that I gently reminded him I would take care of you bleed and help you focus, his job was to love on you and watch his babe be born.

The pop was almost audible. Her top shoulder moved free and the rest of her quickly slid along. She was feisty from the beginning and an audible sigh of relief came from every person!

You did splendidly! Your body worked beautifully in tune with your baby and your choice in birth teams made for a wonderful assistance to a surprising ending! C was born!

The two of you did a marvelous job all-together! Let alone, as a crash course. What a beautiful quilt of love and trust that you both wove together to give your baby the best start possible and share in one of the most joyous events of a lifetime – the birth of your child! I was honored to attend the two of you!

What the?!........

"Just because it is the standard of care, doesn't mean it's ethical."

There is an AMAZING post over at Navelgazing's blog. She has opened a can of worms and women are sounding off.

PLEASE, though, don't click on the linked blog at the top of the post. The more hits this snarky Dockther Aammee (yes, misspelled on purpose) gets, the more bumps she gets on search engines - and we don't want her to be at the top of internet search results when people google "Homebirth"....