Tomato Collection Giveaway.... Winner

And the winner of "This is A Square" is...

















STEPHANIE!

Thank you those who played! I hope to have another giveaway in the coming weeks over at Peripheral Parenting. Hope to see you there!

What's So Scary About Homebirth?

What's So Scary About Homebirth?!?!

Great Huffington Post article in response to Today's Show "Perils of Homebirth". I can't wait to read all of your thoughts in blog-land.

What Not To Read

Read Time: 7 minutes

You know that show "What Not to Wear"? Well, this is my version of that show... only it's a blog post, not a TV show... and it's about reading material, not clothes... ... ...

Every "Don't Read" is explained and critiqued in detail, and then I provide three alternate options for "Instead Read". These three alternatives are broken down into three sub-categories: Citizen (for the average Joanne, safe to give at a baby shower without offending), Seeker (for the one who is definitely looking into her options but not sure what she wants), and Sold (she knows, she has researched, she is a proactive consumer, it's hard to offend this chic).


So, without further ado, I give you WHAT NOT TO READ:

DON'T READ: What to Expect When You Are Expecting - while learning to crawl, my second-born found and proceeded to rip every page out of my copy of WTEWYAE. She had the right idea. This book is chock full of enough scare-tactics and medical promotions to frighten and confuse any mama-to-be right into a panic attack (if not premature labor). I have never seen so many women turned into anxious balls of nervous wreckage after reading this book. Although it contains a lot of relevant educational material, it is delivered in such a way that women are not brought into that knowledge in an empowering and positive way; but instead leads women to believe that there are so many cautions, tests, deviations, and alternatives that something is bound to happen, just wait. Empower and educate, it does not. There are many better options.

INSTEAD READ:

• (Citizen) Conception, Pregnancy, and Birth - Miriam Stoppard compiled this easy to read walk through of everything from ovulation to breastfeeding. Filled with beautiful photographs and illustrations, it is user-friendly and educational. She treats pregnancy as beautiful, normal, and natural - allowing women to look at themselves in awe. The sections on birth provide step by step information on the stages as well as coping techniques/positions and possible interventions.
• (Seeker) Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Newborn - Penny Simkin co-authors this book, which is a much more thorough and in-depth educational piece than it's counterpart above. It deals much more with variations, interventions, medications, and the like while also continuing to provide this information in a non-threatening, non-frightening light. She remains factual without becoming intimidating or sentimental. Some key components that make this a great book: the role of the birth partner, charts on interventions/risks/benefits, and emotional and physical landmarks of pregnancy/labor/birth and postpartum.
  
• (Sold) Having a Baby, Naturally - This book is similar to the two above, without the illustrations and photographs of the first and without the non-biased POV (they explain, in detail, their slant and reasoning for natural) of the second. This book is a great companion for homebirth mamas or women who are already more 'crunchy-minded'. In particular, I love that they devote a full section to the expectant father. This is a GREAT resource for natural pregnancy, birth, and parenting, but only for those who are already set on that path.
  

DON'T READ: Planning for Pregnancy Birth and Beyond - basic. boring. Those are the two key words I can come up with for this particular book. It is written to be very hospital/intervention/test-friendly, giving you lots of good topics, but very hospital childbirth class-like advice. It is written like a text book and not very easy of a reference. PFPB&B definitely writes from the model of pregnancy as a medical condition/event.

INSTEAD READ:

• (Citizen) The Pregnancy Book - Similar to my review below, this book is an easy read, never talking over their audience, but providing practical, fun, medical, and optional information in a month by month setting. It is a good pregnancy guide, but when it comes to birth, I defer to my recommendations below.
• (Seeker) The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth - A very in-depth look at interventions, medications, and birth, as well as a hard look at the obstetrical system, this book dissects the medical research to give sound, well-rounded information. This book can be hard to digest, but arms women with an arsenal of information to make informed decisions on just about everything they might encounter during labor and birth.
• (Sold) Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering - Written by Dr. Sarah J Buckley, this book is fully balanced with information on intuitive birthing and parenting, and evidence-based birthing and parenting. She takes the best of maternal/ancestral wisdom and medical/research wisdom and combine the two to give an insightful look into gentle birth and gentle mothering.

DON'T READ: Easy Labor: Every Woman's Guide to Choosing Less Pain and More Joy During Childbirth - although the authors give well-rounded information on both the medical and non-medical means of pain relief for labor and birth, I felt it was a bit of an overplay on how painful labor and birth was - revisiting pain repeatedly, over-sensationalizing it. They also downplay the risks and side effects of epidurals, while also downplaying the effectiveness of alternate comfort measures; which, as a result, champions medical pain relief options. End result, "Hi, birth is painful, REALLY painful. Non-medical pain relief is ok, but man, just you wait, yer going to want your epidural".

INSTEAD READ:

• (Citizen) Your Best Birth - Ricki Lake's new book, YBB gives great advise on options, all your options, in a non-biased, non-confrontational way. She presents all concepts of labor and birth, including choosing your doctor or midwife, your birthplace, writing a birth plan, and how to become a proactive consumer in your healthcare. It is not as in-depth as some of the other books, but it definitely gets women thinking, just like her informational documentary, "The Business of Being Born"
  
• (Seeker) The Birth Book - Dr. William Sears gives you the good, the bad, the ugly, the best - all in very readable format and without the scare tactics. He gives you the options as well as the risks and benefits of each - no sugar coating it. There is adequate information on various childbirth options, plenty of birth stories to peruse, and no lack of information - this book helps women to become educated to their options without having an obvious bias, treating them as individual's, proactive consumers in their own healthcare options.
• (Sold) Birthing From Within - Pam England outlines a childbirth preparation by means of discovery; viewing childbirth as a journey, an opportunity to tap into a new woman, the mother. She teaches that, through self discovery, letting go of birth baggage, and learning about the emotional journey of childbirth, a woman can have a truly fulfilling birth experience. This is put on my Sold list as it can come across as rather hippy-liberal.
  

DON'T READ: The Best Birth: Your Guide to the Safest, Healthiest, and Most Satisfying Labor and Delivery - I can honestly not find one good thing to say about this book. She poo-poos on any birth except a hospital, Obstetrician assisted birth, she touts that the only thing that the medical community is interested in is a healthy mom and baby, the book is extrememly post-modernistic, idolizes the medical community as 'doctor know's best', and seeks to undermine the assistance of a doula or other childbirth professional stating that 'you already have the only doula you need' (she wastes a whole section on why she would NOT recommend a doula - calling them trendy). She teaches that childbirth methods (goals, plans, preparation) only lead to guilt and miss sight of the real goal: a healthy mom and baby. Though I agree with her end-goal, our path to get there is completely different. She teaches abdication and compliance to hospital policy rather than research and becoming your own informed, educated, proactive consumer.

INSTEAD READ:

• (Citizen) The Official Lamaze Guide - written in a similar vein to Natural Childbirth The Bradley Way, this book differs in that it focuses a great deal on birth when allowed to unfold naturally, how to encourage that, what can disrupt that, Lamaze coping techniques, and how to assimilate personal strengths/traits into the birthing room.
• (Seeker) Natural Childbirth The Bradley Way - Susan McCutcheon writes this book in a way that some consider it a childbirth preparation class without the classroom. It outlines the reasons for a natural birth, the anatomy and physiology of pregnancy, labor, and birth, the emotional as well as physical signposts of labor and birth, and teaches a number of relaxation techniques and positions for labor and birth, all while encouraging husband's to be active participants and assistants.
• (Sold) Ina May's Guide To Childbirth - Ina May challenges the cultural assumption that childbirth is a medical, frightening, and painful experience by providing a whole section of amazing childbirth stories that turn your preconceived notions on their heads. In addition, she gives honest, effective, and logical instruction, without getting methodical, on ways to help progress and assist in the labor and birthing process.

Other Great Reads:
Birth - the Surprising History of How We Were Born
Birth as an American Rite of Passage
The Birth Partner
Immaculate Deception
A Child Is Born
Spiritual Midwifery
Heart and Hands
Supernatural Childbirth
The Joy of Natural Childbirth
Active Birth
Gentle Birth Choices
The Lord of Birth

And there you have it - my official "What Not To Read" list, with alternatives - of course. I look forward to your own critiques as well in the comments and feel free to share with others.

The Tomato Collection

So, on Saturday, we were walking downtown at the Hispanic Festival (fun, full immersion for the whole family). We had finished face painting, dancing, singing, climbing walls, visiting the craft tent (for *cough* 3 hours) watching musicians play traditional songs, eating yummy food, and much much more...

On our way back to the van, while crossing the Grand River bridge, we heard a familiar voice off to the right, around an Ab-Nab-Awen mound, and down by the river side.

Immediately our family went running to the source of the sound. Why? It was our favorite children's song writer/author: Kevin Kammeraad.

His music is intuitively child-centric, and has this magical appeal that draws both parents and children alike into this world of crazy, calm, creative, deep, enlitening, silliness that only a child (or someone who was once a child) could understand and appreciate.

Our family has listened to his album, The Tomato Collection, over and over... in fact, his version of the ABC song is our families version!

He has written a number of children's books; one of which, entitled "This is a Square" is still one of my favorite and highly recommended books. It encourages abstract thinking in a young audience (hint hint - keep reading to see how you can get a free copy)

After watching his performance, singing along with all of the songs we knew, watching a puppet show, and starring in his song/parent play about Magooie Balooie and Achoogie Aboogie (yours truly was Mama Wizard while my forever-love was Magooie Balooie), I went down to his media tent to talk with him.

Me: Hi Kevin - I just wanted to introduce myself to you since our family basically stalks you.
Kevin: (nervous chuckle, pointed arm around his wife's shoulder).
Me: My daughter first saw you in 1st Grade and your music and writing has been a household fixture in our home ever since.
Kevin: (arm loosens and introductions all around - at which time I ask if I can interview him). Sure!
Me: When did you first start down this path?
Kevin: I was raised in Holland Michigan and went to GVSU, studying Film and Video Production. While at school, for a Christmas present, my grandmother gave me a journal. In that journal is where I began writing poems, drawings, thinking of ideas... That was about 1994 and that was the start of the Tomato Collection. Then, in 1999, I began travelling to schools, performing at festivals - that type of thing.
Me: So, I can assume you have a heart for kids?
Kevin: Instintually, it was just put on my heart - being creative; you know, the wonderment. I am a kid that never really grew up (smile) and, indirectly, working in film and video production, I just knew that this is what I wanted to do. It all simply unfolded from there.
Me: I know alot of your performances are at schools. Is this because you view your music and books as educational or did the schools start seeking you out?
Kevin: As I was writing the Tomato Collection, I began talking to other children's authors: James Strochen, Mark Herrick, and Tom Woodruff (Michigan authors and illustrators who mentored me). They gave me insight into travelling to schools to share my work. Then, I was invited to read at the Michigan Reading Association conference. At that point, through word of mouth, I began to attend schools as a way of showing my books to the group intended.
Me: My personal favorite, out of all of your songs, is the Natalie 'series'. If you had to pick one, what would your favorite be?
Kevin: It's hard to pick only one... Natalie is one of my favorites as well. Ahh, if I had to choose one, "The Sun Will Always Float" has always been a personal favorite, a meaningful song. Little Man Jay is a great one for silly humor.. Those are the two that stand out, one serious, one silly.
Me: What would your one hope be to be able to accomplish through all of this that you are doing?
Kevin: To be able to continue to do this, successfully working together with my wife.

Kevin and his wife, Stephanie, have a heart for many organizations and causes: children, families, adoption, and education to name a few, and I, for one would love for him to be able to continue to give back to these worthy causes, fill the world with his music and writings, and spend the rest of his life working along side his beautiful wife...

“Kevin Kammeraad’s The Tomato Collection, The Big Album almost defies description, but I will try…The music ranges from gentle and thoughtful to wild and frenzied…[Kammeraad] nestles the fun and silly sides of being a kid in between the concerns and worries all children face. Each arrangement perfectly supports and illuminates the thoughts and emotions of the [poem]. This book and CD combination stands out, take the time to find it.” - Chicago Parent Magazine, February 2001, Review by Fred Koch

And guess what? I have something to GIVE AWAY! Here's what I want so that one of you can get an autographed copy of "This is a Square" (aka rules for entry):

• Check out Kevin's site and look through his works/listen to his music
• Create your own post on your own blog linking back to this giveaway... in your post, tell what you think of his music and books and provide a link to http://www.tomatocollection.com/as well.
• Post a Comment to my blog with what you liked about his site or works.

Voila - you are entered to win! This giveaway will run through next Monday, Sept 21st at 5pm (EST)., when we will draw one name.

If you live in Michigan, Tennessee, Indiana, Alabama, Kentucky, Illinois, or Ohio, consider asking your local school to have Kevin come to perform for your child's school. You won't be dissapointed!

Today Show Smacks of Media Sensationalism

The Today's Show with Peter Alexander aired the "Perils of Homebirth" on 09/11 and featured a couple whose homebirth ended in a stillborn baby. I feel for them, I truly truly do. There can be nothing more heartwrenching than loosing a baby.

But, this report is incomplete and leaves people with a strong slant toward the evil of home birth without the whole story. We don't know what led up to the babies demise, if an OB would have caught the problem (as home birth midwives monitor similarly to OBs), etc... and worse of all, the ACOG is capitalizing on this couple's grief!

In addition, it is, simply, a ridiculous article that seeks to undermine the intelligence of the public by giving shoddy journalism by way of insinuation, incomplete information, and the like.

Code Mec! Code Mec! - Rixa wrote it best - go read there for many more linkies to additional favorite reads. Go there after watching the below video and see why my Journalism prof is rolling over in his grave right now.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Mass Friends of Midwives Tribute

Mass Friends of Midwives Tribute
Uploaded by MAFriendsMidwives. - Videos of family and friends from around the world.

Midwifery Support and Youtube

In the last week, we have seen a jump in midwifery support videos, like the ones below. Enjoy!

Laboring Under The Illusion

On Tuesday night I went to a screening of Laboring Under the Illusion (and subsequent panel discussion afterwards) with my IRL friend and fellow doula Jenn (thanks Jessica for putting on this event).

Anthropologist Vicki Elson explores media-generated myths about childbirth. As a childbirth educator for 25 years, she observes daily how our culture affects our birth experiences. In this film, she contrasts fiction with reality. The result is hilarious, engaging, and enlightening.

Throughout the film, she compares Hollywood to reality and the impact that Hollywood has on our cultural perception and thus, expectations of childbearing.

Elson states that an average of 2/3 of pregnant women watch ER, movies, and other birth-specific shows, such as A Baby Story. Out of those women, only 1/4 will attend a childbirth class. Thus, for most women, the only childbirth education that they will receive is from Hollywood.

All in all, I would rate that this film is worth the watch and recommend it. It is funny, informative, and educational. A provocative piece that generates good discussion. But, the panel didn't answer my biggest question: "What is our plan to change this?" Any ideas?

Homebirth and Midwifery - International News

Australia -
Justine Caines, secretary of Homebirth Australia, writes

"Although Health Minister Nicola Roxon announced a last-minute back-down on proposed changes that would effectively ban private homebirths from July 2010, the threat has merely been postponed"

in Banning Homebirth Just Doesn't Make Sense.

Claire Harvey writes in Birth Wars Rage in Your Delivery Room

"Of course, this doesn't happen in dental surgeries. Open hostility between clinicians would be madness, serving only to baffle patients and undermine the whole purpose of creating healthy smiles.

But this is exactly what happens in maternity care, every day, in birth centres, hospitals and homes. Hostility, suspicion, mistrust, abuse and vitriol abound in relationships between obstetricians and midwives, clinicians, academics and activists."

ABC news reports on more homebirth news in Australia, stating that:

"Women, men and children from all over Australia braved a rainy Canberra day to support women's rights to give birth at home".

Canada -
The CMAJ completes an early release of "Outcomes of planned home birth with registered midwife versus planned hospital birth with midwife or physician":

"Planned home birth attended by a registered midwife was associated with very low and comparable rates of perinatal death and reduced rates of obstetric interventions and other adverse perinatal outcomes compared with planned hospital birth attended by a midwife or physician."

United States -
ACNM and Contemporary Insurance Services, Inc. Unite To Provide Home Birth Practice Coverage for 11,000 CNMs and CMs in the U.S.

"Our members' priority is to provide safe, quality care for their clients. We support the right of women to choose a planned home birth, and we applaud Lexington's recent decision to include home birth practice among their coverage options for our members." - says ACNM President Melissa Avery, CNM, PhD, FACNM, FAAN.

Del Rio Herald in Texas reports on a Fire Department's 100 pass rate for a class of new recruits, including that their training involves 8 hours on a maternity floor 'assisting in a natural birth'. It would be nice if they were required to attend a home birth - because that will, most likely, be the place of any calls they receive.

And finally, since it is showing up on many blogs online, Birth By Numbers - "Eugene R. Declercq, PhD, Professor of Maternal and Child Health, Boston University School of Public Health, presents the sobering statistics of birth in the United States today." It is long but very informative and necessary.

Cake Wrecks and Labor Day

Ok - I don't know how many of you read Cake Wrecks regularly, but I check in on it around once a month because of the hilarity it offers me.

Here is the most recent post, today, and I believe it warrants a post on this birthy-blog.

Not to mention some previous entries:
Here
Here
and
Here

mmmm.. yum!

If We Can't Make It Illegal...

Approx. read time: 3 minutes 30 seconds
It's no surprise with the increase interest in homebirth and unmedicated birth that the ACOG and AMA have reiterated their "long-standing opposition to home births"

On August 19, 2009, though, the American Association of Anesthesiologists came out with a "What Every Expectant Woman Should Know" 'fact' sheet.

Craig Palmer, M.D., Chair of the Committee on Obstetrical Anesthesia, American Society of Anesthesiologists states,

“While the Internet has vastly increased the quantity and accessibility of medical information, it has also fostered the spread of misinformation about pain management and childbirth. The goal of this campaign is to provide the public with accurate, impartial, and scientifically-supported information to help expectant mothers make choices that are right for them.”

(emphasis mine)

'Misinformation' abounds on the internet, according to this statement. It also states that the general public has more access to medical information... so... does that mean that the medical information out there is wrong? It seems that this statement is a little errant. The information that childbirth professionals interested in true and informed consent would like to share with every woman, such as doulas, childbirth educators, and midwives, is rooted in medical studies and their conclusions that, because of the internet, are more readily accessible to the public.

I also have a bit of a problem with the comment that the ASA is offering impartial information. If you have a financial interest in something, it cannot be impartial.

If the increased exposure on alternative pregnancy/childbirth options decreases the number of women seeking medicated births, especially since national findings put average hospital revenue for hospital-based births at 66%, it is no surprise that the ASA is rallying with their 'fact sheet'. I mean, if you can't take away their options the next best thing is to give nice blanket statements on the safety of your source of income, right?

Here are some of their 'FACTS':

'Fact': Pain management during labor and delivery is a personal choice for women. Women should not feel pressured to either accept or refuse pain management treatment during labor.

I agree... but then why I have I been to numerous births where doctors, nurses, and anesthesiologists continually attempt to coerce women into using medication during their labors even when they have made it abundantly clear they don't want it?

'Fact': Pain during labor is different for every woman and depends on a variety of factors. Some women need little or no pain relief medication, while others find that pain relief medication gives them better control over their labor and delivery.

Better control for the mother? I, and anyone who has ever been in the labor room, can tell you that having medication introduced to the process takes away a woman's control of the process. She might have better control of her pain, but not the process; she gives up her autonomy, being confined to the bed, the bedpan or catheter, the IV pole, the EFM or IFM and blood pressure cuff.

'Fact': Except in rare and exceptional cases, pain management has no impact on labor. In the overwhelming majority of cases, there is no impact on the mother, the baby or the labor delivery process. The decision whether to use pain management treatments is largely a question of the comfort of the mother. Furthermore, contrary to myths frequently cited on the Internet, there is no credible evidence to show that epidurals (or other pain management procedures) slow labor, cause C-sections or lead to a higher incidence of depressed babies.

hmmm.. for my response on that, see the medical sources cited below showing complete contrary information.

FACTS, with cited sources, can be found on:

• Wikipedia
• Kim James' site, broken down into baby side effects, labor side effects, and maternal side effects
• Transition Into Parenthood (with more recent studies)
• And, if you would prefer to go to the horse's mouth, feel free to check out places like Medscape (this one talks about breastfeeding issues), JAMA, and even the ACOG site (this is a good source). Unfortunately, if you go to the ASA website, there are not many recent studies on epidural effects on mothers, babies, and labors/births (hmmm).

Again, I'm not out to make every woman have the birth I would choose, it is about making informed, non-coerced, educated decisions. And ultimately, healthier, safer, beginnings.

FACT: I would like well-rounded and all information to be provided to women so that they can make fully educated and informed choices for their, and their babies, health.

Yesterday I....

...turned 30. Yep, a new decade has dawned on my horizon.

In 1979:

• the US cesarean rate was 16%
• 1.7% of births took place outside of the hospital in the U.S. the majority of large cities followed
  
• HCC's lead and allowed men into the birthing rooms for good
• the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association approved it's first anti-homebirth resolution
• NAPSAC held a conference "The Five Standards of Safe Childbearing: Good Nutrition, Skillful Midwifery, Natural Childbirth, Home Birth, and Breastfeeding" in Nashville, TN and visited The Farm to get more information on the safety of alternative birth options
• the American Public Health Association concluded that "births to healthy mothers can occur safely outside the setting of an acute-care hospital."
• The AAHCC and Lamaze began working with hospitals to offer free alternative birthing classes to the public.
• The Tampa Bay Association of Lamaze was established, among others.
• The FDA convened a special meeting to discuss results of a large national study that found lingering behavior and motor deficits in children whose mothers had received anesthesia in large doses of analgesics, including Demerol. This press increased the interest in natural childbirth and boosted the homebirth and midwife movements.
• Childbirth Alternatives Quarterly is created, edited, and published by Janet Ashford
• Mothering Magazine publishes it's first article on vaccination awareness and alternatives.
  
• The ICEA committed to developing a childbirth education certification program.
• Germany increased their maternity leave from 2 to 6 months and women are encouraged to take the last 6 weeks before their EDD off to prepare for the event.
• The first study on the effects of ultrasound waves on living tissue is published
  
• La Leche League International is represented at joint WHO/UNICEF Meeting on Infant and Young Child Feeding in October in Geneva, Switzerland
• Mary Tocco began researching vaccinations. She later held conferences on their safety and ingredients and, just recently, released a DVD titled "Are Vaccines Safe".
  
• "Birth In The Squatting Position" is produced and released by Polymorph Films and remains one of the top-rated natural chilbirth videos.
• My mom gave birth to me: a squealing, heafty, ball of opinion at 6am on Sept 4th

Childbirth Professionals

Childbirth Professionals: The Demographics

Please take a moment to take the above poll. This is the first of 3 that I will be working on to assist in a research paper/article of interest I am working on. Thanks!