November 21, 2008
Laura Shanley on the Goddess Roundtable Radio Show
Painless Childbirth - one hour radio show!
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 5:47 AM
November 16, 2008
China Still Forcing Abortions
A STORM of international protest is building over a Chinese ruling that a Muslim Uighur woman who is six months pregnant must have an abortion or lose her home.
Jenny Hatch
The Natural Family Company
Healthy Families Make A Healthy World!
The Natural Family BLOG
Chinese authorities have ordered Arzigul Tursun, who is 26 weeks pregnant, to abort her unborn child because she has two other children.
She is under watch at the Municipal Watergate Hospital in Yining in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region, which is populated heavily with Uighurs, a Turkic-speaking Muslim minority. Supporters are concerned a forced abortion at such a late stage could threaten Arzigul's health.
According to the Washington-based Uyghur Human Rights Project, Arzigul and her husband, Nurmemet, fled their village when she became pregnant, but returned after officials warned their house and property would be seized if Arzigul did not have an abortion.
"We considered our two girls," said Nurmemet. "If the house and properties were taken away, how would they live? So my wife came back and went to the hospital."
US Representative Christopher Smith, a New Jersey Republican, wrote to China's ambassador to Washington, Zhou Wenzhong, last week to demand the forced abortion not be carried out.
This is sickening. And I would humbly suggest it is exactly where the world government Nazis plan to take the mothers of the world in the coming decades.
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 4:15 AM
October 11, 2008
"Freebirthing" to air on the Discovery Health Channel
I am thrilled to announce that the Discovery Health Channel is going to show the Freebirth Documentary tonight at 7pm mountain time.
Since 1989 I have been working diligently to learn everything I could about home birth. Giving birth to my own five children, and teaching childbirth class in my home for eight years was the stepping stone to my online birth activism that began in 1997.
The goal was simple, mainstream homebirth and make it possible for any woman to give birth in whatever setting she felt was appropriate for her child.
Unassisted Childbirth was and is the answer for any couple that honestly wants to have a peak experience welcoming their own children into their lives.
Wether McCain or Obama win the presidency, the fact is that we as a nation are moving towards socialized medicine, and when we get socialized fully in America, childbirth is going to be about a million times more dangerous in the hospital than it already is, for mothers and babies.
Taking personal responsibility for our health: including prenatal care, birth, and postpartum infant care is the key to families being able to weather whatever storms may blow in our nation.
Learning these skills for myself has been the key to ultimate female empowerment and fulfillment. I testify in the name of Jesus Christ that gentle, ecstatic birth will heal women of all that ails them, physically, emotional, and spiritually. I have experienced it and I know this is the JOY that our Heavenly Parents want us to feel when we are welcoming our children into our homes.
Laura Shanley has a new blog post sharing the details around the new Discovery Health Documentary Freebirth.
And a new web site titled Freebirthing that Laura Shanley put together has some video clips and still pictures from the Documentary.
QUOTE:
"While this is not brought out in the program, nine pregnant women were actually interviewed for the documentary, and all nine went on to successfully give birth at home unassisted. None of the women sought medical care during the births, and only two sought non-emergency care after the births - one for a slow placenta (that came out easily, on its own in the hospital), and another for stitches.
For more information about this program please contact Laura Shanley. To learn more about unassisted childbirth visit:
Bornfree! The Unassisted Childbirth Page.
Tune In: Freebirthing
A growing movement of women in the US and in the UK are defying medical advice and choosing to give birth with no drugs, no midwife and absolutely no medical support. Supporters claim it's how having a baby was always meant to be. Doctors say this new 'freebirthing' craze carries great risks.
In this program, we chart the stories of three pregnant women who have decided to go against the advice of their doctors and go it alone. With intimate access, we follow the challenges they have to overcome from negative family opinions and medics, to their own fears and through to the eventual and extraordinary births.
Watch the premiere, Tuesday, October 21 at 9 pm on Discovery Health!
Freebirth: A Message to Obstetricians from Jenny Hatch
Here is my own Joyful Freebirth Movie:
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 5:50 AM
September 23, 2008
C-section reduces mother's response to baby
I found this study from a post on Spirit Led Birth.
The bonding issue is one near and dear to my heart. With my first four children, ironically it was my c-section babe whom I was able to have in my arms the longest in the crucial first hours after birth. With my other two hospital born babies, the nurses found several reasons to take my children away from me. "We need to warm her up in the nursery" "He is breathing too fast, we have to monitor him." With my first homebirth baby, the main reason I chose to birth alone at home is because I did not want anyone taking him away from me after the birth. Because of the way things went, I did not get him back in my arms until he was 28 hours old, and we had a very, very difficult time bonding.
The easiest bonding came with my fifth child. Benjamin, born at home after a six hour labor, in my arms the minute he was born and happily carried in a sling the first months of his life. I trained him to take his naps in the sling, nestled in my arms, so I had the freedom to go and do whatever I needed while he napped. Mostly I typed on the computer during these hours - writing various things as I nursed him and he slept.
I wonder if the apostle Pauls prediction that our times would be without natural affection for our children was somehow tied to last days birthing practices? These timely studies seem to indicate something is off in the brains of mothers who opt for surgical birth and that is a sad comment on our world today, where the c-section numbers jump exponentially every year. But I suppose we are collectively birthing armageddon, and that was prophesied too.
Here is some of the text from the article:
"Mothers who push to give birth may be more responsive to the cry of their babies than those mothers who elect to have a caesarean birth, a brain-scanning study suggests.
When U.S. researchers looked at functional MRI brain scans taken up to a month after mothers gave birth and heard their own babies' cries, they found more activity in areas linked to motivation and emotion among the six who had vaginal deliveries compared with six who had caesarean sections.
"We wondered which brain areas would be less active in parents who delivered by caesarean section, given that this mode of delivery has been associated with decreased maternal behaviours in animal models, and a trend for increased postpartum depression in humans," said the study's lead author, Dr. James Swain of the Child Study Centre at Yale University in Connecticut.
"Our results support the theory that variations in delivery conditions such as with caesarean section, which alters the neurohormonal experiences of childbirth, might decrease the responsiveness of the human maternal brain in the early postpartum."
The differences in brain activity were found in regions that seem to affect how a mother responds to her child and regulate her mood.
Postpartum depression risk
In natural birth, contractions help trigger the release of the hormone oxytocin, which is thought to shape a mother's behaviour. Hormones are not released in the same way during a caesarean section.
Obstetricians have long known that women who have a caesarean section sometimes have problems bonding with their baby."
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 6:00 AM
September 15, 2008
ACOG year in review statement 2007
Last night my friend Laura Shanley came over and we spent hours pouring over this little gem from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. We were smoking cigars and plotting and planning how to respond to this diatribe against homebirth.... After 7 hours of non-stop focused back and forth on how to prepare for this blog entry, I finally decided to just lay it on the line. Disbelief, sarcasm, and humor...the only way to deal with the Dinos from the Medical Establishment.
Actually Laura spent about four seconds forwarding me this little ditty and I spent about three minutes writing her back and writing my responses to the statement just took a little over 20 mintues. Don't you just love the web??? Blogging, Email, and Links...a birth activists best friend.
My responses to the ACOG 2007 Review are BOLDED and in ITALICS.
‘Lay’ Midwives & Home Birth
Troubling Trends in State Legislation:
■ Home birth bills on the rise.
■ Least qualified direct-entry midwives gaining licensure.
■ The midwives’ advantage.
■ ACOG on the defensive.
Home Birth Bills on the Rise
We are seeing an increase in ‘lay’ midwifery bills in the states. Backed by individual
State Midwifery Guilds and by the Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA) and its
credentialing unit, the North American Registry of Midwives (NARM), these bills are
being introduced – and passed – in more and more states.
For example, in Virginia in 2005, certified professional midwives (CPMs) finally
prevailed in what had been a decade-long campaign for licensure and legalization of
home birth. New Republican majorities in the Virginia General Assembly helped assure
the midwives’ victory. This year, it was the Missouri midwives who prevailed in their
perennial battle for licensure.
(A lawsuit has been filed to block the new Missouri law.)
We just can't lose the one state in the union that has the most "Progressive" (bass ack ward) legislation on homebirth and was going to be our model for the rest of the country!!!
What’s behind this trend?
A legislative handbook developed by MANA provides insight into the midwives’
strategy. The 96-page handbook is full of lobbying advice, tactics and propaganda. It
includes a detailed step-by-step primer on getting a home birth bill passed.
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), an influential 2,400 member
organization of conservative state lawmakers, recently endorsed a model bill for the
licensure of certified professional midwives (CPMs) which was crafted by
MANA/NARM. Model legislation developed by ALEC gets wide attention in state
legislatures across the country.
The ‘lay’ midwives’ internal philosophy on state regulation and licensure appears to have
shifted. In the past, their position on licensure reflected the dominance of midwives who
did not want to be regulated, opposed state licensure, and defended within their
individual guilds the right to stay unlicensed and practice underground. While there are
midwives who still do not want to be regulated and who do not support the current
licensure campaign, for the most part you don’t see them speaking publicly against
licensure in the legislature or elsewhere. Even the nurse-midwives no longer can be
counted on to speak publicly against home birth or lesser trained midwives.
Least Qualified Direct-Entry Midwives Gaining Licensure
Next thing you'll know they will make it legal for FATHERS to deliver their own children...as if a bunch of loser Dads could ever learn the basics of home childbirth....the nerve of these people!!!
More states are adopting the CPM credential for midwife licensure, not CM.
Only New York has one unified framework for licensing all midwives.
ACOG does not support midwives who are not certified by ACNM.
The term direct-entry is used to refer to midwives who enter the profession of midwifery
directly without earning a nursing degree. Both certified professional midwives (CPMs)
and certified midwives (CMs) are considered direct-entry midwives, although their level
of education and training varies markedly.
CPMs are largely self-taught and their training is typically through apprenticeship. CPM
was the title chosen by MANA and NARM in the mid-1990s for their credentialed directentry
midwives.
By comparison, CMs must undergo three years of university-affiliated training, and while
there is no nursing prerequisite, these direct-entry midwives must complete the same
science requirements and sit for the same certification exam as a nurse-midwife. (See,
ACOG Statement of Policy, Midwifery Education and Certification, February 2007)
New York is one of the few states that recognizes the CM credential and requires all
midwives to meet this minimum level of education and training. New York has one
unified framework for licensing all midwives – both nurses and direct-entry midwives.
But this is the exception to the current trend, and, in fact, the New York rules pre-date
the establishment of the CPM credential.
More states are adopting the CPM credential as a requirement for midwifery licensure,
and not the CM credential which both ACOG and ACNM recognize. Of the roughly 21
states that license midwives to attend home births, all use the CPM credential. By their
lack of training and because they do not work collaboratively with hospital-based
obstetric providers, CPMs are the least qualified midwives to attend a home birth.
The Midwives’ Advantage
Strong support among conservative lawmakers.
Gotta love my peeps the conservatives!
Different titles for midwives & different levels of training foster public confusion
and work to the midwives’ advantage in the legislative arena.
Legislators respond to the home birth “choice” message.
A clear trend shows support for home birth among conservative and Republican
lawmakers who don’t see much difference between home schooling and home birthing.
Where these lawmakers hold the majority, home birth bills get passed.
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), an influential 2,400 member
organization of conservative state lawmakers, recently endorsed a model bill for the
licensure of CPMs. Model legislation developed by ALEC gets wide attention in state
legislatures across the country.
Legislators often cannot distinguish between different types of midwives.
This is code for: Legislators cannot flesh out the midwives who have been sanitized and endorsed by US, so how can these bumbling idiots figure out how to pass decent laws!!!
The different titles for midwives – direct-entry, independent, certified midwives, certified
professional midwives – foster public confusion. This tends to work to the midwives’
advantage in the legislative arena. Legislators often cannot distinguish among different
categories of midwives and have a distorted impression of the actual qualifications of
these practitioners.
The different credentialing standards for nurse-midwives, certified midwives, and
certified professional midwives are not well understood by legislators. ACOG’s joint
statement of policy on nurse-midwives and certified midwives is being misused by
midwifery advocates to support other midwives and home birth.
There is wide variability in the legal status and level of practice authority of midwives
across the country. States in the northeast and northwest, along the southern border, and
in the Appalachian region have long-recognized lay midwives in some legal or quasilegal
capacity. This situation complicates our advocacy. For example, in their testimony
before state legislatures, midwives frequently cite Washington State because it has
relatively liberal laws on lay midwife practice as compared to the rest of the country.
Legislators respond to the home birth pitch — “choice” and “safety”.
To bolster their case for licensure, midwives like to cite European countries’ experience
with midwives and home birth. This may play well with an uninformed public, but the
analogy is flawed. The conditions that make home birth relatively safe in some countries
– the Netherlands for example – do not pertain to much of the US. The Netherlands is a
geographically small, densely populated country where everyone lives within 20 minutes
of a hospital.
In their recent testimony to state legislators, midwives have been citing a 2005 study on
the safety of home births by direct entry midwives in the US. (Johnson KC, Daviss B.
Outcomes of planned home births with certified professional midwives: large prospective
study in North America. BMJ 2005;330;1416) This study concluded, “certified
professional midwives achieve good outcomes among low risk women without routine use
of expensive hospital interventions.” ACOG continues to assert that studies comparing
the safety and outcome of births in and out of the hospital are problematic, not
scientifically rigorous, and unconvincing. (See, ACOG Statement of Policy, Home Births
In The United States, May 2007.)
Midwifery proponents in the state legislatures don’t fit any single profile.
Recently, we’ve seen some odd-ball coalitions. Missouri exemplifies a nascent trend
among the states. In 2005, a midwife bill (HB 36) was championed by an unusual
coalition – Republicans, including the Speaker of the House, home schooling proponents,
the religious right, and the state’s Amish and Mennonite communities.
The bill language was deceptive in its simplicity. It said,
“Nothing in Missouri law shall encroach on a mother’s right to give birth
in the setting and with any caregiver of her choice.”
Sounds like a great bill for the whole country, heck, the whole world!!!
ACOG on the Defensive
Bills don’t get defeated on the merits.
Midwives show-up in huge numbers & their testimony plays to a sympathetic
public and press.
Nurse-midwives are a fickle ally.
Physician back-up and declining availability of VBAC complicates ACOG’s
advocacy.
ACOG is playing defense on most of these bills. It’s the rare situation where we can
defeat these bills on the merits.
Ha ha ha ha heee hee hee snort haaaa
For example, in Missouri, ‘lay’ midwife bills get introduced year after year. These bills
have been stopped – up to now – mainly by deft political maneuvering and hardball
tactics employed by the State Medical Society, not by any persuasive testimony about
comparative safety or quality of care.
In more and more states, doctors have been out-maneuvered in the legislative hearing
room. Midwives tend to show up in huge numbers (and not just on the day of the hearing
but almost on a daily basis throughout the session) and their testimony plays to a
sympathetic public and press. In a few states, a show of force by the medical community
might clinch victory; but in most it only reinforces a perception among lawmakers that
this is just a turf battle between doctors and non-doctors and the final vote tends to favor
the latter.
Nurse-midwives – a fickle ally.
The American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) and its state chapters are divided on
their response to state legislation that would license CPMs and legalize home birth. This
complicates ACOG’s advocacy. Whereas nurse-midwives have been ACOG’s front-line
defense against these bills, that’s no longer a sure thing. Today, you don’t see nursemidwives
speaking with any consistency against home birth or the certified professional
midwives (CPMs). There is a widening internal debate within the American College of
Nurse-Midwives over education and training standards for midwives, and ACNM and
MANA do not agree on certain aspects of education and practice.
Physician back-up.
Physician back-up for midwives and out-of-hospital deliveries is a growing concern in
some states. In Wisconsin, the professional medical ethics of physicians who choose to
back-up CPM-trained midwives were in dispute over home birth legislation that got
approved in 2006 over the objections of the Wisconsin ACOG Section, the state AAP
Chapter, and the State Medical Board. The bill passed with the support of the State
Medical Society and an ob-gyn serving in the state legislature.
Another example is California. In 1993, California licensed midwives to do home
deliveries under physician supervision. But implementing regulations for the 1993 law
were only recently finalized after years of wrangling over key issues including the
physician supervision requirement in the authorizing legislation. Medical liability
insurers in the state were refusing to cover physicians who back-up midwives and
midwifery proponents in the legislature threatened to waive the requirement for physician
supervision altogether.
Declining availability of VBAC.
The situation with hospitals declining to do VBAC deliveries has complicated our
advocacy efforts on midwives. ACOG Fellows in California, Washington and other
Western and Rocky Mountain states report that women are seeking out alternatives,
including home birth with midwives, in their desire for a VBAC. The VBAC issue was
one of several sticking points in California as stakeholders weighed-in on regulations to
implement a midwife licensure law.
Maybe we shouldn't have outlawed VBAC....it seems to have pushed women over the edge. But hey we all were thinking that when we put the pastel wallpaper in the birthing suites the mothers wouldn't notice when the c-section rate hit thirty percent. Who Knew???
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 9:44 AM
September 4, 2008
Orgasmic Birth Documentary Review by Jenny Hatch
Last night my dear friend Lauren and I attended the Boulder screening for the new birth film, Orgasmic Birth, in Boulder.
I was able to chat with my friends Laura Shanley and Sarah Clymer, who have been part of my birthing life for many years, and meet Lauras Daughter, Joy Shanley, who is a model and more beautiful in person than she is in print.
My friend Lauren is not a birth junkie like so many of us who attended and it was so fun to watch the film through her eyes. She just wept as each child was born, and at certain points in the film grabbed my arm, and just looked into my eyes with eternal understanding in the depths of her being.
We have had several conversations about birth over the years and I have tried to explain to her several times why I am a birth activist. Most of our birth chats ended with me feeling somewhat frustrated that she was not really hearing what I was trying to say, and her kind, but firm dismissal that home birth was fine for me, but it was not really her thing.
Our friendship is tied up in our love for Jesus Christ, music, and a deep desire to see high quality musical theatre produced in Boulder County. Lauren was one of the few who attended my 40th birthday party where I had obtained and shared a copy of The Business of Being Born with my friends. Although I had invited many, many friends to this party, most were not interested in hearing what Ricki Lake had to say about birth, and Lauren left early before the movie was even half way over.
I was thrilled when she said she would attend the Orgasmic Birth Screening with me. She did admit that she and her husband had a few good laughs before I picked her up. Greg said to her, "What ELSE don't I know about Jenny???" He is a lovable liberal, and she has not shared with him my political conservative activism and I've been vague about my political views when we get together socially. I've learned with new friends over the years that I have to be somewhat gentle and a little bit circumspect as I share with them my political and activist sides.
Certain people have warmed to my birth activism but shudder in horror when they realize I am a Neo-Con. Others have loved my political involvement but don't get why our family eats organic food and stay away from doctors, drugs, and hospitals.
I figured Lauren was grown up enought to "get" the movie and understand the implications of how truly revolutionary and threatening it is to the medical status quo.
I was unprepared for her sheer emotional and spiritual response as she continued to weep when we went out to the car and drove home. She told me that she was the most touched by the mother in the film who was a sexual abuse survivor, who shared the fact that her home birth helped her to heal from past hurts and gave her a new focus and view as a woman and as a Mother.
Because I have also experienced the tremendous power that fills a womans heart when she thrusts off her abusive past and grasps her spiritual strength as a woman capable of birthing a child without anyone telling her how to do it, that portion of the movie also touched me deeply.
I particularly enjoyed meeting Debra Pascali-Bonaro, the director and producer of the film. And hearing the back story of how the film was produced and directed, as well as how it is currently being promoted. I took a couple of pictures with my digital camera.
Debra spent some quality time explaining why she chose the title that she did, and also shared how the film is being received by film festivals around the world. She will be on The View, 20/20, and Dr. Phil has been calling - so we should see some great birth information in the media over the next few months. I have no doubt that ACOG is freaking that yet another popular film is making its way around the globe and expect a full frontal assault from the pathetic losers who make up that organization. Debra shared the fact that the AMA has bumped the outlawing of home birth up to number two on their list of legislative goals.
Can anyone spell DESPERATION???
The most touching story that Debra shared was when she was talking about people who had been touched by the movie who were not a part of her original target audience. She said she made the film for young people; seniors in high school and college students. But when a obstetrician from South America asked to show the film at a medical conference for his colleagues she readily agreed to let him. He told her that when the movie was over the audience was silent, no applause...nothing. Then he turned up the lights and realized that the doctors were crying. He told her that they all felt a deep desire to normalize birth on a continent that has some of the highest c-section rates in the world.
I wonder if the bullies and assassins of the New World Order will let them try to change the birth machine with its various tentacles and webs of deceit and control infesting every corner of the globe. I guess if a whole group of doctors make the decision to dump the medical birth model, they can't kill/discredit/threaten all of them... can they???
After Deborah was finished with her presentation, Laura and I went up to talk to her. I took this picture of them meeting for the first time.
Then I handed the camera to Laura and she took a picture of Debra and I:
As we left the event, Lauren took a picture of Laura and I in the lobby:
Laura and I thought it was fun that the Business of Being Born came out on my 40th birthday and this movie was shown in our home town on her 51st birthday. It was fun to celebrate our birthdays with these two amazing and timely films. I look forward to many wonderful films in the future that will help educate and inspire the mothers and fathers who will be birthing the next few generations of babes during these perilous times when the power is so strongly grasped by those doctors who earn the money, reputations, and control off of the wombs of the innocent in our society.
It will be fun to watch that whole behemoth come crashing down as truth floods the earth.
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 8:22 AM
September 2, 2008
Belly Bliss: Orgasmic Birth Documentary Screening in Boulder Tomorow!
I'm planning to attend this screening with some friends tomorow! This is the information that will rock the medical establishment and turn the allopathic birth world upside down. It is time for the families of the world to understand the potential for birth to strengthen marriages, gently and happily welcome babies, and ecstatically reach our potential as sexual beings. I can't wait to see it!
Boulder Orgasmic Birth Screening
When: Wednesday September 3rd, 2008
Please join us for a pre-screening reception, doors open at 5:30pm.
Screening starts at 7:00pm and will be followed by a question and answer session with the filmmaker Debra Pascali-Bonaro.
Advanced ticket purchase is recommended as space is limited and this is sure to be a popular event.
$15 purchased in advance and $17 at the door the day of the event.
Nomad Theater
www.nomadstage.com
1410 Quince Ave
Boulder, Colorado 80306
Babies in arms or slings welcome.
“Debra Pascali-Bonaro (Director/Producer) is an internationally renowned childbirth expert, a 26-year speaker in childbirth education, and a Lamaze-certified veteran in maternity care with a passion for birth. Debra travels the world working to ensure women and their partners understand their rights related to the circumstances of giving birth. In the U.S. she teaches nursing, midwifery and medical students at University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University and New York University, has spoken about doula care at the White House, and been instrumental in the development of several hospitals and community-based doula programs.
Debra is Co-Chair of the International MotherBaby Childbirth Initiative, which works in collaboration with global leaders and groups to reduce maternal and infant mortality and improve care for mothers, babies, and families. She serves on the Board of Directors for Childbirth Connection, and is a DONA approved Doula Trainer. She has co-authored Nurturing Beginnings: Mother Love’s Guide to Postpartum Home Care for Doulas and Outreach Workers and received the Lamaze International Elizabeth Bing Award in 2002.” -www.orgasmicbirth.com
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 6:08 PM
August 2, 2008
Abbotsford, B.C. woman gives birth to 18th child
Abbotsford, B.C. woman gives birth to 18th child
Really sweet story.
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 5:22 AM
June 22, 2008
Jenny Hatch, My thoughts on Homebirth and the American Medical Associations "Model Legislation", which as far as I'm concerned they can write up, propose to congress, and then shove that legislation where the sun don't shine.
UPDATE:
Good Morning America posted the video and story that ran on sunday morning on their web site. Go check out this link to see the story. And the Comments.
Here is the comment I left on the site:
"PS: I don't have time to respond to any more comments by Dr. Tuteur."
It is my humble opinion that party pooper Dr. Amy Tutor, the bloggin' doc with a personality disorder and ax to grind against home birth, is a paid hack for pharmacuetical companies. As a blogging doctor she advocates a 39 week c-section as the best birth choice for babes and mothers. Anyone with half a brain knows that major surgery is far more risky for mom and babe than a natural vaginal birth.
And hey, she has the Big Pharma funded study to back up her claim - so you nasty, wasty home birthers just shut up, because nothing you will ever say will ever ever ever change her mind or get her to accept that family centered birth has anything at all, ever, to offer to a husband and wife relationship or help bond the family with the new child.
Only thing to do with someone like her is to blow her a big fat raspberry as you orgasmically push your baby out into his/her fathers hands. She is the killjoy of the homebirth movement. I debated her all last summer. But Dr. Crappen pulled the debate hosted on his blog.
The Salon debate was fun and my personal favorite, the unassisted childbirth debate hosted at the Washington Post.
What rockin good times we had last summer! She just magically appears any time someone mentions home birth on the internet.....What a busy beaver!
Check out this thread to see more about Dr. Amy!
Posted by:
JennyMHatch 8:25 PM
Lately Ben and I have been playing alot of Monopoly. He loves it and we have both enjoyed the leisure hours spent playing this fun Capitalistic board game.
These past few days I have been pondering the recent document TMZ published from the American Medical Association.
The OB's currently enjoy a near monopoly with birth in America. And the usual suspects are claiming that AMA resolution 205 on Home Deliveries statement is NOT a step towards criminalizing home birth. It says:
"RESOLVED, That our AMA develop model legislation in support of the concept that the safest setting for labor, delivery, and the immediate post-partum period is in the hospital, or a birthing center within a hospital complex, that meets standards jointly outlined by the AAP and ACOG, or in a freestanding birthing center that meets the standards of the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care, The Joint Commission, or the American Association of Birth Centers."
Now, I don't know what all of you think "model legislation" implys, but to me it leans towards outlawing or banning/criminalizing homebirth and homebirthing mothers.
Or making the rules of engagement so tightly conformed that only a woman between the ages of 34 and 35 who has already sucessfully given birth to four children vaginally in the hospital, who only gains 23 pounds during her pregnancy, who has an ambulance waiting in the driveway, who goes into labor at midnight at week 39 of gestation, and lives within four minutes of a NICU (with pre paid doctor standing by), and who pays out of pocket four thousand dollars to the MEDwife who has been trained, credentialed, and sanitized by the AMA, will be allowed to give birth at home.
So for the twelve women in America who meet the criteria outlined.....You Go GIRLS!!! Have your babies at home. The American Medical Association says you can if, and only IF you meet their "model legislation" rules of engagement.
The rest of us, who have previous c-section scars, who have bled out after a birth, who have been troubled with post partum emotional illness, and/or who dare to go past our due dates with a ten month gestator well, sorry Mama, you are NOT WORTHY to give birth at home, because we have RISKED YOU OUT!! Too bad...so sad. Now conform to our rules or we will take your baby away, lock you up in jail, and rip your family apart...because hey, we are the Gods of Modern Medicine and we know what is best for you and your family!!!
Barf!! Gag, Gag...
More bloggers weigh in on this topic:
Hatch Family one week after Benjamins Home Birth!
Jenny and Ben three hours after our Home Birth. I felt GREAT!!!
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 6:05 AM
June 3, 2008
Mothering Unassisted Childbirth
Here is a great birth story, shared on this thread at Mothering. Both the Mother and the Father wrote the birth story. And a beautiful gorgeous baby born safely at home has now arrived on Mother Earth!
After two beautiful boys, on May 9th, 2008 we welcomed our first daughter, Imogen Terra, to our family. This is her story told from both parents' points of view. Hope you enjoy it!
My Story:
On the morning of Thursday, May 8th I took the boys for a hike organized by our homeschooling playgroup at Peebles Island State Park. Both boys enjoyed the hike, but Riley (being not yet two) didn't quite understand the point of walking along the trail with everyone else, so I spent half of the time chasing and redirecting him and the other half with him on my back in a carrier.
I wasn't due until the following week (the 16th) and didn't really expect the baby for possibly another week or so after that, so I enjoyed our outing and despite a few jokes from fellow hikers about having the baby on the trail, thought nothing would come of it. That afternoon and evening I had another bout of worry about the impending birth and how unprepared I felt. I worked some more on getting the freezer stocked, organized the baby's things (again! hehe), and mowed the lawn (both front and back).
Andy and my father had spent the two previous weekends installing the kids' new swingset and in doing so had found some ticks... That was the only reason I mowed that lawn. I'm not generally one to care about how it looks but I didn't want to have to worry about stripping the kids and looking for ticks each night! In any case, the lawn got mowed and I slept like a rock. (In between hourly bathroom runs at least!)
Friday morning (the 9th) Jeanne (DS1's bio-dad's mother) picked up Gabe to spend the day and night at their house. She had been ill and hadn't seen him in a few weeks. Once he had gone, Riley and I headed out to Walmart to kill some time before my midwife appointment at 10:15. I wasn't feeling any more contractions than normal this morning, but I felt weaker and the baby felt heavier between my legs.
In hindsight, the baby had most likely dropped, but at the time I just attributed it to doing too much the previous day. I finished shopping, grabbed a few things to eat (junk - poptarts and cereal bars, but I was starving and knew we wouldn't be home for awhile), and made my way back to the van. It was too early to go to the appointment so we hung out there in the parking lot for a little while, eating and playing.
At my appointment, everything was well and the midwife wished me luck and said she'd see me in another week. I actually joked that I felt great and that I wouldn't be surprised if this little one stayed put for a few more weeks yet! Little did she (or I) know...
That afternoon I was grateful for the quiet house and napped with Riley. When he woke up and was fed, changed and playing in the living room, I crashed out on the couch again and dozed away the rest of the time until Andy got home. He said that he was glad I spent the day resting, but I was just so frustrated with myself for having all that time to get things done (because Gabe was at the Laiacona's) and doing NOTHING with it.
I was grumpy and disappointed and on top of that I kept obsessing over some stupid comment a nurse made at my appointment about my weight gain. Plus my stomach/intestines felt like crap. I hadn't had a BM in a couple of days and felt a bit ill because of it. We had some prune juice in the fridge (yuck!) so I drank a glass of that and took Riley up to put him to bed.
The room was hot and stuffy and Riley was nursing like crazy. I had my laptop on the bed in front of me but couldn't really focus on much of what I was reading because of the cramps I had started getting. They didn't feel like contractions, it was more just that I reaaallly needed to get to the toilet. It was sooo uncomfortable. Guess that prune juice was working... I gave Riley a minute warning to finish up.
A minute (or so) later he stood up, hugged and kissed me, and let me lay him down in his crib with his blanket, dummy, and what he calls his "boo-boo bear". I said good-night to him and left.
I spent a bunch of time on the toilet.. my body was cleaning itself out and yet I still didn't connect the dots and realize this could be labor, even though it's the exact same way that my labor with Riley started. One real contraction later and I suddenly realized... I still had my laptop with me, so I sent an instant message to Andy and told him that I was having contractions that *hurt*. This was 8pm.
I went downstairs and put my head on the back of his shoulder and told him I wasn't joking. At the time though, I still half thought it was just crappy intestinal issues and that they'd go away. Oh how I hoped they'd go away! I don't know if I cried or if I just felt like crying, but I wasn't ready for this and I wanted to beg someone, anyone, to give me just a little more time. My labors are fast and furious and I was scared. I don't know why I was scared, I wasn't with Riley... but maybe the memories of his birth were too clear in my head still.
His birth was wonderful, truly, but the intensity is something I hoped I wouldn't have to deal with again. I was hoping for a slightly longer, more mangable labor. Maybe contractions starting out at 5-6 minutes apart, so I could psyche myself up and prepare a bit for the next one. To be able to get used to the idea that THIS was it. As soon as this labor started though, I knew there wasn't much chance of that.
No sooner had I come down the stairs and told Andy I wasn't joking, I was struck by another contraction. Couldn't talk, couldn't breathe... I reminded myself of what I told myself over and over again during Riley's labor, which was to just breathe. I didn't have to do anything else, my body would do the work, all I had to do was keep breathing, in and out, in and out, and soon the contraction would be over.
And it was. But for so little time... I was so hot and sweaty, almost feverish feeling really. I spent the next few contractions moving back and forth from the downstairs toilet (still had crampy, awful diarrhea) to the kitchen table, where I'd lay my head on the table and Andy would put cold washcloths on my arms and neck. I heard him say something about gathering towels together and all I could think of was that I was sick, not in labor and that we didn't need towels, I just needed my stupid bowels to stop being a pain! Of course I knew that it was labor though, even if I couldn't admit it to myself yet...
During a break between contractions Andy took the opportunity of asking if he could take one last set of belly photos. We hadn't taken as many this pregnancy as we meant to and we'd regret it if we never got pictures of me right at the end... I was annoyed, but he was right and so I said yes. He was able to take about two shots before another contraction hit and I told him to put it away.
I tried to lay on the couch, but was still feeling hot, so I took my sweatpants off and laid there through one contraction. Ouch, laying there was not helping! I wanted to crawl out of my skin. I think I told Andy to go start the tub. I can't remember the timeline exactly, but I remember being worried about it waking Riley up so it can't have been too much later yet.
I got in the tub when it was half filled, asked Andy to turn the lights off (the hallway light was enough), and turned the temperature up. I wanted it hotter. I wanted to feel that sensation that you feel on your skin and through your body when you first step into a hot bath. This was very helpful to me in my last labor, the hot water and the ice cold washcloths that Andy laid on my skin... The differences in temperature gave me something to focus on besides the pain of the contractions.
For now though, I was alone, waiting for that tub to fill up and bring the relief that I so desperately needed. I think Andy was in the other room, setting up the bed with plastic sheets and things. For the moment I was okay... I lay on my side in that too-small tub and rested my head on the edge. I buried my face in my arms and breathed through the contractions, faster and faster as they peaked, and slower as they died away. I willed myself not to panic, not to let them overwhelm me. I imagined them as waves or hills, where all I had to do was get to the top and then coast down easily on the other side. But soon the hills were going on forever and the road down was bumpy and the spaces in between were barely long enough to catch my breath let alone regroup and gather strength for the next hill.
I needed my husband there with me. The water wasn't helping like it had before and I wanted nothing more than a break. Just a few minutes, please, to rest... Instead they came faster. I stood up, put my arms around Andy's neck and hung from him there in that tiny bathroom. I clung to him, desperate for his touch and his words in my ear.
He felt so strong and I felt so weak... I was angry with myself for not handling this labor well. I tried the tub again and was barely able to get myself into it before I had to jump up and into his arms again. Nothing was working and there was panic in my stomach. It had only just begun, how could I do this for hours longer? Riley's labor was fast, but this one might not be, it could be all night... I could feel something hard and smooth inside, which I imagined might be the head but it seemed so soon.
I thought vaguely that we should call Kerry (a very good friend that had been present for the birth of my second son)... I had wanted her here, I knew her support and confidence would help Andy and I both and I knew she would be disappointed at missing the birth, but in the heat of the moment it just felt like too much. I'm not sure how to put it into words though... Too much what? It would've only taken Andy 30 seconds to call so not certainly not time. Maybe it was the too-small bathroom making me feel slightly claustrophobic. There wasn't enough room physically and there wasn't enough space in my head to think about another person being there, as much as I love her presence. It felt like a dance between Andy and I and this new person kicking and squirming away in the middle as we swayed back and forth.
I have no timeline to reference these events by... Andy asked at one point about how exactly to time contractions and I yelled at him I made him turn the clocks around and promise not to mention the time to me. I didn't want to know how long I had been in labor for, or conversely, how short I had been in labor for (when it felt like it had been going on forever!). At some point I made my way into the bedroom, which was a welcoming change of scenery from the hard tile and whiteness of the bathroom.
The bed was made with a shower curtain, sheets, towels and pillows. The floor had another plastic sheet on it and the fan was blowing on the far side of the room. It was dark and cool and perfect. I spent a few contractions trying to find my groove... Kneeling next to the bed didn't work. My belly was so heavy and felt as if it was being dragged to the ground with each contraction. I sat, I squatted, I laid on the bed... Eventually I was back in Andy's arms during the contractions. I felt safe there, even if the pain was no less. I wish I could be one of those women that describes contractions as "squeezes" or "hugs" or "rushes". But to me it was pain. It was purposeful pain and I knew it would end, but no amount of visualizing it as anything else made a difference.
Andy turned the desktop computer on and loaded up iTunes. I hadn't gotten around to making a playlist for birth yet (darn it!) so I told him the first band name that came to mind (The Cranberries) when he asked what I wanted to listen to. After that was Dido, which played until the birth, but I really don't remember hearing it at all while I labored.
Perhaps it did help though, subconsciously, because I soon found myself feeling more in control and centered. In between contractions I laid on my side in our bed with my eyes closed, feeling the breeze from the fan on my skin and almost falling asleep. I felt like I was in a trance, for lack of a better word... I remember Andy trying to talk to me and I was annoyed that he was breaking into that moment or two of peace which was so fleeting.
I wasn't coherent enough to explain though... women in labor rarely are! During contractions I would jump out of bed (or cry for Andy to help me up) and throw my arms around his neck, breathing and swaying through them. During some I stayed on my side in the bed, forcing myself to be still and let them come and pass without moving or changing position. The contraction itself would often be harder to work through in this way, but I could fall back into that trance so much faster afterward that it was worth it sometimes...
After laboring this way for awhile I realized that I could bear down a little bit while I was standing up and it lessened the pain some. I didn't quite have a pushing "urge" yet so I was hesitant to do that, but any relief was welcome relief so I went with it!
I felt inside and felt that hard, smooth lump which made me realize how close we were. A few contractions later the head was right there and I knew it was time. I knelt on the bed and felt that little head at the opening of my vagina.
The contractions were real pushing contractions now, the sort that make you want to hold on to something when they rush through your body. I pushed on my hands and knees on the bed, but felt shaky and exhausted and out of touch with what was happening down below.
It didn't feel right. I tried laying on my side, which was okay for one contraction but soon that wasn't "right" either. I flipped back over to my hands and knees, pillows piled up under my top half to support myself. I was so tired and cried to Andy that I couldn't do this, it was too hard. I couldn't believe that this child was so close to being in my arms and at the same time there was this impossibly high wall between us that I had to scale...
I wasn't scared of the pain of the actual birth, but of the intensity! I felt the head come out further and further with each contraction, but in between it would slip all the way back inside. I held my hand over it, feeling my skin slip to the side and stretch each time as it came closer and closer.
It's so hard to put into words the feeling of your child working their way out of your body... I felt that head grow larger in my hand, a wet and and slippery ball, the sac still intact. It was magic really, bearing down and feeling this whole person come into being. I felt the sac burst as my body pushed fiercely one last time and our baby flew out into Andy's waiting hands. Whee! It was 11:15pm after just over three hours of labor.
The baby screamed immediately, Andy said "girl" (and maybe something else, but all I heard was girl!) and I flipped myself over the cord and sat down to see. And there she was! Pink, covered in thick vernix, and screaming away.
I held her to my chest and tried to get her to nurse but she was just too busy complaining about the world. I think I complained about the music being on... what may have been helpful during labor was making it hard to hear my baby girl! Andy turned that off and took some pictures and video.
I meant to have him record the actual birth, but with us not expecting her for another couple of weeks we hadn't really discussed the specifics yet and he didn't want to ask while I was pushing for fear of making me angry (um yeah, apparently I'm a bit grouchy in labor!). Oh well.
After a few minutes of oohing and aahing we headed to the bathroom so I could deliver the placenta, which pretty much just fell out onto the toilet as soon as I sat down, oops! I went placenta-fishing with one hand while I held the baby in the other. Placenta went into a plastic bowl, which I put next to us on the edge of the tub. She nursed a little bit there on the toilet, but still didn't seem too interested, so I asked Andy to get the scissors and string so we could cut the cord. I would've waited longer, but the cord was tangled up in towels and I wanted nothing more than to get back in bed with her, sans placenta, and snuggle!
The scissors had been in boiling water, but not for quite enough time, so he wiped them down with some alcohol, tied the cord with embroidery floss (from Kerry) that I had braided, and cut it. I felt shaky and a bit cold, so I climbed back into bed (sat on a pile of towels, good thing most of ours are dark red to begin with!) and Andy covered us with blankets.
He set to work cleaning up the mess (lots of blood because of my back and forth to the bathroom, but I wasn't worried as it was similar to my other two births) while I snuggled in bed with the baby, eating a bit and drinking some juice. After awhile I took a shower and came back to a nice, clean bed. Love my hubby
I wanted SO badly to call everyone up and spread the news (I did it! I did it!) but we figured the best thing to do would be to wait a few hours (it was already 2am) to make sure my bleeding had slowed down and that everyone was well We did call Andy's parents and let them know, since it was morning in England already. I tried to sleep, but didn't have much luck... How can you sleep after a night like that? It was an amazing birth. Incredibly difficult in so many ways as well... but still so, so amazing.
Riley met his sister when he woke up that next morning at about 6:30. "Baby! Baby! Baby!" was all we could get out of him. He wants to cover her with hugs and kisses, though I think he's a bit jealous as well... Mama is making him share his na-nas! Since Gabe had spent the night at his grandma's house, he didn't get to meet her until he came home at 9am and boy was he surprised! When Jeanne picked him up the day before I had just finished telling her how I wasn't due for another week and then here I was this morning holding his baby sister!
One of the benefits of a homebirth was that we could wait until we were sure of a name before we gave it to her (even if the relatives weren't too thrilled with that, hehe). We spent the next day getting aquainted and then on Sunday, May 11th (Mother's Day) we named her. Welcome to the world, Imogen Terra!
Andy's Story:
On Friday May 9th 2008 I was working a little late on a server backup unit that had a tape stuck in the drive. I never fixed it but decided instead to head home at 6pm. I found out when I got home that my eldest, Gabe (6), was spending the night with his grandparents. Alyssa, Riley (1) and I had something to eat, relaxed and chatted for a bit, then I got Riley ready for bed. Alyssa took over and spent a short amount of time in his room. At about 8pm she started having contractions. At 8:18pm she IM'd me that she had "been having contractions that hurt tonight... alot.". My immediate reaction was "get the towels ready".
Soon after that she came downstairs, hoping that Riley would finish the nightly ritual of going to sleep by himself. She complained more about the pains, and I put my laptop down, closing the chapter on some network simulation training program I had been playing with.
I started looking around for clean towels and began to put a pile together, and at the same time moving things around off the floor, doing a rudimentary tidy-up of the house. A thought struck me that we had not taken pictures of her belly in some time, as our plans of doing so on a regular basis were always something that could be done the next day.
Out came the camera and some hastily taken pictures recorded a 39 week old bump protruding from her abdomen. The final picture spoke a thousand words as she turned away, feeling the onset of the next contraction. One thing that is not often mentioned but should be is that a laboring woman has a tendency to clear out her bowels early on in the process. Well she had started this soon after leaving Riley. It took both the upstairs and the downstairs bathroom to cope with the onslaught.
Alyssa began working through the labor pains first believing that she was just dealing with some nasty Braxton-Hicks and that they would soon subside. We tried in vain to get some quick easy-listening music on the computer. Remembering how much she wanted ice-water on her skin for Riley's labor, I filled up the ice-cube tray with fresh water and slid it into the freezer. Eventually we worked our way upstairs and into the bathtub filled with fresh hot water where she labored further while I kept her cooled with cold water washcloths.
During the breaks between the contractions, I managed to get a fair amount of preparation done... My cellphone went on charge, I unlocked the front door, began boiling water, unloaded the birth kit that Alyssa had meticulously prepared just recently. Vinyl shower curtains were laid across our bed covered by sheets and towels. The floor between the upstairs bathroom and our bedroom was covered with towels and the waterproof bed covers from Gabe's bed. Fruit drinks went into the fridge ready to keep the mama hydrated and cooled.
The contractions proved to be a more painful challenge to work through than she had hoped for, and I was there for her to lean on literally as she got out of the tub for several of them. I tried to keep an eye on the times of the contractions but was surely scolded for it.
Our little Riley in his bedroom nearby must have been in a very deep sleep as we heard nothing from him throughout the whole labor. I talked Alyssa through a number of the contractions and was ordered to hold my tongue through several others. Light massages and rubs also helped, but my failure to pay attention during telepathy classes proved to be a regretful decision as the target area of skin to be touched was always a moving one. Along the way she managed to feel what was believed and in a way hoped to be the head of our unborn infant. Her water had not yet broken. Remember the bathroom trips earlier? Well, my dear wife was not yet done. She had made her first delivery of the night, it was tiny, but I'm still glad it wasn't twins.
At some point we moved to our bedroom for a change of scenery. Not a minute had gone by before the clock in our room was dismissed. My trusty wristwatch continued to clue me in however. Alyssa spent a fair amount of time on her side wishing that she would be given a break at some point to recover between contractions. No such luck I'm afraid. She moved her body through a number of different positions to attain an optimum comfort level, relatively speaking. More boiling of water on each trip downstairs. I hated stairs that day.
Encouraging words and sometimes silence held her through the tough pains which were several minutes apart. The desktop computer upstairs in our room was given permission to play song after song to provide a relaxing atmosphere. iTunes chose to ignore my pleas to play music, but knew better than to mess with the pregnant lady and soon began to churn out the goods.
Having been out of the tub for a while, I innocently suggested that I would empty the water out because it had gone cold. (I dare not just empty the water without gaining express permission first, lest my unborn child never know it's father). I also knew better than to say that there was something still floating in the tub, staring me down every time I went in, and that I wanted to show it who was the boss by sending it down the drain. Soon after that I filled it back up with fresh clean hot water at m'lady's request ready for a second dip that never happened.
I told Alyssa that this baby is coming out soon but the only thing that we don't know is whether she was have a May 9th or May 10th birthdate. Sometime before 11pm I saw for the first time what appeared to be the head of our child getting ready to make an entrance into the world, still enclosed in the amniotic sac. The immediately brought back memories of when Riley was born almost 2 years prior, although he came out with his arm held high next to his head. Alyssa continue to labor, listening to her body, feeling our baby still moving inside of her. Still several more contractions went by with the head appearing and disappearing in anticipation.
At 11:15pm with Alyssa on her hands and knees (an excellent position for giving birth), her waters broke and I immediately reached out and received into my hands the youngest child on the planet. And probably the noisiest too! She came out screaming from the first moment, wanting to make sure everyone knew she had been born. Alyssa turned around carefully and lifted her leg over the umbilical cord then sat down to take the newborn from me to be wrapped and held. We both looked together and put to rest our 39 week wait to find out if we were going to have a son or a daughter. We were absolutely delighted to see we now had our first daughter!
With the music still playing, Alyssa immediately ordered it off. This presented a minor problem - my hands were covered with amniotic fluid, blood and thick vernix. Yet who am I to argue with a mother of a newborn. I pressed the back of my hand against the power button of the computer and let it shut itself down.
The next demand was for a towel - easy enough, but this was followed by instructions for photographs. I rushed to the bathroom and furiously began to clean off my hands, but struggled against the magic that is vernix, making a mental note to market the substance as an industrial lubricant. Returning with the camera I began recording the first few moments of her life, noting the date and time.
I snapped off a few pictures but tailed off after noticing that my new daughter preferred not to have to deal with flash photography so young in her career. After some time (perhaps 45 minutes or so) she began to understand that her mama's nipple fits perfectly into her mouth and started to feed.
Now I could end here and if you're squeamish you may want to as well, but there's more to being born than traversing the birth canal. The cleanup operation soon sprang into action as Alyssa still had a placenta inside of her and attached to it a very startled crying infant.
Alyssa moved to the bathroom as I prepared the boiled scissors and the braided string for tying the umbilical cord. Our attempt to catch the placenta was interrupted by a significant splash as it landed into the toilet (freshly flushed!). Alyssa quickly retrieved it on her third attempt and we deposited it into a container safe in the knowledge that it was no longer delivering blood to our still-attached youngster.
The braid was tied around the cord and knotted tightly. Gingerly taking the hot scissors from the pot I cut the cord close to the braid and my little girl was immediately peppered with a slight splash of blood from the cord, which was perfectly okay. We inspected the placenta briefly before putting it to one side to continue the clean-up. Large clots of blood were left on the towels on the bed, so all of the sheets and towels were dumped into the bath and left to soak.
I made up our bed again using a second fresh vinyl shower curtain and clean towels so that Alyssa could return to rest with our baby. Once she was back in bed I continued the clean-up of the bathroom (but not before shooting a short murder scene horror skit with our camera), and found her a blanket to put around her as she was now shivering (quite common for women after delivering as their bodies internal temperate gauge resets). The sheets made it into the washing machine. I l moved the clots by hand into the toilet (they had a jelly-like feel).
Later on we made the decision to call my parents in England as it was getting close to daylight time there. I'm not sure how well they slept after the 20 minute phone call ended, but they were definitely glad to be woken.
We didn't have a name for our newest family addition straight away despite having discussed names over the past 9 months. Inquiries from friends and family met with a resolute blank from us both as we were so unsure ourselves of what names we liked and didn't like. We were also having to decide on a boy's first and middle name as well as a girl's.
Two days after birth it was Mother's day in the US. We put ink onto each of the kid's left feet - Green for Gabe, Blue for Riley, Red for the new baby. We created a sheet of paper with their footprints on it and wrote to Alyssa's mother - Happy Mother's Day with love from Gabe, Riley and Imogen. This was what we presented to her as a way of allowing her to be the first to find out. Later that day we had settled on her middle name - Terra. From the Latin to mean Earth. Of course, this meant calling around several relatives three times over, but nobody had a cross word for us over hearing her name!
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 5:33 PM
May 19, 2008
Wonderful Homebirth
I just found this great video on Spirit Led Birth Blog:
After a bad experience with the hospital birth of our first daughter, we decided we would never again go to the hospital to have a baby. This is the birth experience of our second daughter, born at home, in water. I loved it! It was an absolutely amazing and beautiful experience!
Great Birth - H/T to Susana Baig
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 7:17 PM
May 7, 2008
The Business of Being Born is now out on DVD!!!
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 8:59 AM
April 10, 2008
Spirit Led Birth: Birth Nudity
Susana has some "Politically Incorrect" views on Birthing Nudity.
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 6:31 AM
April 2, 2008
Epidurals???
Funny article out of the UK about Epidurals.
Rixa has a great round up on her blog.
The funniest line from the piece was this one from the doctor:
“Natural childbirth has become a multimillion-dollar industry. The fear of epidurals is promoted by those who discourage their use - and who have a vested interest in doing so."
The people who administer epidurals are some of the wealthiest people on the planet.
The one epidural doc (Anesthesiologist) I know in person lives in a two million dollar home, owns several vacation properties, and he and his wife are always on the go to luxury resorts and on expensive vacations, and drive the best cars money can buy.
During the eight years I taught the Bradley Method in my home, I put almost every dollar I made back into my business by using my income of $200.00 per couple per 12 class series (Please note that is approx $16 per class per couple) to purchase my lending library of books, videos, and the free materials handed out in class, which included a sixteen dollar student workbook and a folder stuffed with reprints.
I never taught a class larger than four couples, and always prepared home made snacks for class (Muffins, fruit, cheese) to illustrate the importance of good nutrition, and did not charge for the food.
I did not charge a penny for attending a birth as Birth Attendent/Doula. I always thought of my "help" during labor as a service of love, and although I attended many births, I could never bring myself to ask for money for birth work beyond my class. It was too sacred.
I never saw a doctor, nurse, or anesthesiologist give a woman in labor a three or eight hour massage, yet I did both for my best friend Susana and my sister Cathy, again not paid a dollar for this work. Both women were small body types who had large posterior boys and I know both would have prob used epidurals if I had not been available to administer the massage.
So who exactly is making money off natural birth?
For me the eight years I spent teaching was done out of sheer love of the topic. Many times I taught couples one on one in their home or mine, and I allowed several couples who were struggling financially to take the class for free, did not even ask them to pay for the class materials.
Since moving all of my childbirth outreach onto the web in the late 90's, I have not made any money from my writings, videos or this blog. My husband has completely supported me financially while engaging in this "hobby" of birth activism.
During the month of January I had 600 people download my three books for free. Did not make one dollar. (What happens is one person will purchase the e-book and then share it freely with friends and email lists), and so because I have no firewall to protect me from free downloads, I consistently lose gobs of money from these internet efforts.
Not complaining, I'm just curious who the doctor is talking about. The promotion of natural childbirth in an epidural world has not brought anyone I personally know financial independence. So, yes Dr. Grant, I have issues with your claims that we are all doing this work for financial gain.
Enjoy your labor: A new approach to pain relief for childbirth, by Dr Gilbert Grant, director of obstetric anaesthesia at New York University Medical Center
Dr. Grant may not think of himself as a high class drug pusher, but that is what he is.
My advice as a natural childbirth teacher has always been thus:
The number one reason to avoid epidural anesthesia...
You can't kick your doctor in the head when he or she attempts to give you an episiotomy.
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 7:06 AM
March 29, 2008
Freebirth: A Message to Obstetricians from Jenny Hatch, "Physician Heal THYSELF!!"
This video is hosted on My Share Page at One True Media
In the past few months four obstetrics societies have made public statements about Unassisted Childbirth.
The Canadian Doctors (SOGC):
The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC)
The Australian and New Zealand Doctors:
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
The Royal College (RCOG) in the UK:
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG)
And in a recent article in the Denver Westword Newspaper (I was interviewed for this story)
A Spokesperson for ACOG (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists) claimed freebirth was "dangerous".
Childbirth goes solo.
By Jared Jacang Maher
Published: May 10, 2007
"According to the guidelines of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the organization "strongly opposes" any birth not performed inside a hospital. A spokesman for the ACOG has a one-word assessment of freebirth: "dangerous."
I have just one message for these doctors, and it is this:
"The moral of the proverb is counsel to prove your trustworthiness with your own affairs before attempting to tell others what they should do."
Break out of the Matrix!
When the various obstetrics societies PROVE that they have the will to reform themselves internally by setting up standards of care that are more about the mother and the baby than they are about the doctor and staff at the hospital, then I will feel more open about listening to any edicts they have about my lifestyle.
Hey Doctors: why don't you set some goals....
1. No inductions before 41 weeks
2. 10% C-section rate
3. No elective C-sections
4. Full acceptance of Lay and Nurse Midwifery both in the home and at the hospital
5. A Complete and total acceptance of VBAC (Vaginal Birth after Cesarean)
6. A willingness to embrace proper prenatal nutrition as the foundation for a healthy pregnancy as outlined by the Brewer Pregnancy Diet
When society stops locking up our midwives for bogus reasons, embrace and promote natural mothering as the IDEAL for a new baby (Natural Childbirth, Attachment Parenting, and Long Term Ecological Breastfeeding), then I will believe you have found your soul as doctors.
Until then? Well, I am going to continue promoting freebirth and encouraging families to break away from your way of giving birth, because frankly, the way you do it stinks.
Lamaze International has a white paper on Elective cesarean Vs. Vaginal Birth (PDF)
American College of Nurse Midwives:
RISKS OF CESAREAN DELIVERY ARE UNDERREPORTED,
BENEFITS OVERSTATED
Media Briefing Highlights Concerns In Advance of NIH Conference
QUOTE:
"Only women themselves can tell us if they are actually demanding cesarean section surgery. With what we are learning from Childbirth Connection today, we now know that women VERY rarely schedule first cesareans by choice without a medical reason," says Susan Hodges, president of Citizens for Midwifery. "Only women can tell us what kind of informed consent process was provided to them. Citizens for Midwifery believes that women are not being given adequate and unbiased information about all the risks and benefits of cesarean sections. Research is needed to understand who and what are now influencing decisions to perform major abdominal surgery 'for no medical reason' despite substantial evidence that all cesareans increase harmful risks for mothers and babies."
Free yourself from the Matrix~!
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 2:35 PM
March 25, 2008
Another great spiritual post at Susanas Blog, Spirit Led Birth
Posted by Jenny Hatch at 7:29 AM
March 7, 2008
Wither the Doula?
Jenny Hatch: Aunt and Doula to my nephew Jonah a few hours after he was born. I had just given him a massage!
This article in the New York Times really dissed the whole idea of hiring a doula, so I thought I would chime in with a Defense of the Doula.
QUOTE:
"Then “she urged my husband and me to take a shower to ease the pain,” Ms. Myers said. “I told her I didn’t want to, but she was adamant.”
Dripping wet, freezing and in bone-shattering pain, Ms. Myers said she seethed in silence. When she ultimately chose an epidural, her doula walked out. “She was so set on my having a natural birth, she offended me, she offended the nursing staff, she offended my O.B.,” Ms. Myers said.
In an era of nurse shortages and high Caesarean rates, doulas and lactation consultants can be godsends for many women. Indeed, multiple studies show that a doula’s presence during childbirth leads to shorter labor, less medical intervention and a happier experience."
"But the increased popularity of doulas and lactation consultants has also led to more conflict — not only with parents but doctors and nurses as well."
Conflict with doctors and nurses....hmmmmm... seems like this is the big issue....
As well it should be. When doulas cut down on epidural use, interventions, and overall use of medicine and surgery during birth, the financial bottom line is being affected. A single mother all alone is so easy to manipulate into interventions, and a Mom with an uneducated husband or boyfriend who just wants his sweetheart to make it out alive is especially easy to bully into the OR.
This montage is also hosted on My Share Page at One True Media
But a determined mother who has a trained and educated doula by her side, well that is another matter completely. During transition when the mother may experience the self doubt sign post, a doula could convince her to hold on during the most mismanaged part of hospital labor, and then SHE MIGHT OPT FOR A NATURAL BIRTH!!!
How dare she do that? What about all of the anesthesiologists? They need to have something to do, and what about all those NICU nurses and doctors just waiting for that druggy blue baby to show up so they can resuscitate it. I mean, really, how dare this mother deprive the Birth Machine of all of its various parts?
And the doula? Well, How DARE those undereducated doulas question current medical dogma and practice around birth??? Those people are BAAAADDDD, bad, bad ,bad. Showing mother how to birth naturally and without drugs, helping her with massage and hot water and warm compresses to ease the discomfort of labor. Don't they know that a whole team of PROFESSIONALS is just waiting to jump in with lots of drugs, machines, and surgery to help the mother and the child be cut away from each other during the labor???
Don't they know that if the mother gives birth naturally, someone might not be able to make a payment on their porche, private plane, ski boat, or take that planned trip to the cayman islands?
hmmmpf.
I would like to share my own experience with doulas, both the various doulas at my five births and some of the births I have attended as a doula at the births of family members, friends, and people who took my childbirth class.
First Birth (Michelle 1988)
For my first birth I asked my mother to help me through the self doubt period of labor. It was funny because I had only been exposed to the Bradley Method for three weeks before my oldest child was born. I read The Rosegg Book three times in those weeks, and asked my mother to also read it. She did, and before labor really kicked in, I asked her to remind me that I wanted a natural birth if I experienced the self doubt sign post.
This is the point in labor when the birthing mother looks at anyone around her and says "I just can't do it any more".
Naturally trained mothers understand that this emotional signpost is really the final moment of transition, and is the marker for the birth team to know that pushing is just around the corner, usually within minutes of the mother experiencing this emotion, she will likely be pushing the baby out.
Yet in the hospital it is the most fumbled portion of labor for those uneducated about natural birth because it is the time when Mom asks for pain relief and the husband or other person around her calls the nurses for the drugs.
During Michelles labor I looked at my mother and said those magical words, "I just can't do it anymore", and she looked me right in the eye, and said "self doubt sign post! You, my dear are going to be pushing in a minute!" And I was!
I had completely forgotten about it during the intensity of my labor. Yet her response was truly my ticket to a natural birth. I pushed for two additional hours but was able to achieve a natural, spontaneous, undrugged birth with no episiotomy in a Detroit Hospital that at the time had a 50% C-section rate. This hospital was the regional high risk center for all of the area, so they did a huge number of sections.
My mother then welcomed Paul, Shelly and I into her home for NINE DAYS of the most amazing care. I literally did nothing but nurse the baby, eat, and sleep while she cared for me. I will never forget those wonderful days of new motherhood under the watchful and nurturing eyes of my own Mom. What a gift, and yes, she was the best doula anyone could ask for. I felt so great when we went home on day ten that I sang in the Christmas Concert for the Detroit Mormon Concert Choir that Paul and I were performing with at the time.
Second Birth: (Allison 1992)
My mother flew out from Michigan to Colorado a week before Allison was born. I was 41 weeks and we figured Ally would be born soon. Because I experienced a Post Partum Psychosis six weeks after the birth of Michelle, my Mom really wanted to be available to help and ended up staying with us for three weeks.
I labored at home for twenty hours and then went to the hospital where after three additional hours of fighting with my doctor and the staff, I made the decision to have a c-section because Allison was breech.
My husband and my mother helped me in the hospital with constant care and support for four days. My room had a little Daddy bed in it and they took turns staying the night with me during those intense early days after surgery. I believe every mother should have constant family support and help as I did after a c-section. It made my recovery so much easier to have that help.
I did not have a psychosis after the birth, but I did have several panic attacks and night sweats that just soaked my bed and freaked me out once I arrived home. It was so helpful to have my Mom in the next room. She was able to help me during the night, when I was in so much belly pain.
The most challenging part of that birth was walking up to our third floor apartment after four days in the hospital. No elevator. Bitter cold january in Colorado, and I had just had all my belly muscles cut apart. As I took each step up those stairs, the pain just multiplied, and by the end Paul was picking up my foot and lifting it for me up to the next step. My mother was waiting with the baby and my little three year old Michelle. (Paul had run Allison up to my mom when we arrived home). Mom had baked whole wheat bread and had a pot of pinto beans on the stove all ready for me to eat. I remember eating her lovingly cooked food and feeling this blast of energy and renewal flow into my body after climbing those stairs.
My Mother stayed with us for two full weeks after the surgery and it was so helpful to have her with me. She had experienced a hysterectomy just a few years before and knew how it felt to recover from abdominal surgery. When she left Paul stayed home for a week from work to help, and the 4th week his parents came to visit for a week to help and be present at Allisons Baby blessing at church.
Overall my c-section was made so much better by having my Mother with me as master live in doula. I had no post partum infections and was able to breastfeed my daughter with no formula supplementation. I believe prevention of infection and the breastmilk flowing were directly related to the tender care of my family during those important weeks after the birth.
Birth #3: (Jeffrey 1994)
Jeffs birth was my hospital VBAC (Vaginal Birth after Cesarean)
I really went all out in my birth plans and prep for this labor. I was so determined to have a natural vaginal birth, that nothing was going to stand in my way.
We took a sibling prep class at the hospital to prepare the girls for his birth. Because I was teaching childbirth all along, my girls had been exposed to lots of birth videos while I taught in our home, but they loved going to the little hospital class and learning all about where babies come from. Allison was only two, and Michelle was five, but we planned for and hoped to have both of them at the birth to meet their new brother.
So I had this on my mind all during my pregnancy as well as my goal to have a vbac.
Here is the video of the moments after Jeffs Birth:
My mother did not fly out for this birth. I asked friends to help me with all of the labor stuff and we literally had an army of mormon women who were available for child care and whatever we needed. I had asked my friends Kinde and Sherri to do one on one with the girls, meaning they were in charge of the children and if the birth was too much for them to handle, I wanted my friends to be ready to take my girls out if need be.
Sherri and her husband Pete were our "doulas" during this birth. They also had a friend Sue, who was willing to be at home with all of the children and she was so helpful the night of Jeff's labor as all four adults were at the hospital all night long.
Before we checked into the hospital, we had several bouts of false labor that resulted in me calling in the whole birth team. It was very embarassing to call everyone, have them show up and take the kids, and then have everything stop a few hours later. This was one of the reasons Unassisted Birth was so desireable for my next two births.
When I had dozens and dozens of pre labor moments during Andy and Bens pregnancies, rather than overreact and call in the reserves, I just labored and contracted alone for a couple hours and when it fizzled out, no big deal, and no one elses time was wasted. (Laura Shanley did come over to witness the birth during one of my false labor moments and spent several hours with my kids at the park and with me as I contracted and contracted during Andys pregnancy, and when it fizzled out I felt really sorry that she had taken the time to come over, just to have everything stop.)
When I finally went into a labor that never stopped and kept me awake during contractions, it ended up being three full days of contractions every five minutes. This was the crucial part for our labor support. Sherri took care of the girls for all of those days of labor. She just kept them at her house while Paul and I labored and labored and labored. It just never stopped. We had done all sorts of "natural" things to get my contractions going as I was supposedly 42 weeks with an eight pound boy and my doctor had scheduled an induction on a monday morning at ten AM.
I called a local midwife to get tips to kick my labor in and she said that if the baby was ready having sex three times in 12 hours was a sure way to get things going. We tried it and yes it really did work better than a pitocin or cytotec induction, as Jeff was born, as so many children are, at exactly ten AM on that monday morning. It felt like he waited in my womb until the absolute last second before I was supposed to be induced, and then came out. I have since read many birth stories of babies who were born at that same time, when the induction was scheduled to be done. They know they don't want those nasty drugs and so they come barreling out before the torture begins.
I don't know what we did to deserve such great friends, but I kid you not, after watching our daughters for those three days, Sherri and Pete came to the hospital late on sunday night and stayed with us all through the night and for a few minutes after the birth. Pete brought his camera and asked me if I wanted the birth on tape. I had asked him to bring it so we could catch the girls meeting their new brother, but when he asked to tape the birth, I said "SURE!"
This is the only birth I have on video and it grows more precious as the years go by.
How important was our friends/doulas to my goal of having a VBAC? It was crucial. Knowing that my girls were in a safe place, knowing that I had all of this emotional, physical, and spiritual help in the form of my mormon community, who jumped in with food, child care, labor support, a baby shower, and tons of help after we arrived home - home cleaning, meals, and just joy and revelry that a child had been born. It was awesome to have our community of friends join our family in this work.
And it is one of the main reasons I believe every young family should join a religious group or some other circle of friends if you are removed from extended family support and have several older children who will need care during the birth of an additional child. It brings so much peace of mind to the laboring mother if she knows her children are being well cared for while she does the work of birthing the next baby. I have tended older siblings many times during births for my friends and it has been joyful to be the one to bring the big brothers and sisters to the hospital to meet the new baby.
While I was pushing Jeff out on monday morning, Paul called our friend Kinde, who had been assigned to take care of Allison during the birth, and asked her if she could pick up Shelly and Allison at Sherris house and bring them over to the hospital as we thought the baby would be born soon. Shelly told her that she did not want to see "all of that fluid" come out when the baby was born, so she opted to stay out in the childrens waiting room until Jeff was born.
Allison however, wanted to see Mom and the baby, and so she was present at the birth. She came in literally as Jeff was emerging from my body. A few minutes after I breastfed Jeff, she jumped up on the birthing bed and had some nursies too. The hospital staff was very curious about my plans to tandem breastfeed those two together, which I did for two and a half years.
I stayed in the hospital for a night and then came home to a wonderful meal cooked again by Sherri, and lots of tender nurture from my husband Paul.
4th Birth: (Andrew 1996)
Shortly after Jeffs birth I made the decision to go solo. In everything. While I was grateful for all of the wonderful help during Jeffs birth and the fact that I gave birth naturally and had a successful VBAC, I was very angry that all of that pressure to birth him early was put on me by the rules and protocols of current medical dogma.
I had been breastfeeding Allison when Jeff was conceived and did not know my conception date. When he was born the neonatologist called out his gestational age as 37 weeks. So, we were operating under the assumption that Jeff was post due, when in fact he was born a month early. After a three day "naturally" induced labor, three hours of transition, and four hours of pushing, needless to say I was angry that I had been so pressured to get him out of my womb early just because the doctors are so afraid of a post dates babe. I feel confident that Jeff could have safely been born a month later with less tension and mental torture if I had had the confidence to wait for his labor to kick in without some crazy deadline.
When he was born about twenty people were in the delivery room, and I felt completely exposed, somewhat beat up by the staff as I clawed my way to a vaginal birth (I fired my doctor during labor), and really questioned all of the effort I had to put out in order to birth the way I wanted. I had been studying as much home birth information as I could get my hands on, and after reading Laura Shanleys book Unassisted Childbirth, I decided that this time I wanted to do it all myself. My own prenatal care, my own birth, and just take care of myself post partum. I made no plans with friends or family to attend the birth, and had no doula, backup plan beyond the ER, and like the little red hen that I am "just did it all myself".
Dr. Amy just did a post on personal responsibility on her blog and it really put my panties in a wad. She said:
"In other words, all the talk about homebirth advocates "taking responsibility" for their health is just talk. In the ways that count, homebirth advocates expect everyone else to do all the work, take all the responsibility and shoulder the bulk of the expense for their choices. Homebirth advocates intend to take precisely the same responsibility for their health that smokers intend to take, in other words, no responsibility at all."
In thinking of Andrews pregnancy and birth, and my lack of professional care, what surprised me the most was how seriously I took everything. I had not been conciously aware of how much I was depending on my various doctors to provide cover for my lack of knowledge on how to create a healthy child.
I had always thought of myself as proactive and a self starter. Yet when I fully weaned from prenatal care, I was shocked to discover how truly disciplined I could be with nutrition, exercise, getting enough sleep, and every moment of every day was completely focused on the baby and doing whatever I could think of to provide him with a lush and nurturing environment in my womb. I never allowed myself to get dehydrated, was completely focused on eating the healthiest high protein vegan diet, and just ate and ate and ate my way to an eleven pound twelve ounce child. I ate 80% raw foods during his pregnancy and exercised every single day.
The irony of Dr. Amys words that homebirthers expect others to do it all just cracks me up. During that pregnancy and my three hour labor, I did not expect ANYONE to do anything to help me. It was me, my knowledge of birth, and my faith in Jesus Christ that carried me through a 45 week pregnancy, three hours of labor, three pushes, and the "fetus ejection reflex" birth of my huge baby boy.
The case can be made however, that some hospital birthers epitomize no personal responsibility by regularly showing up to give birth and then expect the doctors and nurses to hand them a healthy baby, take away all the discomfort, and then feed that child with artificial milk, without so much as cracking a book open or bothering to take a childbirth class. As to who has the best outcome after birth...well, based on some of the "ignorance is bliss" scenarios I have been witness to over the years, some of these mothers learned the hard way that ignorance is not only dangerous, it can be deadly when too many drugs are involved in a hospital birth.
I guess I did have some labor support. Once while I was in the tub, two year old Jeff came into the bathroom to see what was going on, I was vocalizing very, very loudly during my contractions and he joined in with some loud AAAAaaaHHHHHHhhhhs of his own. It was really cute. Soon after that I had the self doubt sign post, but with this being my fourth birth, I said to myself "self doubt sign post, I will be pushing soon" and I was!
I suppose Dr. Amy would look at Paul calling 911 after the birth as evidence that as a family we expected others to do "all the work". You know? After working every day to build my healthy child and then working for three hours to get him out of my womb in the most intense and profoundly spiritual "work" of my life, I guess it would be easy to make the jump that Paul dialing 911 set in motion the expectation that we expected "everyone" to do "everything" for us after our birth.
And everyone did do everything for us. The question is, Why is it bad if 8 to 10 % of home birthing mothers need to transfer to the hospital for help??? Isn't that why they exist? To offer professional emergency services to those in need?
With that call, the floodgates opened up and we had this outpouring of help that was so amazing, I still cry when I think of all those firemen rushing to our aid to help Andy and I.
They were so kind, so helpful, so willing to do anything to help us after that birth. It was simply amazing. And when we landed in the hospital, they wanted to helicopter Andrew down to Denver to a better NICU. We said OK, and he spent four days being tortured while they tried to find something wrong with him. Never did find anything wrong, and he was released to our care.
I on the other hand bled out 90% of my blood volume, and felt my spirit leave my body while in the ER. After my near death experience I spent 28 hours doing everything I could think of to get better so I could go be with my son. The doctors gave me a bag of blood and my mormon bishop came in and held my hand while I was transfused. A whole groups of ladies from church showed up to offer help and support. I'll never forget my friend Merrilee, (who had been told that Andy was going to die), whose young son had died a few years earlier, rushing to my side to support me. The look on her face as she walked into my room, I'll never forget it. Just tender empathy and love pouring out of her for me and whatever trials I was facing in that moment. My hematocrit was four point seven after the birth, but after all of these efforts, the next day my crit was normal for a post partum woman and my doctor released me so I could travel down to Denver to be with Andy.
My friends Lily and Julia brought me wheat grass juice from Wild Oats to help my blood regenerate, and a lovely nurse spoon fed chicken soup into my mouth. My friend Kirsten rushed to my side after the birth and our friend Scott, a volunteer fireman, had heard the 911 call at home. His wife Suzanne also heard it, and yelled to him, "That's Paul, get to the hospital."
Because Scott was so quick on his feet, he arrived at the hospital before we did, and was ready and waiting to assist Paul in giving me and Andy a priesthood blessing.
Perhaps the greatest help offered after the birth was from our friend Joe Mangus, who was a member of our mormon congregation and a volunteer fireman. He came to our home and through a series of events ended up in the ambulence that Andy was being transported in to the hospital. He said that Andy was not doing well with his vital signs and he "prayed the biggest prayer of his life" and all of his vitals normalized and he pinked up right after the prayer. Joe had also lost a son in death and was so tuned in to our emotional needs as a family. Read my tribute to Joe here on my blog, he died last april.
The most memorable help we had was from our Hero, Fireman Shawn Clemenson. Shawn is our neighbor and he also heard the call come to his home. As a fireman he was supposed to get to the station first before coming to our home, but he just came directly as he was only a few blocks away. He was a young father and his wife had just given birth a few weeks before to their second daughter. She told him, "quick get your shoes on and get over to that house to help that family". So he did.
He came pounding on the door and the girls let him in. He raced up to our bedroom where Paul and I were trying to get Andy to breathe. Andrews umbilical cord had snapped just after the birth, and we could not get him to take a breath. Shawn said he looked at Andy and later told me "I knew just what to do". He put his mouth over Andys mouth and nose and sucked him out. He said he had a little mucous lodged in his throat. It was clear and he spit it out. Then he gave him three puffs of air and he said Andy opened his eyes. By the time he had done his little suck and spit routine, half of the Louisville Fire Department had showed up to help and he handed the baby off to an EMT.
Shawn is the professional who gets the most credit. His quick thinking and willingness to break the rules by not going to the station and by performing CPR on Andy saved his life. (Firemen are not supposed to come in contact with bodily fluids) Paul and I had been doing CPR on Andy as well, but we did not think to suck him out first, even though I had stashed three brand new bulb syringes around my bedroom for the birth.
When I told the NICU pediatrician what Shawn had done to resuscitate Andrew from the birth she confirmed that this was a superior way to suck out a newborn, as the mouth to mouth contact creates a true vacumn effect on the baby and really gets the junk out of their wind pipe. She told me that she had done it several times on newborns right after birth. I had never heard of it before watching Shawn do it.
The medical people were about half and half in terms of how they responded to us and our unassisted birth. Half were really nice and helpful and the other half were judgemental and rude.
Mostly they could not figure out why, if we had such great insurance, we would forgo their services until truly needed.
And I guess that is the final point that I would like to make in retelling Andys birth story. I had no plans to use them. I did not want to have anyone at my birth. I wanted to be completely alone and except for Jeff being with me for a few mintues in the bathroom, and Paul bringing me some water and giving me a little foot massage, I was completely alone during that birth until Andys head was completely pushed out of my body. It was only after his head was born that I called out to Paul that the baby was being born.
I had no expectation of anyone picking up the pieces of my birth. And I certainly never expected anyone to pay our bills, come visit me, or even take care of our three older children.
The fact that we indeed had great needs crop up, need for emergency medical care, professional transport to the hospital, and infant resuscitation and uterus clamping and transfusion, all of the scary post birth scenarios, all at the same time...
WELL, IS THAT NOT WHAT A HOSPITAL IS FOR???
Does the fact that we planned a home birth and I did my own prenantal care somehow exclude me from the use of those emergency services? We are taxpayers, our money pays into the various infrastructures that have been set up to provide emergency services for the citizens of our community. Does someone think that a mother who births out of the hospital for any reason, even an unplanned emergency childbirth, somehow DESERVES to die because she had the gall to go into labor without being induced at 37 weeks?
Because I was willing to take personal responsibility for my birth and did not expect anyone to do anything for me during pregnancy and birth somehow I and my child are NOT WORTHY to use the hospital system when the help was truly needed and life saving for both of us???
I am so grateful for the literally dozens and dozens of people in my community who dropped everything on a saturday morning to help our family. The last thing in the world that I wanted was to have those particular post birth complications happen. But you know what? They did happen, and we needed every single person who flew to our aid.
From the spiritual and emotional support of our religious community to the very competent and excellent care from the medical people to the support of neighbors, friends, relatives, and the many firement and emt's who were involved in our transfer. We needed them all.
My father in law wanted to help when he heard how much blood I had lost and so he offered to pay for a weeks worth of Postpartum Ayurdoula Care from Martha Oaks.
What can I say about Martha??? A Blessed and wonderful soul. I met Martha at a Suzanne Arms event in Boulder in 1995. A few of us after the event decided that we wanted to continue getting together monthly and so Martha offered to host our group at her home in Boulder. Laura Shanley, Martha, and a few others planning home births met and supported each other through that year. I discovered that I was expecting Andrew during the year we met together and this group was crucial for support.
As I went through this bonding experience with Martha and opened up my heart to the passion she has for healing mothers during the Sacred Window of the six weeks post partum, I had the deep desire enter my heart to hire her for my after care. But we did not have the money to do it.
Because my father in law was willing to help, he payed the $700.00 for a weeks worth of her amazing care. It was during this week that I experienced a profound shift in my healing using Young Living Essential Oils. Martha had just been introduced to them herself, and as she played around with them during our ninety minute massage sessions, (I had FIVE 90 minute massages during this week) - I felt my body and spirit respond to this touch in the most amazing way. This greatly aided my bonding with Andy, and helped to get the breastmilk flowing. I was able to nurse Andy and a very demanding two year old Jeff for seven months on demand and I know this week of care kicked my body into high gear with food metabolism, as the main goal of the care was to nurture me so that I could in turn nurture my child.
I can't say enough about this protocol for healing. Martha taught me that it is the only healing protocol that has as one of its goals the prevention of post partum psychosis. Because psychosis relapse has always been in the back of my mind during my post partum times, how wonderful to learn of a healing method that could help me PREVENT this illness!!!
After Martha finished her week of care, my sister Lisa packed her two sons in the car and drove over from Provo Utah, where her husband was attending BYU, and she took care of me and our family for a week. Then my mother came for a week, and Pauls parents also came during the third week to be present for Andrews Baby blessing.
After they all left I took a deep breath and began the healing process by trying to reconcile everything that had happened. My number one intention with my birth was to be able to bond with my son without anyone taking him from my arms, and that is why I chose a UC solo birth. The fact that I did not see him or get to bond with him until he was 28 hours old was such a difficult thing to reconcile and heal from. But day by day we worked through the breach in our relationship and by the time he was six months old I was feeling much more reconciled to the way it all went.
I am so grateful for the many people who played a role around his birth, and will never forget the outpouring of love and help that was given to us. I did not expect or plan for this help to be offered, and the fact that it was made me so grateful to live in a community and be a part of two extended families who were willing to do whatever they could to help our little family.
Birth #5 - Benjamin 2002
I have perhaps written more about Bens birth and postpartum that all of my other children combined, so I will not take the time to revisit the various details of his birth. For the complete story, purchase my book, A Lotus Birth for the details of his pregnancy, birth, and post partum.
Since this post is specifically about Doulas, I will give the details of my care from Amy Thompson, who was trained by Martha Oakes in the Postpartum Ayurdoula Care and was referred to me by Martha.
Amy, my Doula, me with three day old Ben, and Wendy who did my prenatal massage and was the bulk of my prenatal care. Amy cost $6,000.00 during my post partum, and I spent about $1200.00 on Wendys care during my pregnancy. Both therapists set up their tables in my bedroom and did the work in my home, awesome for a busy homeschooling mother!
The year that Ben was conceived Andrea Yates was being prosecuted for killing her five children during a post partum psychosis. This media covereage truly freaked Paul and I out, and I made the decision during early in my pregnancy that I was going to hire a doula for the full six weeks of care after my birth. I invited Amy over and we discussed the terms of my care. My intention was to have her start care around the birth and then continue during the six weeks postpartum. She asked for $6,000.00 for all of her services and I agreed.
Jenny with Ben after the delivery of my placenta.
Her care included:
Five days before my birth we had our first session. She set up her massage table in my bedroom and gave me a ninety minute massage. She also brought me five ounces of wheat grass juice from Wild Oats and I used this as a rectal implant to up my hematocrit and cleanse my blood. Every time Amy came to my house she brought this juice to my house. She got on a first name basis with the wheat grass guy at the store. I almost never drank it because it tended to make me nauseated during pregnancy, but the infusion into my colon always gave me an energy boost and really helped nourish my cells.
During the week before Bens birth she came five times, including the day of the birth. In fact she gave me a massage, left our home, and a few minutes later I went into active labor. I called her the next morning and asked her to come again and give me another massage, and she did. Nine hours after the birth I was being lovingly worked on by this amazing healer. (I also called my chiropractor for a home visit and he came that morning to adjust me and Ben)
Amy continued to come monday through friday, every day for about two hours to give me the massage, work on Ben a little and bring me hot vegetarian food that was prepared with the most loving intention. I believe the food was as important as the massage in helping me to recover from the birth. When I finally made it back to church when Ben was three weeks old, my friends told me that I did not look like I had just given birth to a fifth child.
Her massages included the complete Ayurdoula protocol, with heat, olive oil, and essential oil enhancement. She did cranial work on me every time, and her energy work was the best I have ever experienced. During one of our sessions I was able to access a traumatic memory, and quickly process it out. She was able to support my brain using cranial work, while this most traumatic of memories surfaced (I was gang raped in the state mental hospital during my post partum psychosis by four orderlies who worked at the facility). As the memory surfaced I had no overwhelm, no crying, just quiet acknowledgement of what had happened. It was and remains a sacred healing moment in my life.
The food was prepared using Ayurvedic principles and is designed to give the mother the most rapid recovery possible.
Having had the whole six weeks of care, I believe every mother should do whatever is in her power to obtain this care for every bab