Fear Not Birth
Posted by doularama | Filed under News, Recommendations
I have been thinking a great deal about fear and birth. We teach and learn the importance of relaxation for a laboring woman. Lets not forget, though, the importance of eliminating fear from the labor room entirely.
All of my students have heard me talk about the gazelle laboring on the savanna. She will go off alone, at night to birth in private and SAFETY. If she senses that there is a lion nearby, her labor will stop so that she can flee. She doesn’t think about it and plan her getaway. It just happens. The hormones of fear drive the hormones of labor down.
What a great system this gazelle has going on! She shares it with other mammals, though, including humans. The problem with the humans is that our lions come in many forms. Instead of stopping labor to escape a predator, we are stopping labor because we’re so smart and we can think of all sorts of things to go wrong. Women’s labors stop or slow en route to the hospital, upon arriving, because the wrong doctor is on call, because they think they are progressing too slowly, because the next contraction may be too hard. Sometimes their cervices even close after being open! It happened to me for one of the above reasons.
So we tell women to relax and trust birth. We massage them, breath with them and hypnotize them. They are now buttery, unaware of the goings on around them, producing nary a hormone of fear. But how about everyone else?
Some people believe that a woman in labor is psychic. I think we can keep the conversation on a more tangible plain while addressing this same idea.
We give credit to other animals for smelling our fear, but no one talks about it with humans! Perhaps we think we are too smart, that we can communicate and pick up on fear in other, more obvious ways. What if we are giving off pheromones in the labor room that say, “I don’t know if this is going to work!” or “This looks really hard. I feel so bad for her?” Might a laboring woman smell our fear, psychic or not?
Frankly, I don’t know. I don’t know if it’s pheromones or something else being sensed, but, as a doula or friend (or grandmother someday), I don’t want to be responsible for introducing an energy of fear into the labor room. The fact is that a new mother will not remember your fear, but it may very well have affected her labor.
Before you go into the labor room, make sure that you trust the birthing process, relax, have a massage, take some Rescue Remedy. Save your fear for the lion lurking around the corner of Broadway.
*My last blog post was over a year ago about eating dates in labor. Last week, I noticed other people talking about this no-longer-recent study. I figured I should blog more often in case there’s other stuff I’m ahead of the crowd about. Not likely, but here you have it anyway.
Watch Me in Karen Brody’s BIRTH for BOLD5
Posted by doularama | Filed under News, Recommendations
I am thrilled to share September, my birth month, with Karen Brody’s BOLD movement, celebrating five years and NYC’s Birth Focus, celebrating ten. They are co-producing a fabulous reading of the new script of BIRTH which includes a VBAC!
Register now to watch the live webcast this Monday, Labor Day, or watch it when it is re-aired every five hours on September 17th and 24th. When you register, you will be entered to win one of many great prizes a grand prize give away of full tuition to Karen Brody’ Birth Facilitator Training Program, FEAR to FREEDOM. The prize is valued at $697 and they are giving away 2, as well as a bunch of other great prizes like books, tshirts, mugs and more. You do not want to miss this raffle!
This is really exciting! Please join us!
Prepare Your Child to Spring Forward for Daylight Saving Time
Posted by doularama | Filed under News, Parenting, Recommendations
On march 13th, most of us in the United States and in about 150 other countries will be setting our clocks ahead one hour. Some of us won’t and will therefore be running an hour late on Sunday and some of us may not even realize it until Monday! It doesn’t make much sense that we do this because it doesn’t actually gain us or save us any daylight. The earth will rotate and revolve just the same whether we call the time one or two.
For years I have noticed that my children start adjusting their waking time all on their own and usually, when Daylight Saving Time begins or ends, they are largely unaffected. My children are unusually well-rested, however, and are early to bed, early to rise. I imagine that many children probably have a harder time with the sudden time change, so here I offer my suggestions for an easier transition for the whole family and anyone else who might spend time with your children. Afterall, studies have shown that a great number of “behavior problems” are actually due to a lack of sleep.
First you need to know when you need to change your clocks. Even if all of your electronic devices will automatically be updated and you don’t own a watch or analog clock, you should be prepared this year to “lose” an hour on March 13th. The magic shift is supposed to happen at 2am, but I always cheat the system by changing my clocks at about 9pm the night before. I always make up for it by cheating myself by a few hours at the end of DST.
Especially if your child needs to go to school on Monday morning, you should try to gradually ease him or her into the time change. Start about four days in advance by making bedtime fifteen minutes earlier on Thursday, thirty minutes earlier on Friday and forty-five minutes earlier on Saturday. On Sunday night, bedtime can be at the regular time which is now one hour later, but only fifteen minute later than the night before.
Whether you take this advice or not, you should at least be mindful of the fact that the time change will likely affect us all. Remember that children aren’t the only ones who misbehave when they’re tired!
DONA International’s New Video
Posted by doularama | Filed under News, Recommendations
Teaching Safe Sleep Practices
Posted by doularama | Filed under News
Not long ago, I was recommending to women in need of breastfeeding support, a newly-crowned IBCLC here in the Bronx. I had met her about a year earlier while we both volunteered for a fund raising event for The New Space for Women’s Health, Manhattan’s next freestanding birth center at the time ( a project which has just been discontinued, hopefully only temporarily).
Anyway, this acquaintance, who I now count as a friend, works for a government agency that is charged with spreading the good news about good health in the Bronx. I’m sure their mission statement isn’t worded quite that way, but that really does suffice for my purpose right now. So, my friend asked me if I knew of anyone who might be interested in teaching one-hour breastfeeding classes. Her office needed to get a certain number of classes taught in a short amount of time and they were looking for help. Well, not only did I know someone, I was that one. She told me to go to the office so we could talk about it.
When I showed up, I was surprised to find I was on a job interview. The application even asked for references- and they were called! We talked about my experience as a doula and an educator and then I was asked if I had ever actually breastfed. I could have been hired solely because I had breastfed my son only an hour before the interview. Before I left, they asked, quite incidentally, if I might also be available to give talks on SIDS. They were providing all the curricula and a very generous stipend, so I said yes without knowing that I was stepping into a pit of self-betrayal from which I could only emerge by complaining to my dear husband and you, of course. Thanks for reading.
The class is actually on SIDS and Safe Sleep Practices, which are actually unrelated because, as I have been trained to say, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is the unexplained death of a baby, furthermore and to the point, it is not preventable. I suppose, though, that someone felt that a class for telling people to put their babies to sleep in a crib, on their backs, with no blankets, pillows or other suffocation hazards might be too short. Well, that’s not the only problem.
My big concern is with the recommendation that families make their babies sleep alone. The recommendation is based on a flawed study which was funded by the Consumer Products Safety Commission and the Juvenile Product Manufacturers Association, i.e., the crib manufacturer’s lobbyists. The study concluded that babies sleep best alone, in a crib. Once again, we in the United States, have decided that what the rest of the world is doing, what humankind has been doing all along, is wrong and we should go out and buy something, along with its hundred accessories to make it right.
Our public education campaigns have been dumbed down because it is widely recognized that some people may not follow the safety guidelines for bed sharing. I wish I could share that, if they want to experience the ultimate in bonding and hormonal regulation, better sleep and milk production and even better family relations, they should keep their newborns with them around the clock and find out how to safely share their beds. Maybe I could slip each of them a note instruction them to meet me outside for a private class. I know, however, that many of these women have always planned to separate themselves from their newborns with at least a wall. That even in the hospital they will welcome the rest offered to them by the nursery option. This is typical in our society and it’s very difficult for me to explain that it just isn’t normal.
Next week I will be speaking to four different groups, spelling out for them the guidelines that our government has established for them on safe sleep. It is unlikely that anyone will ask me what I personally did with my children, but if someone does, should I admit that for four months my son slept on top of me as I sat in a recliner? Probably not, as that is discouraged by all sides, but I will tell them that I made the decision that was right for my family and I’ll encourage them to do the research and make the decisions that are right for theirs.
I won’t stray from my curriculum for now, but I look forward to seeing our leaders take us in a new direction in the near future. Perhaps they should focus on breastfeeding, the missing factor in bed-sharing infant deaths.
Tags: Bed Sharing, Breastfeeding, Co-Sleeping, SIDS
Celebrate International Doula Month
Posted by doularama | Filed under News
May is International Doula Month!
A doula is a professional labor assistant. Doulas are experienced in childbirth and provide continuous physical, emotional, and informational support to the mother and her partner before, during and just after childbirth. In the prenatal period, a doula can help women gain information so that they can have the power to make knowledge-based decisions rather than fear-based decisions.
If you are a doula, there are a few things you should do.
1. Take time to reflect on the work you do. Think about the motivating factor that launched you into service. Make sure you haven’t lost sight of your commitment. If you think you have and you don’t have a mentor, reach out to the doula community (even online here) and communicate to someone who understands.
2. Take time to care for yourself and replenish your spirit. Our energy can so easily be sapped if we don’t take care of our needs and we will not be able to serve others. I know it’s a cliché already, but let me remind you that, when you’re on that airplane and the oxygen masks drop, you need to get yours on first before you help anyone else.
3. Attend a workshop or class that will help broaden your understanding of the things your clients may be facing. You might not be able to get continuing education units or points with your organization, but you will likely grow professionally and personally.
4. Make your presence known in your community. Better yet, step out of your comfort zone, and reach out to an underserved population, offering your services at a reduced rate. I volunteer at a clinic in the South Bronx, teaching prenatal classes. Most of the women end up wanting doulas so I match them with free doulas who are still seeking certification.
5. Network with other doulas and see if you can do all of the above with a group. Organize a class, party, outing or spa day.
If you are not a doula, thank a doula you know. If you don’t know any doulas, you’re probably missing out- they tend to be fantastic people!
Happy International Doula Month!
1. Take time to reflect on the work you do. Think about the motivating factor that launched you into service. Make sure you haven’t lost sight of your commitment. If you think you have and you don’t have a mentor, reach out to the doula community (even online here) and communicate to someone who understands.
2. Take time to care for yourself and replenish your spirit. Our energy can so easily be sapped if we don’t take care of our needs and we will not be able to serve others. I know it’s a cliché already, but let me remind you that, when you’re on that airplane and the oxygen masks drop, you need to get yours on first before you help anyone else.
3. Attend a workshop or class that will help broaden your understanding of the things your clients may be facing. You might not be able to get continuing education units or points with your organization, but you will likely grow professionally and personally.
4. Make your presence known in your community. Better yet, step out of your comfort zone, and reach out to an underserved population, offering your services at a reduced rate. I volunteer at a clinic in the South Bronx, teaching prenatal classes. Most of the women end up wanting doulas so I match them with free doulas who are still seeking certification.
5. Network with other doulas and see if you can do all of the above with a group. Organize a class, party, outing or spa day.
Save Homebirth in New York City
Posted by doularama | Filed under News, Recommendations
At midnight tomorrow, April 30th, the majority of New York City’s home birth midwives will no longer be able to practice legally. Unless immediate action is taken by the Governor and the NYS Department of Health the women that these midwives serve will be denied access to a home birth with their chosen provider and these providers will no longer be able to practice legally in NYS.
YOU MUST ACT NOW to save the home birth option for New York Women:
Call:
*311
*Wendy Saunders, Executive Deputy Commissioner for the NY State Department of Health, appointed by Governor Paterson. 518-474-8390
*Larry Mokhiber, the Secretary of the Board of Midwifery (518-474-3817, extension 130)
With the closing of St. Vincent’s Hospital, half of the licensed, highly trained home birth midwives serving NYC have lost their Written Practice Agreement (WPA). St Vincent’s was the only Hospital in the city supportive of a woman’s right to choose a home birth and willing to sign a WPA. In the weeks since it’s announced closure, these midwives have reached out to hospitals and obstetricians all across the city looking for support, with no success. Please help us to save the homebirth option in New York.
People can also email the Governor at http://www.state.ny.us/governor/contact/GovernorContactForm.php.
Tags: home birth, Homebirth, Midwives, St. Vincent's Hospital
Face of Birth- Homebirth Documentary
Posted by doularama | Filed under News, Recommendations
This preview was a tear-jerker. I’m sure that watching the film will make me angry. I hope it makes many, many people angry!
Face of Birth
Where the personal Gets Political
Tags: Australia, documentary, home birth, Homebirth
Breastfeeding in 1914
Posted by doularama | Filed under News
This poster was part of an early 20th century campaign that was started to reduce the rate of infant mortality. Many babies were dying and something had to be done. The statements made were scary, but true.
Today, just one hundred years later, we find ourselves once again campaigning to bring back breastfeeding. This time, however, not so many babies are dying. It’s not so scary. We’ve gone from, ”Mother’s milk is the only safe food for a baby during the first six months of its life.” to “Breast is Best.”
Tags: board of health, breast is best, Breastfeeding, department of health
Unassisted Births on the Rise
Posted by doularama | Filed under News
I find lately that many people are unaware that there are women who choose to give birth at home with no medical professional present. Unassisted (UC) births are becoming more and more popular, but are still quite unknown. I am not an advocate of UC births nor do I condemn them. I just feel that it is important for women to know their options. The biggest problem I have with our birth culture is that so many of us just don’t know so much. We go along with what everyone else does and don’t even know what else is available. So here’s a basic story for you to get some information from msnbc. Knowing that it’s an option is just the beginning, though. Just like all the others, it should be well-researched in advance.
Tags: childbirth, UC, Unassisted Birth
