Birth + art

So I've been delving into creative stuff again in the last few weeks (knitting & baking desserts mostly) and looking at crafty stuff online.  I came across this beautiful watercolor print on Etsy, celebrating waterbirth.  I LOVE it!!  

The seller caryyork has lots of other artwork depicting the joy of birth and breastfeeding.  I encourage you to take a peek....

There's nothing like a good birth story

Oh, how I love to read birth stories.  It's a good thing there are so many online, because although I love Ina May's and Peggy Vincent's stories, you can only read a book so many times.  I sit riveted at the computer screen, savoring the details of the birth, and hoping to absorb them into the birthing wisdom that is accumulating in my brain, storing itself up until the time that is right for me to break forth into the real world of doula work.  

Today's story find is UC waterbirth at home, a hypnobirthing mama whose labour was just over 2 hours long.  I love how matter of fact it is... and Dad's "there you are, baby" made me smile. 

Someday I will stand and sway for long hours through the night, rubbing tired feet, fetching ice, and whispering encouragement.  But for now I look on my four darlings tucked quietly in bed, waiting for the littlest of the little to cry out for milk, while my mind wanders and ponders the complex beauty of new life born into the world.

Breech, Naturally.

I'm studying breech birth right now, and the various perspectives (both opinions and evidence-based research) that are out there.  Health A to Z presents a very negative perspective on breech, while OBGYN.net presents a relatively balanced medical overview of breech protocol.  I enjoyed reading Breech Baby - What Are Your Choices? by the NHS Trust.  When baby Haleh was in a breech position at around 24 weeks, and continued to flip back and forth for many weeks afterwards, I panicked a bit, but really enjoyed the information on Spinning Babies.  (She ended up staying vertex well ahead of her arrival!) 

Here's a video of a twin birth, with the second baby breech.  I love the peaceful atmosphere and the mother's strength and calm.  The three-way cuddle is wonderful! 

And heres a breech HBAC.  I think she's fantastic for staying home even with a surprise breech!  

Is this really necessary?!

I'm kind of a purist when it comes to breastfeeding.  Evidence highly favors breastfeeding as the most nutritious and healthful option for baby, and with a plethora of benefits for mama too.  

Nursing my baby is one of the most wonderful things in my life, and its a stretch for me to comprehend why there are women (and men) who think that nursing a baby is inconvenient, old-fashioned, or inappropriate.

Here's a couple of products that I find irritating....  

You thought the fake breast in Meet The Fockers was a joke?  Think again!  Check out  Dindle Bee.

It infuriates me that this product ad uses displays of shock and disgust at the sight of a nursing mother and baby.  Watch the promotional vid for Private Dining .

Ten reasons I love birth

(thanks to doulasurround for creating this birthy wordle!)

Because it is unpredictable

Because it is edgy and freaks most people out 

Because every person in the world has experienced it at least once

Because it is mysterious

Because it means that much hard work is complete

Because it can feel good

Because it points to Intelligent design

Because it is raw and powerful

Because no two are alike

Because it allows women who feel ordinary to become extraordinary

In your face, Freud....

Another and less well known European doctor born in the 19th century named Grantly Dick-Read had some ideas about women that were pretty radical for his time. He's my kind of feminist:

"Too many never know the deep glory of a woman's pride as the hungry child ceases its demanding whimper and draws the ready nipple to itself and snuggles in the soft, satisfying security of its mother's breast. Is this sensuous, sentimental, or scientific? I hope its all three intensely and uninhibited - for if there is one things I have ever envied woman, it is that perfect peace and alienated happiness she demonstrates in her movement, breathing, and facial expression when her baby lies contented and semiconscious at her breast. Can our male science willingly disregard these female experiences because it can never share them?"
- from his book Childbirth Without Fear, 1942

I love this book! It is full of quote-worthiness. As I've said, nursing time is my reading time so I have to shut out the other noise of the household to learn from Dick-Read's brilliance, but so far it's well worth the effort.

Coincidentally, Freud argued that lack of oxygen during the birth process was not a cause of cerebral palsy, but Dick-Read claimed that meddlesome obstetric practices account for approximately 70 percent of cerebral palsy cases. It seems there is still disagreement about this, though most malpractice lawyers seem to agree with Dick-Read. (!)

I've missed birthy blogging!

Okay, so I was a bit off with the mid-July thing. But I've made it through three of my books, which equates to completing my doula reading list for CBI. Hooray for progress, and hooray for so many exciting new revelations about the thrilling world of birth. I have to say, I adored Ina May, but Dick-Read is a bit more difficult to plough through so I've put that book off for the time being. I'm sure it'll very worth reading, but currently I really only read while nursing whilst the other three bounce off the walls, and my focus is just a bit lacking. More on Ina May soon.

But for now, I leave you with these....

Psalm 22: 9-10
Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you even at my mother's breast.
From birth I was cast upon you; from my mother's womb you have been my God.

Ecclesiastes 11:5
As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother's womb,
So you cannot understand the work of God, The Maker of all things.

My treasure chest

Yippee! I now have all my manuals for the doula & cbe courses. Also the six birthy books I chose from the reading list are here. It looks like a box full of pure gold. I was thinking I might like to close myself in a room for a couple weeks and read it all...but then I thought I might miss my life and family too much. In reality- I'm going to take a couple more weeks off from blogging...but I'll be back mid-July full of hopefully insightful things to say about the wise birthing wisdom of Grantly Dick-Read and Ina May Gaskin.

Jo's Birthday Eve

My sweet Josiah, tomorrow you will be five years old. Five years ago today, around 1 in the afternoon, I began having mild contractions. I paced like a tigress round our apartment, spurring labor on, as Daddy cooked me my favorite protein source, calamari. I stopped to relax and lean during each contraction, enjoying the first powerful sensations of labor. As afternoon turned into evening, Daddy and I went out to rent some movies. We knew active labor had begun when I began squatting in the aisles of the video shop! Suddenly I just wanted to be at home where I could focus. We called our midwife from home to see if she could stop by soon to check on me. She arrived around 8pm, and found me to be 9 centimeters dilated! I couldn't believe you would be in our arms very soon. I wished that I could stay in my comfy bean bag, but we headed out to the hospital instead, since that was our plan for your birth.

Five years ago today, I still had a few tough hours of labor ahead of me. You were a very big baby at 10 lb 6 oz, and took a few hours to work your way down.

Five years ago tomorrow, at 2:03 am on June 15th, surrounded by your Daddy's love, supported by a midwife and doula/nurse, I gave a final push, and out you spun. Your cord was the most beautiful brilliant blue I have ever seen. You had a little button nose, lots of thick black hair, and a broad chest like Daddy's.

Oh, you were perfect, our first baby, a son!

Josiah Michael, Happy Birthday Eve.

Life in the Womb

I just finished reading "Why Pro-Life?" by Randy Alcorn, a snap of a book that presents an extremely compelling argument for the pro-life position. I've always been pro-life, but never heard such a clear and gentle exposition of scientific, moral, and social reasons for why abortion is so terribly wrong. Abortion clearly kills children. Even the so called "pro-choice" know this, and thanks in part to the advancement of ultrasound technology, this fact is getting harder to ignore. Abortion is a holocaust of unparalled proportion, costing 3,753 deaths of the precious unborn EACH DAY in America alone. Yes, that's 1.37 million children a year, which equates to a full 25% of children conceived in the U.S. yearly. Sad, so sad, and shocking.

Burdened now by a special passion for peaceful birth, for woman and child, for the family, I am deeply saddened by the continuing tragedy of abortion. For really, what birth could be less peaceful than a child intentionally ripped apart and sucked lifeless from it's mother's womb?

I was blessed to be turned on to the following YouTube short film by a fellow Childbirth International student. It is an incredibly beautiful portrayal of life inside the womb. The description by the filmmakers reads:

"Baby remembers her first home. Collection of original watercolors, music, and poetry.
The thoughts of an unborn child.

Produced by 3 sisters under 20"

Enjoy, and keep those tissues handy.

Look at that baby spin!

In an unmedicated birth, the baby pushes its legs against the uterine wall to assist its birth. He also rotates his head and body in a spiraling motion to negotiate the mother's pelvic bones. In Holistic Midwifery (Volume II), Anne Frye describes these movements as the "Cardinal Spiraling Movements of the Baby during Labor."

The newborn displays reflexes that reinforce his role in birth. For example, when you press on his feet, he will press back, just as he presses against uterine contractions. If you place him face down, he will turn to the side, just as he turns his head in the perineal phase of birth. What a perfect design! Several animations of this phenomenon are available online, and here is one.

Remember that most of what you are seeing is in very very fast motion! Labor usually takes hours (if not days) of work for both mother and baby. However the actually emergence of the body is almost always very quick following the birth of the head, and to me this clip portrays that moment quite well!

HBACers are heros!

Thanks to Enjoy Birth for the link to this beautiful montage of HBAC mama Katie and family as they welcome baby Drew. I love this birth story because:
-mama educated herself and chose VBAC.
-the birth was at home.
-doulas assisted.
-children assisted.
-birth pool was used in active labor.
-baby was born in his own time at 42 weeks 2 days.
-Drew was 11 lb 8 oz and 23 inches long!
-his cheeks are the best!
-successful HBAC! Yeah!

Penny Simkin's "The Three R's"

I recently had an "ah-haaaa!" moment in my understanding of women's coping in active labor. I prepared for my three natural births using Bradley Method which is very focused on relaxation. While this worked well for me until transition began, I struggled to understand why so many women cope best by pacing, vocalizing, rocking, moving. My sister-in-law Kati gave me the privilege of being present at her two births, and it amazed me how she found her own way of laboring that was not the relaxation techniques that Bradley teaches. It was so clear her baby dance was just right for her. And yet it confused me- it wasn't reclining relaxation, nor was it frantic or fearful in the least.

Well Penny Simkin has enlightened me! Her website has some fascinating reading (presentations, articles, and handouts) for doulas or other birth professionals. In "The 3 R's in Childbirth Preparation" she discusses the three primary characteristics of pain/stress management in women who cope well with labor. She writes,

"1) they are able to relax during and/or between contractions.
In early labor relaxation during contractions is a realistic and desirable goal; later in labor,
however, many women cope much better if they don’t try to relax during contractions. They feel
better if they move or vocalize during the contractions, or even tense parts of their bodies. It is
vital, however, that they relax or be calm between contractions;
2) the use of rhythm characterizes their coping style;
3) they find and use rituals, that is, the repeated use of personally meaningful rhythmic activities with
every contraction. "

Ohhhh! I feel a whole world has opened up to me in understanding labor.

Breastfeeding in Fiji

I am blessed to live in a country where family is of utmost importance. This isn't a cheesy sentiment; it's a way of life. Babies are especially treasured, and attention and affection is lavished upon any babe-in-arms.

The Fiji government distributes a Health Record Card to every baby born in Fiji, and on the card's cover is a Fijian woman nursing a baby who looks to be about 9 months old, as her husband snuggles up to the nursing pair and looks on lovingly. The mama's shirt is generously unbuttoned giving her baby full access to the breast. The caption reads, “Breastfeeding and regularly weighing your child is the best way of expressing your love and care.” The Feeding Schedule on the back of the card gives instructions that a baby should be breastfeed until the age of 2.

And get this! There is NO formula and NO bottles in public hospitals. Recently a baby was abandoned at a local hospital and there was a newspaper article discussing the sticky situation the nurses were faced with as there was nothing to feed the baby! The walked down to the shop and bought some milk (formula, hopefully) and fed the baby out of a cup! Possibly there should be a wet nurse on call for these situations. Indeed, my little adopted Myah was blessed to have been breastfed by a young mother (not her birthmother) until she came to us at six days old. I am so grateful for that young mother selflessly giving Myah the best start possible, even as she took care of her own wee baby. The best part is that Myah was “plug and play” when she arrived in my arms, and breastfed until she self-weaned just after her first birthday.

I’ve nursed all four of my babies in public in Fiji, and have never had so much as a disapproving glance. (Okay, I admit I could be happily oblivious, but still). I’ve nursed in doctor’s offices, restaurants, theatres, market booths, boutiques, meetings, parks, government offices, the beach, parties, the ambassador’s residence, the U.S. Embassy, and I’ve even nursed walking down the street in the capital city. And all around me I hear the chorus of “Vinaka…Vinaka….” Thank you…good…beautiful…..

What does the Bible REALLY say about childbirth? Pt. 1

I am going to state here for the record that I believe the Bible to be the true infallible word of God. I've been amazed at the wide range of Childbirth material and enthusiasts out there in terms of faith and spirituality (and I feel I've only scratched the surface). I think it is clear to most childbirth enthusiasts that birth is primarily a spiritual event, and only in part a medical event. However each mother (doula, author, educator, midwife, doctor...) interprets the spiritual nature of birth through the "goggles" of her own belief system.

Let me diverge for a moment and express that one thing I love about birth is that it affects every single human being. We've ALL been born, right? And nearly half of us will give birth at least once. The vastness of cultural birthing ideology and methods is an entire field on its own, and I only touch on it now to say that those differences (and similarities) are beautiful and God-given.

Returning now to the Bible, I believe its truth is for all of humankind, just as God created all of humankind, and just as he sent his son Jesus to be the Messiah; to lay down His life that we might have life abundant and eternal. This is NOT to make humankind alike one culture to another, but to unite us under the banner of Christ's love and forgiveness.

One of my dearest books is an out-of-print volume entitled The Joy of Natural Childbirth by Helen Wessel, the Fifth Edition of Natural Childbirth and the Christian Family. If you are a Christian with an interest in Childbirth, whether personal or professional, you would do well to get your hands on this gem! The book is divided into two parts, with the first telling the story of a newlywed couple named John and Mary as they learn about marriage, reproduction, pregnancy and birth. It is a quaint and old-fashioned story, but there is so much well researched information about natural family planning, natural birth, and studies of birth and the Bible. The second half of the book is non-fiction, also rich in Biblical perspective for natural childbirth. This book opened my eyes to the real meanings of the original Greek and Hebrew words in some passages regarding childbirth. (Unfortunately some of the English translations of the Bible have been affected by Western notions of childbirth as a painful curse to be feared.) Here is an excerpt (p. 92)

"Why don't we look at Genesis 3:16 and 17?" John opened his own Bible to this passage, sharing it with Mary. The pastor began reading from the King James Version, pointing out the underlying Hebrew word:

Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow (etsev) and thy conception; in sorrow (etsev) thou shall bring forth children.

"Do you notice that the word 'curse' is not used here, and neither is the word 'pain'? But now, let's compare what God says to Eve with what he says to Adam in the following verse:

And unto Adam he said,...cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow (etsev) shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life."

"The Hebrew words are the same for the man and the woman!" Mary exclaimed.

"Yes, they are. But have you never noticed that the English words, 'sorrow' for Eve and 'sorrow' for Adam are also the same? Notice, too, in the context, that the word 'cursed' is used of the ground and the serpent, but not of Adam or Eve. Look now, in the margin of your Bible, at the alternate translation for 'sorrow' in reference to Adam. What is it?"

"It says 'toil,'" Mary answered, looking over John's arm to read the smaller print. "That means hard work. Why, pastor!" she exclaimed again, "that's exactly what Carolyn told me giving birth is like. She said it's hard work! But why is the word 'toil' not in the margin for the woman too, since the Hebrew word is the same for her as for Adam?"

"There's no good reason, Mary," Mrs. Dirkson commented, "except that the translators are influenced by the attitudes of the cultures they live in."

Pretty amazing, huh? So the next time someone asks you about "The curse of childbirth" - tell them there's no such thing!

CD/CBEd in training!

It's official! I just began my combined course with Childbirth International. Upon completion, I'll be a Certified Doula and a Certified Childbirth Educator. I think I'll enjoy the courses very much. The prospect of being a birth professional is absolutely a dream for me! SO excited to be taking this step towards....

The 5 Ws of water & spirit

Who: Me, Lindy, wife to Kris and mommy to four under five. Unashamed follower of Jesus Christ, the Author of life and birth.

What: A place for me to share my passion for natural childbirth, record my journey to becoming a doula and childbirth educator, and explore the vast culture of pregnancy, birthing, and associated topics.

When: While my kids are napping.

Where: Overlooking the Pacific Ocean in our wooden South Pacific farm house. Or floating in the galaxy of cyberspace.

Why: Because my husband is gracious enough to hear my natural childbirth rants and maybe others will be too.