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Birth Stories
by Katrina O'Brien
From natural birth at home to unexpected birth in the outdoors to planned Caesareans, these touchingly personal and funny tales illustrate how the method of arrival is less important than the love the child finds when it finally arrives.
The Colors of Birth: Shared Stories
by Ellyn Stanek Hutton
After childbirth, a woman joins the largest sorority on our planet: women who are mothers. Each mother makes her choices: hospital birthing room or water birth at home, obstetrician or midwife, epidural or natural childbirth-often forsaking all plans when unforeseen variables threaten her or her child. But enduring such a trial to bring a new life into the world provides a life-changing experience for the new mother, as exemplified by the women who share their stories in Ellyn Stanek Hutton's new compilation. The Colors of Birth contains stories that represent a rainbow of experience through color imagery chosen by each contributor. Each woman was asked to tap her instinctual perception and choose a color that best represented her childbirth experience. The Colors of Birth creates community by reinforcing and refreshing the emotional bond that is motherhood. It will stimulate conversations with friends, family members, mothers, doctors, and midwives. A loving and thoughtful shower gift, it will help the pregnant woman sort through a full spectrum of birth stories as she identifies her own approach-and offer reassurance should her plans go awry.
Descriptions from the Publishers.
Sweet Home Birth Boxes - the supplies you need no matter what your birth plan includes!
My son was born at home in Sept 2005 with my husband and two midwives in attendance. I chose to have a midwife because I had heard great things about the continuity of care offered by midwives and we are lucky enough in BC to have midwives covered by MSP. At the time I knew nothing about birth other than what I heard from my mom and my sister and what I saw on tv.
Midwifery & Home Birth
I didn’t know much about midwives either. I ended up being so glad that I chose midwifery care because I soon learned that midwives are specialists in birth and the newborn and that most have university degrees and have attended hundreds of births. Choosing a midwife meant that I would be able to choose my birth place as registered midwives in BC can attend births in hospital or at home. One of the best things about midwifery was that the Midwifery Model of Care views birth as a normal physiological process, not a medical event, and midwives believe that in most cases, birth is best managed by letting it unfold naturally. This mindset allowed me to place a lot of trust in my body, in the process of birth itself and in my caregivers. And that is why I chose to have a homebirth.
Another reason I chose homebirth was that I knew that labour and birth were going to be a lot work and that I would need to really focus – I felt that I would be able to do that best in an environment that I found safe and familiar.
Preparation
In preparation for birth I read almost every book I could get my hands on, I did prenatal yoga and I went to prenatal classes. You hear a lot about Lamaze style breathing or distraction methods for pain coping and we practiced a lot in my prenatal class by holding ice in our hands until it .Once labour got really intense, I didn’t remember any of that. The one thing that I felt helped the most was the psychological work I did ahead of time to face my fears about birth. This helped to keep me from panicking when the little breathing and relaxation tricks stopped working and I’m so grateful for that.
Labour
I was lucky to have an 8 hour labour – not so long as to be totally exhausting and not so short as to be totally intense and overwhelming. I laboured through the night and as the contractions got closer together and more painful I definitely felt like giving up. It’s pretty common to say things like “I can’t do this” or “I changed my mind.” I was tired and wanted to go to sleep. I was so tempted to say “let’s go to the hospital for that epidural!” but I found the shower really helped to dull the pain of contractions and I would stay in until we ran out of hot water and had to wait for it to replenish.
Relax!
It also helped to remember to relax and not tense up the rest of my body. Between contractions you feel completely normal, no pain whatsoever, so it’s very important to rest then even if it’s only for a minute or two. The more you relax the more you allow your body to release its own pain medication: endorphins. The more tense, stressed or frightened you become the more your body produces adrenaline which can slow labour and block endorphins. I really wanted to let my body work naturally with labour but it took a great amount of determination and encouragement from my husband and midwives.
Transition
As I approached transition, I went into what some people call Labourland, a sort of out of body experience. At this point you have to focus completely on the physical task at hand and you kind of leave your rational thinking brain behind. It’s difficult to talk or communicate with others in the room as you just disconnect and pay attention to your body. You really don’t even notice what’s going on around you.
When my niece was born, she came so quickly that my sister barely made it to the hospital. I was 16 at the time and when my sister told me about laying down in the middle of the hospital lobby, I couldn’t believe she would do something so embarrassing. I understand now that you really don’t care where you are or what people might think!
Pushing
I found the second stage of labour to be the most painful. Thankfully this stage only lasted about 40 minutes (which I thought was about 35 minutes too long!!). The amazing thing about the pushing stage is how invigorated and alert I became. Only half an hour before I had been totally exhausted and out of it but now, knowing that baby and the end of this ordeal were close at hand, renewed my energy. I remember talking to the midwives between pushes about how much I liked the song that was playing. And there is absolutely nothing that can compare with the feeling of the last push when baby slipped out and the midwife placed him, with cord still attached, in my arms! It is pure relief and joy and strength and love.
Rewards
Giving birth can be an amazingly empowering experience. It’s really hard work and it’s painful and tiring and when you realize that you did it, you really feel like you can do anything. For a lot of women it shows them that they are a lot stronger and more capable than they thought they were! 300,000 women do it every day and they definitely have something to feel proud of.
For about 2 or 3 days after my son’s birth, I thought I never wanted to do it again. But I am going to do it again in July and to be honest, I’m actually looking forward to it. Birth is so much more than the pain and swearing they show on tv
Sweet Home Birth Boxes - the supplies you need no matter what your birth plan includes!
We are excited to share with you that Sweet Home has been featured in Vancouver's February issue of Shared Vision under the ENVISION section. Check it out!
Sweet Home Birth Boxes - the supplies you need no matter what your birth plan includes!
Celebrate your sweet cherub's arrival with Mother Me home support and be mothered yourself, at the same time, by a Mother Me postnatal doula.
Why give flowers to a new mom when you can give a qualified Mother Me doula?
Mother Me is offering a contest for new moms, to win 16 hours of home support, valued at approx. $400.
Mother Me Doulas:- Are certified to take care of both you and your newborn
- Provide home support for you and your family performed in a respectful and sensitive manner
- Offer newborn care, bathing, feeding, massage and comfort techniques
- Provide breastfeeding education and emotional support
- Assist with your day to day household tasks
- Are specialized to care for twins and triplets.
How to Enter?
They want to know:
What is the most outrageous or comical advice you have been given about parenting?
Submit your answer by email with your name and contact information.
Please send your answer to motherme@shaw.ca by February 14th.
Winner to be announced by email on February 15th, 2008.
Who Can Enter?
Anyone having or has had a baby from January 14th, 2008 to March 14th, 2008.
Also, friends or family wanting to give this as a gift to a loved
one who has had or is expecting a baby during this time period.
All new moms will love this gift!
You Can Win:
The winner will receive a gift certificate totaling $400 that must be used by July 2008.
Sweet Home Birth Boxes - the supplies you need no matter what your birth plan includes!
The following was posted on the Waterbirth International website last week. Please note this week's update at the bottom of this post as well.
For twenty plus years Waterbirth International and Barbara Harper have been guiding mothers and their providers, offering education and birth pools all over the world. Waterbirth International is facing the very difficult truth that the Gentle Birth World Congress - a fabulous success in every way for international and local attendees - drained all of our resources. With the help of those around the world the doors will stay open while we reorganize and seek new volunteers and board members.
We still need to raise $175,000 in donations to cover the debts from the Congress.
With such a large sum to raise, we need each of you to support this cause. When you support waterbirth, you are making a statement that you want and need options, choices and more control.
Can you help us stay open to take the next phone call?- to convince an obstetrician to incorporate waterbirth into his/her practice
- to work with the nurse midwives to install pools in their facilities
- to educate an entire hospital on the benefits of allowing women freedom of movement in the water
- to continue our resource services for parents and professionals
We have freely given these services over the past 20 years. We want to continue to give them freely, but we need your help to keep the phones turned on and the volunteers working.
How much is it worth to see waterbirth become the norm in the US, like it is in the UK? I think we only need a few more years to make that happen. Women really do want waterbirth to be an available choice in every hospital. They need choices now, more than ever.
If we need to call every single waterbirth parent personally, we will. We don't want 25 years of pioneering work to end and the vision of safe and beautiful waterbirth to go away.
Please do the following:- DONATE any amount you can
- Become a MEMBER of Waterbirth International
- Buy a birth pool for your local midwives
- Buy a birth pool for yourself
- Buy a birth video and donate it to your local library
- Spread the word around the world: Post this message on other sites and blogs
UPDATE:
World community rallies support.
Midwives, parents, doctors, doulas, childbirth educators, grandparents, business owners - all send letters of support along with donations, membership and orders in the Waterbirth International eStore!! In just one week enough donations came in to pay bills, wages and taxes for Waterbirth International staff. There is still a long way to go, but many groups are hosting fund raisers in all parts US and around the world. The statement was loud, clear, strong and demonstrative - Waterbirth International MUST stay open to help millions more women and families.
Sweet Home Birth Boxes - the supplies you need no matter what your birth plan includes!
This isn't exactly new news, the buzz about this film has been growing for a few months now, but I wanted to be sure to share it with you. Ricki Lake, actress and former talk-show host (remember?), has produced a new film on birth in the United States called The Business of Being Born which is in limited release around the US right now.Birth: it’s a miracle. A rite of passage. A natural part of life. But more than anything, birth is a business. Compelled to find answers after a disappointing birth experience with her first child, actress Ricki Lake recruits filmmaker Abby Epstein to examine and question the way American women have babies.
The film interlaces intimate birth stories with surprising historical, political and scientific insights and shocking statistics about the current maternity care system. When director Epstein discovers she is pregnant during the making of the film, the journey becomes even more personal.
Should most births be viewed as a natural life process, or should every delivery be treated as a potentially catastrophic medical emergency?
The film is getting rave reviews within the birth community: the film was screened at the Gentle Birth conference (hosted by Waterbirth International) in Portland, OR in September 2007 and Ricki Lake is on the cover of the most recent issue of Mothering Magazine. Mothering Magazine online also has an interview with Ricki Lake which you can listen to right now.
The film includes amazing birth advocates like Ina May Gaskin, Robbie Davis-Floyd, Dr. Michel Odent and Dr. Marsden Wagner. I really can't wait to see this film. The trailer is incredibly inspiring and I am overjoyed to see someone who has the possibility of reaching so many people spreading the message that birth is normal and natural.
Sweet Home Birth Boxes - the supplies you need no matter what your birth plan includes!
Finally, I am back after a long hiatus.
Where have I been?
Primarily, I've been quite consumed with a major project for Sweet Home - our new naturals line (sourcing products, costing, having an internal shopping cart built to make shopping on our site more friendly for you, getting images together). More about Sweet Home Naturals in the next post.
There was of course also Christmas and all of the illnesses of fall and winter for myself and my family, lots of family visits during the fall, my dive back into University to finish my degree.
I also had the pleasure of exhibiting at the Canadian Association of Midwives annual conference held in Vancouver this past year from Nov 1-3. The conference was in Vancouver to celebrate 10 years of legalized midwifery in BC. There were a host of events for this major milestone held throughout the month and across the city, from a big party to open houses at the midwifery clinics.
The conference itself was a real treat. Midwives seem to be amazingly friendly, approachable, laid-back and of course, knowledgeable. The energy at the conference was upbeat and friendly. I was also fortunate to be able to take breaks from manning my table to sit in on a few of the sessions of the conference including some amazing new studies on home birth and on the attitudes of university students towards birth. I can't wait for these studies to be published to share the findings with you.
With the Naturals project wrapped up for now it means I will be able to devote more time to blogging and our newsletter. I've been looking forward to it. I hope to hear more from you too.
Sweet Home Birth Boxes - the supplies you need no matter what your birth plan includes!
