Recently, birth has been
in the news a bit more frequently. This page will feature updates
and news items to keep those interested in the world of birth
apprised of what is happening. To read the full article please click
on the title of the article. This will take you to the correct
website with the full article. If I have missed an item you believe
should be posted for others to see, please send details to
motherscircle@gmail.com.
The title above is that of a newly released report
by Childbirth Connection, The Reforming States Group, and The
Milbank Memorial Fund. It is a 113-page report that outlines what
maternity care could look like in this country if suggested policy
recommendations are implemented, resulting in a cost savings of
billions of dollars in healthcare for our country. Peruse the
articles from
USA Today and
Consumer Reports if the full 113 pages seems overwhelming.
The American
Public Health Association and the
American College of Nurse Midwives
support women choosing home birth. The
British OB/GYNs have read the research,
too, and have
this to say: "There is no reason why
home birth should not be offered to
women at low risk of complications... it
may confer considerable benefits for
them and their families. There is ample
evidence showing that labouring at home
increases a woman's likelihood of a
birth that is both satisfying and
safe..."
Because if U.S. women
are to have real birth choices, everybody needs to be working
together to provide them.
*NOTE: It seems time to
acknowledge that some women are more comfortable in a hospital
setting while some prefer a out of hospital setting. As this article
notes, there is room for both option and women and their families
should have the right to birth in whichever setting they wish.
A Chinese policewoman is
being praised for breastfeeding earthquake-stricken babies. She has
fed up to nine babies, five of them orphans and the others with
mothers whose milk supply was effected by their lack of food and
water for days.
Sarah J Buckley, MD, family physician, mother of four and author of
the internationally-acclaimed book Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering
will present Gentle Birth: The Science and the Wisdom, a series of
lectures on the natural processes of birth, and the impact of
interventions in pregnancy and birth on mothers and babies. These
will be online presentations. Please see the link above for more
information.
On April 23rd, the first BirthNetwork
meeting will be held in our area. The topic will be The
Truth about Cesarean Section and VBAC and practitioners as well
as those who have experienced cesareans and VBAC's will be present
to share their experiences. BirthNetwork Parent Topic Nights are
held on the 4th Wednesday of each month. Please see the link for
more details on upcoming monthly meetings.
Time: 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Location: First Christian Church 1001 Chester Rd. Lansing, MI
Join the Greater Lansing Area this Saturday and
Sunday, February 23-4, to watch a documentary film about the
maternity care in the U.S. and get informed. In an effort to educate
our community about birth and maternity care in the U.S., a group of
women have come together to create this event. This film examines
and questions the way American women birth their babies. The film
interlaces intimate birth stories with surprising historical,
political and scientific insights and interesting 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. This event will be open to the community, so if
you have ever been pregnant or hope to be pregnant one day, please
plan on attending. For more information about the film, please see
The Business of Being Bornwebsite or follow the link above.
*On Sunday, special guest Jennifer Block, author of
Pushed: The Painful Truth about Maternity Care in the U.S.
will be with us for the screening, discussion panel and a book
signing afterwards.
There are many births in the documentary film "The
Business of Being Born," including a scene of former talk-show host
Ricki Lake giving birth naked in her tub. But the image that viewers
may find most shocking is that of a baby being cut out of a woman's
abdomen via Caesarean. This, according to Lake, the executive
producer of the film, and Abby Epstein, the film's director, is the
right reaction: one of their messages is that C-sections should only
be performed when needed to guarantee the well-being of the mother
and infant, and should not be a first choice for healthy mothers.
New research into the risks associated with elective Caesareans
supports their view.
If you hadn't heard of
this film before last week, chances are that you have heard about it
now. This film was produced by Ricki Lake and documentary filmmaker
Abby Epstein, and focuses on natural birth. Between Ricki Lake's
appearances on the
Today Show and the cover (shown below) of the current issue
of
Mothering magazine, the film has been getting a good amount of
press.
While images of
emergency births and medicated births dominate most media,
this film highlights natural birth and home birth as real options
for healthy low risk pregnancies. Interested in viewing this film?
Keep your eyes peeled for details on the screening that will take
place in East Lansing in February 2008. More details will be
posted here and on
The Greenhouse Birth Center website.
To listen to the interview with Ricki Lake, see the
Mothering magazine website.
Being pregnant and
giving birth are natural life experiences for which a woman’s body
is well designed. A woman’s body is innately prepared with the
strength, stamina, and ability to nourish a safe and natural
pregnancy and childbirth. By supporting the body’s own instinctive
knowledge, unnecessary medical intervention can often be avoided.
Natural pregnancy includes creating an internal and external
environment of healthy, positive elements: healthy eating,
appropriate exercise, listening to positive birth stories, gathering
knowledge, planning the ideal care, and partnering with a caregiver
who can lead you through each step safely and confidently.
*Excerpted from the Mothers Naturally
website. Please click the headline to be directed to that website.
It has been easier to get
consumer satisfaction and quality information about a car than about
maternity care services - but no longer.
CIMS has developed
www.TheBirthSurvey.com, a consumer feedback website where women
provide information about the maternity care they received with
specific doctors, midwives, hospitals, and birth centers. Families
choosing where and with who to birth can utilize this consumer
feedback, along with data on hospital and birth center intervention
rates and practices, to make informed health care choices. This data
can also be used for quality of care improvement efforts by
facilities and providers.
For further information about The Birth Survey, to help collect
facility-level intervention data, to help "get the word out" about
the project in your area, to volunteer in another capacity or to
inquire about how The Birth Survey can be used for quality
improvement, please e-mail
info@thebirthsurvey.com.
Despite continued
reports in the medical literature of harm caused by cesarean
surgery, the U.S. cesarean section birth rate has increased to 31.1%
for 2006, an historic high, according to a new report released by
the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Lamaze International is
alarmed by this rate, which should be no higher than 15 percent, and
encourages women to seek care providers and birth settings with low
cesarean surgery rates in order to improve health outcomes for
themselves and their babies.
Research indicates that where and with whom a woman gives birth are
two of the most important factors affecting her likelihood of having
cesarean surgery. Regardless of her health status and risk factors,
a woman who chooses a provider or birth setting with a low cesarean
rate is less likely to have a cesarean. Research also has shown that
providers and facilities can lower their cesarean section rates
without compromising health outcomes.
Expectant parents should interview care providers and carefully
select one based on criteria that will optimize the chance of a safe
and satisfying outcome, including the frequency with which that
provider uses interventions that carry risks.
Researchers with the
World Health Organization published a huge study
this week in the
British Medical Journal finding that women
are twice as likely to suffer serious complications
or death if they give birth by cesarean section,
even if it is planned prior to labor, and they are
five times more likely to have a postpartum
infection. Babies, too, are more likely to die or to
be so sick that they require a week-long stay in
intensive care if they are not born vaginally.
The study of nearly
100,000 births excluded women or infants with
underlying health complications or distress during
labor so that the outcomes are associated with the
method of delivery alone. Researchers found
that for women undergoing cesareans, “compared withvaginal deliveries, the risk was
three
to five times higherfor maternal death,
four times higher for hysterectomy, and
twice as high for being admitted to intensive careand hospitalstay more than
seven days.” Researchers found that infant death
shortly following birth was also more likely among
cesarean babies, except those who were breech*
(presenting bottom-first rather than head-first).
One of the
biggest
obstacles to
natural birth is
misunderstanding
your "due date."
A due date does
not mean there
is only one safe
day for your
baby to be born.
It is meant to
establish a
range of time
that your baby
is mature and
safe to be born.
Because modern
obstetrics
narrows this to
a specific day,
unnecessary
interventions,
like inducing
labor, come into
practice.
In a
well-nourished,
low risk
pregnancy it is
normal for your
baby to be born
between 37 and
42 weeks
gestation*. Many
natural events
take place
within your body
during the last
weeks of
pregnancy to
prepare you for
labor. Allow
time for the
natural process
to occur.
American Institute of
Cancer Research has just released the new study on diet and cancer
and includes specific recommendations to breastfeed...and be
breastfed. The evidence on cancer as well as other diseases shows
that sustained, exclusive breastfeeding is protective for the mother
as well as the child. This is the first major report concerned with
the prevention of cancer to make a recommendation specifically on
breastfeeding, to prevent breast cancer in mothers and to prevent
overweight and obesity in children. Read Chapters 6 and 8 of the 500
page report for more information.
October 23, 2007
Survey Seeks Women Who Have Ever Been
Pregnant
The cesarean rate is skyrocketing. And rather than predicting that
the tide is turning, some experts believe that in less than 10 years
more than half of the births in the US will be surgical births. When
you consider the potential ramifications on the health of babies and
mothers from this possibility, it is very frightening. The good news
is that there is something very simple that can be done to help
change directions—prevention of the first cesarean.
As a childbirth educator, doula, mother and author, Robin Elise
Weiss, LCCE, is pouring her heart into finishing a book about
cesarean prevention. Her intention is not to create a book of
useless facts, but to provide a true guide for mothers in navigating
the system of maternity care that so often leads them astray.
What Weiss needs are personal stories to help put a human face on
the cesarean epidemic. To that end, she has created a survey for
ANYONE who has been pregnant—you do not need to have had a cesarean
to respond. You can find the survey at:
http://www.birthactivist.com/node/154
Pushedbirth.com is the sister site for Pushed,
the book, and was created to provide women with
uncensored, unsweetened information about U.S.
childbirth care. Author and journalist
Jennifer Block spent years researching why so
many labors are begun by induction, why so many
births end in cesarean section, and how modern
maternity care is impacting women and their
families. This site provides key findings — a quick
read for a better birth.
To listen to the interview with Ricki Lake, see the