New Edition of The Guide to a Healthy Birth!

Jul31

One of my favorite resources to hand out in birth classes and to give to pregnant friends is Choices in Childbirth‘s booklet “The Guide to a Healthy Birth.” I’m so excited to learn that the second edition of the booklet is now available! (Thanks to Teri at Passion for Birth for the tipoff!) You can download the pdf version directly here. Or, for very minimal shipping, you can order print versions here.

I just ordered 50 copies, so if you’re a real life friend of mine or are taking a class from me, I’d be delighted to give you one of these phenomenal booklets!

Childbirth Education Mnemonic Devices

Jul29

Thanks to the word “tulip,” used by my Western Civilization professor in 1996, I will never forget the 5 basic beliefs of Calvinism. This is an example of a mnemonic device that was (to me) apparently unforgettable. In March of this year, I took the ICEA childbirth educator certification exam. I studied compulsively for the exam and came up with a couple of mnemonic devices (word tricks that help you remember things) for several birth-related anatomy terms that I was otherwise having trouble remembering.

1. “What do you want for Isthmus [Christmas]?” “A lower uterine segment!”

2. “Brady’s always been a little slow…” (said with a sort of sympathetic grimace. This helped me remember the difference between bradycardia [too slow FHT] and tachycardia [too fast]).

3. “I schitt on my tuberosities” (not pronounced quite as bad as it looks, draw out the “sch.” This helps me remember that the ischial tuberosities are the “sitting bones” at the bottom of the pelvis–I was getting them confused with the iliac bones and perhaps with the ischial spines).

4. And less interesting and more classic, that arteries carry blood *away* from something (both start with A) and veins carry blood to it.

5. I remember the three layers of the uterus by using the start of the word to remind me of its location. Endometrium is on the INside (end–>in). Perimetrium is on the perimeter (the outside. Words both start with “peri”). And, myometrium is in the middle–both start with “m.”

These are the ones that have come to mind right now. Does anyone else have any devices to add that they use for terms like this?

I’d like to find one for the 7 cardinal movements!

Birth Quotes

Jul29

I’ve been periodically posting various birth quotes to my Talk Birth Facebook page. Then, I realized I should also be collecting them into a post where they will last a little longer and be enjoyed by more people! I think I will just keep updating this post as I add quotes, but I may make multiple shorter posts or otherwise sub-categorize them to make them easier to follow.

“…labor is not about dilation. Your body knows how to give birth whether or not you ever have a pelvic exam during labor. Birthing women need encouragement to trust their bodies, and to be the stars of their own labors…”

The Doula Guide to Birth

—

“The empowerment of laboring women, not the management of childbirth by means of painkillers, leads to satisfactory birth experiences.”

Research conclusion by Belgian scientists in 2007

I received a comment on this quote that is very true: “Satisfactory is the wrong word. Spiritual, beautiful, peaceful, wonderful, mind blowing, amazing, phenomenal…. any of those would be better!” My response is Absolutely! I would say powerful, transformative, beautiful, and empowering 🙂

—

“In giving birth to our babies, we may find that we give birth to new possibilities within ourselves.”

Everyday Blessings

—

“The whole point of woman-centered birth is the knowledge that a woman is the birth power source. She may need, and deserve, help, but in essence, she always had, currently has, and will have the power.”

Heather McCue

—

“You will find it incredible that labor gets stronger and stronger–and you do, too.”

The Doula Guide to Birth

—

“You do not have to be a particularly strong or brave or relaxed woman to get through labor. You just need to be a woman.”

The Big Book of Birth

—

“It is not ‘ladylike’ to give birth. The strength and power of labor is not demure.”

An Easier Childbirth (quoting a midwife)

—

“Women are strong, strong, terribly strong. We don’t know how strong until we’re pushing out our babies.”

Louise Erdrich, The Blue Jay’s Dance

—

“Women around the world and throughout time have known how to take care of each other in birth. They’ve shown each other the best positions for comfort in labor, they’ve used nurturing touch and repeated soothing words, and they’ve literally held each other up when it’s needed the most…”

The Doula Guide to Birth

—

“Education for birth consists not, as some would have it, of ‘conditioning,’ but aims at giving a woman the means by which she can express her own personality creatively in childbirth.”

Sheila Kitzinger

—

“A self-determined birth is a potent symbol of womanly power, of human courage, of loving compassion, even of ecological holism. It may look like childbirth educators are just showing charts and teaching relaxation, but we are also helping to create a gentle atmosphere in which personal and cultural transformation can take place.”

ALACE CBE Manual

Birth & Courage

Jul27

I wrote previously about when birth doesn’t go as planned and shared my perspective that a cesarean is often an act of personal courage by the birthing woman. I’ve been reading the new book The Doula Guide to Birth and the authors make similar comments:

“Remember, you are still giving birth to your baby. It takes courage to give birth whether interventions are used or not.”

And

“Whatever way birth happens, it is your rite of passage into motherhood, and that passage is to be celebrated. Natural childbirth is a passage, cesarean birth is a passage, and birth with an epidural is a passage to be celebrated. That passage cannot be taken away from you. Every mother’s birth experience is valid, and an act of courage.” (emphasis mine)

Another good quote from the book is with regard to vaginal exams during labor and whether they are necessary or not (they’re not!):

“Although there is currently a heavy emphasis on dilation, vaginal exams, and timelines for giving birth, labor is not about dilation. Your body knows how to give birth whether or not you ever have a pelvic exam during labor. Birthing women need encouragement to trust their bodies, and to be the stars of their own labors. Doulas help provide this encouragement. And the confidence a woman discovers in labor can help carry her through the demands of parenting and future challenges in life.” (emphasis mine)

Birthing Poem

Jul19

the woman speaks of birthing
After Langston Hughes’s The Negro Speaks of Rivers

I’ve known birthing
Before creation
And older than the labor of mankind
My womb is the mother of life
I carried Adam when seeds
In the garden were gestating
I pushed the head of Cronos from
Between my legs and swaddled
Him in the sands of time
I was midwife to the moon and
Made her crib in my lodge
I wailed with Demeter’s chorus
When armies stole children
Killed the land
And I’ve seen her barren lap
Turn poppy red with birth
In the spring
I’ve known birthing
Before god became a man

by Margaret Arabella Kenney

From Mothering Magazine (pg. 58, Sept-Oct 2008). I love to read this poem aloud at Blessingways. I thnk it is very powerful.

Recent Publications

Jul17

This has been quite a month for me for publications!

My short article Centering for Birth was published in the International Journal of Childbirth Education (page 20)

My book review of Fathers at Birth was published in The CAPPA Quarterly (page 14).

My film review of Birth as We Know It was in The CAPPA Quarterly (page 15).

And, my piece of creative nonfiction Nursing Johnny Depp was published in Literary Mama.

I’m excited about all of these! 🙂

Active Birth Video

Jul13

Lamaze and Injoy videos have teamed up on a nice new website called Mother’s Advocate. The site has a variety of handouts and a booklet to download based on “6 Healthy Birth Practices” (which, in and of themselves form a nice little birth plan for a normal, healthy birth!). I especially enjoyed their video on active birth: “get upright and follow urges to push.” The video urges upright birthing positions and avoidance of directed/forceful pushing (the kind with counting that you see so often on tv!).

Free e-Booklets

Jul10

Before birth, breastfeeding, and birth education became my primary passions in life, I was deeply connected to several other causes and wrote three booklets based on different areas (non-birth related, though one does have a section in it for doulas). I have decided to make the booklets available for download as FREE PDFs.

Talking to a Battered Woman

A helpful guide intended for people working with battered women on a short-term basis: volunteers in crisis hotline or residential settings, crisis workers, hospital personnel, and informal helpers such as friends. Provides useful sections about: Domestic Violence Dynamics; Active Listening Skills & Empathy; Boundaries; Interaction Tips–Do’s & Don’ts; Sharing Pain; Self-Care; Resources; Sample Safety Plan. This 32 page booklet is perfect for use in training sessions and as an ongoing quick reference. It is also a convenient primer on general interaction skills.
* Publisher: Stonehaven Place LLC; 1st edition (2004)
* Pages: 32
* Language: English
* ISBN-10: 097442661X
* ISBN-13: 978-0974426617

Talking to Someone Whose Child is Dying

Includes a special section with ideas for doulas and other birth professionals. This guide is intended for use as a general guideline for interacting with families of terminally or critically ill children on a short-term basis. Volunteers in residential or hospital settings, hospital or crisis workers, and informal helpers such as friends will find this guide helpful. Includes a resource section as well as sections about: Developing Rapport, Active Listening Skills, Boundaries, Do’s & Don’ts, Sharing Pain, Self-care, When a Baby Dies. This 28 page booklet is perfect for training sessions, for ongoing use as a quick reference, and can be viewed as a small primer in appropriate interaction skills.
* Publisher: Stonehaven Place LLC; 1st edition (2004)
* Language: English
* Pages: 28
* ISBN-10: 0974426601
* ISBN-13: 978-0974426600

A Quick Guide to Successful Volunteering

This helpful guide will help you explore what it means to be a successful volunteer. From choosing the best position for you, to tips from the field, this book presents a realistic overview off how you can help and how to define your role. Includes sections about: Choosing a position; Rewards & Benefits; Cautions; Rights & Responsibilities; Tips & Notes. This 28 page guide is intended primarily for long-term, human service volunteers working in formal non-profit agencies with both paid & volunteer staff members.
* Publisher: Stonehaven Place LLC; 1st edition (2003)
* Pages: 28
* Language: English
* ISBN-10: 0974426628
* ISBN-13: 978-0974426624

Two More Birth Transformation Quotes

Jul6

“Birth is a time of deep transformation. We enter labor with excitement, trepidation and sometimes fear. We emerge with power, confidence and love.”

–Toni Lee Rakestraw, Organic Birth

“Ideally, giving birth is a natural and joyful experience, a holy event in which the energies of creation and transformation can be shared by all who are present.”

–Rahima Baldwin, Special Delivery

Why I do what I do…

Jul4

I was feeling a little nostalgic this evening going through my childbirth education training manual. My original certifying organization, ALACE, is undergoing some reorganization and a “rebirth” into two new organizations. So, I was thinking back to my beginnings with the program and how excited I was about it and what an absolutely perfect match it was for me philosophically. I came across this section in the beginning part of the manual and thought about how perfectly it sums up why I do what I do. It also sums up the attitude and perspective that drew me so strongly to ALACE in the first place:

“Do you ever wonder why you are drawn to childbirth education when there are so many other pressing environmental/social/political causes clamoring for your devoted service? Perhaps you already see how our work is related to many other forms of activism. Cultivating respect for the mother and the process of birth is part of the larger process of understanding the interdependent patterns of nature…Giving birth, knowing you have done it yourself, your way, is a rebellious act in our technocratic society. In an age that promises to fix technology’s side effects with more technology, it is an act of faith in nature, and in oneself. The people who choose this route are often the same people whose hope for the future inspires them to work for a better world, not just for themselves, but for everyone.”

“A self-determined birth is a potent symbol of womanly power, of human courage, of loving compassion, even of ecological holism. It may look like childbirth educators are just showing charts and teaching relaxation, but we are also helping to create a gentle atmosphere in which personal and cultural transformation can take place.” (emphasis mine)

Empowering Women, Transforming Birth