Wisdom and Births

Among the many pioneers and leaders in the field of Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology, one of my favorites is Dr. Robert Oliver, an MD who was at the front of the humanistic birth movement. Dr. Oliver passed in 2005, but his legacy and work still resonate throughout the birth psychology field. He served on the Board of Directors for the Association of Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and Health and passionately advocated for mother-baby centered care. Here is an excellent quote, one of my favorites, from a publication found in the Journal of Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and Health (JPPPH). What does it mean for every woman to have an 'assured uterus'? I think there is room for personal interpretation, but as defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, assured means: very confident; characterized by certainty or security. In this light, an assured uterus means that every mother is supported throughout her pregnancy in emotional, physical, and relational ways. That she feel...

Warning: This is most definitely an opinion piece! Surprisingly, FOUR out of FIVE babies in the U.S. are born on drugs . WHAT!?!?! 80% of our tiny fragile human babies are born on drugs!?!? Yep! Even though we live in a country that spends countless trillions of dollars on the "drug-war"... if the government says it's illegal, we'll judge you for using it and lock you up in prison, but if a pharmaceutical company manufactured that dangerous drug, well, then we'll stand in line to take it and even give it to our babies. ...hypocrites much??? So where are these babies getting their first high? From their doctors and mothers, of course! Opiods, such as Fentanyl and Meperidine (Demerol), are pretty hard-core drugs which are frequently used in the management of labor pain. In fact, the  Listening to Mothers Survey III  (2013) reported that over 67% of mothers received an epidural and another 16% received another opiod medication (often as an injection), such as Demerol...

Over the weekend I attended the labor of my first HypnoBirth mother. Labor progressed at home for quite some time before arriving at the hospital at 100% effacement and 3cm dilation. This mother was amazing, so calm and in control - I really experienced how to be present for a woman and to affirm her strength in labor. First, I think I may love HypnoBirth! When I met this particular family they were taking the childbirth education classes and shared how much they were enjoying the philosophy of centered and empowered birth. I was excited to experience something new! At our prenatal visit they let me borrow the book and I devoured the first half in two days. HypnoBirth is based on the understanding that birth is not inherently painful and it is fear that leads to tension within the body and the experience of pain. Mothers spend a little time each day envisioning a peaceful, gentle, and fulfilling birth while preparing for the physical demands of labor using breathing exercises and rel...

Since when did the birthing vagina lose it's privacy?!? In the United States, the majority of births occur in the hospital where women are EXPECTED to deliver their baby's in the lithotomy position; which is extremely counterproductive to pushing and I think we would all agree it's uncomfortable and unflattering. How humiliating the traditional hospital birth must be for some women who have kept their sexuality within the confines of their relationships and bedroom, but now their most intimate body part is exposed during a more or less "unflattering" event. Some women even experience a level of embarrassment or anxiety when it comes to topics relating to, or issues with, their vaginas. From early childhood we are trained that our genitals are "private parts" intended only for ourselves and those we love and trust. We spend years functioning with this knowledge and it becomes a part of what we believe to our very core. Then we are expected to set di...

When I first knew I wanted to break into the birth world I had no idea of where to start. I researched every profession and pathway I could find and chose to become a birth doula first. I decided to go with DONA International because of their strong evidence-based position on the positive effects of continuous labor support, the well-known names that founded the organization, and the fact that it is an international organization and I may decide to live and practice outside the U.S. someday.  I began with the required readings and finished these before purchasing my packet. In March 2010 I took the DONA International doula training, which entailed two full days of hands on birth learning with about 15 other very passionate women in the basement of a doula trainer's home. I felt exhilarated and empowered by my birth doula training and I was ready and determined to conquer the birth world. Within two months I found a Bradley Childbirth Education class that I was able to sit-in on for...

A supportive, no-nonsense approach to informed childbirth in any setting; a hospital, birth center or at home. Cook and Christensen have compiled 12 “secrets” for natural childbirth encouraging women to understand the powerful and spiritual process of birth and to be truly informed when it comes to birthing in any setting. I am thrilled this book is hitting the birth market and I have high hopes that the bold captivating title, with the promise of learning 12 natural childbirth secrets, will contribute to the movement back towards natural, holistic birth. Each chapter addresses one of the “12 secrets for natural childbirth” and provides a wonderful compilation of research based information, advice from well-known experts in the field, and a wide variety of positive and encouraging birth stories. Among the first pages, readers will find professional advice from Christine Northrup, M.D. and Margaret Christensen, M.D.; addressing a common fear- based model of birth and encouraging women ...

The techno-medical management of birth is pervasive. I struggle to understand the origination of some obstetrical interventions, such as the immediate (or quick) clamping and cutting of the umbilical cord. The umbilical cord develops between 3.5 and 8 gestational weeks and sustains the baby throughout the pregnancy and even in the minutes after birth by transferring nutrients and oxygen to the fetus from the placenta and carrying fetal waste away. The transfer of nutrient rich and oxygenated blood continues after birth and is important for all babies to receive, but particularly important for babies that are slow to start breathing on their own. I recently watched a youtube video of a Grand Rounds lecture from M.D. Nicholas Fogelson ( AcademicOB/GYN ) about delayed cord clamping and the importance of this as a standard of practice in medicine. He gives an excellent presentation and discusses several large well-executed research studies in which the evidence for delayed cord clamping is...

It was once a common thought among some (often more western) cultures that children didn't feel pain before the age of 3, or if they "felt" the pain, they didn't remember it so it didn't matter anyway. This belief has persisted throughout many, many generations and our current medical model of care often manages to ignore the important fact that unborn and newborn babies DO feel pain. As for "remembering", we may not be able to recollect the things that happened to us in our infancy, but that doesn't mean they aren't a part of our unconscious thoughts, foundational behaviors, and cellular memory. An article from Science Daily addresses recent research about painful procedures being performed on newborns in ICU's (this article is addressing research conducted in Paris, but our procedures are very similar), particularly how many procedures newborns undergo and that some of these are performed without any pain medication. It is important to kno...