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Three Different Births – A New Chance – In Control of Birth – An Unexpected Cesarean – Min Yi’s Miraculous Maternity
In an excellent but out-of-print book, Stepping Stones to Labor Ward Diagnosis, I read how to determine the obstetric type without doing an internal exam. The author was a practicing obstetrician/gynecologist in Australia in the 1950s and into the 1970s. During that time a link was found between bone cancer in pre-adolescent males and routine x-ray for fetal position, size and pelvic compatibility during the ninth month gestation. (Does this sound familiar for ultrasound exam today?) Further studies on x-ray exposure during pregnancy showed other links to fetal anomalies and led to warnings against such exposure.
This story is only one of many that can help to change birth for the better. Learn about the use of Yunnan Paiyao for postpartum hemorrhage in this excerpt from Sister MorningStar’s upcoming book. Read more…. Saving Lives
“Due to some pregnancy difficulty, the birth will be induced today. Fingers crossed, prayers and thoughts for the baby’s health (and the mother’s) will be accepted.” This was the text of an e-mail that I received a few weeks ago from a very worried Israeli father.
I had a dog named Zoe a long time ago. She was a mix of lab, collie and god-knows-what—a big, half-blind, neurotic dog who always lay right smack in the middle of the narrow hallway leading from the bathroom to my bedroom. Every night, to avoid tripping, I had to take a big step over her.
My journey to truly woman-centered birthing has been a gradual one. Like so many women in the US, my birth history isn’t without disappointment. My first labor ended in the operating room, far from the drug-free labor my husband and I had prepared for. During my second pregnancy I joined the International Cesarean Awareness Network (ICAN), learned about the impact of fetal position on labor and delivery, changed obstetricians and fought for and had a drug-free hospital VBAC.
Photo by Eduardo Tdp
En Petén, Guatemala, se encuentra la comunidad Caribe Rubel Tzul compuesta de varias Aldeas. Esta es una comunidad de 25,000 indígenas desplazados cerca de la frontera con México. El hospital más cercano queda a 4 hrs. a pie, su mediomás común de transporte (Iniciativa Comunitaria de Investigacíon, Inc. [ICI]).
Sometimes family and friends don’t want to hear about the difficulties that new mothers have to deal with after a cesarean, instead saying, “At least you have a healthy baby.” Pamela Udy, President of the International Cesarean Awareness Network (ICAN), addresses the physical impact that cesarean surgery can have on women. In the next issue, she will address the emotional impact. Read more…. The Physical Impact of Cesareans
Photo by Eduardo Tdp
The community Caribe Rubel Tzul, which is composed of several villages, is located in Petén, Guatemala. This is a community of 25,000 displaced indigenous people close to the Méxican border. The closest hospital is within a four-hour walking distance, the most common means of transportation (Communitarian Initiative of Investigation [ICI]).
Photos provided by the author
April 20, 2008, at 3 am, a flow of water rushed out of me—my waters had broken. Immediately following, contractions began to come every one to two minutes, lasting up to a minute or more each time. We called our midwife, Ruli (a 69-year-old veteran with 300 births and six children of her own under her belt), who lived three hours away in the interior of the island, Orocovis. She let me know that she was on her way and to relax. Between sleep and waking, we timed each contraction and slept during the breaks.
Read more…. My Birthing Experience: Inti Imani Albarracin-Miranda
My introduction to International Midwife Assistance (IMA) came in 2006 when I spent three weeks as a volunteer in their Community Midwife Training Program in Bamiyan province, Afghanistan. IMA offers a high level of people-to-people assistance, with almost no bureaucracy. Our services were direct, personal and highly valued by the recipients.
Read more…. Marion’s Message: International Midwife Assistance
For many women, giving birth causes stress and anxiety. For women with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), the stress of giving birth can trigger panic attacks. The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that about 6.8 million American adults are affected by GAD (USDHHS 2007). Anxiety disorders affect women twice as frequently as men and usually are first diagnosed in early adulthood, which makes their effects relevant when caring for childbearing women.
Read more…. Pregnancy and Birth with Generalized Anxiety Disorder
