Mmmmmmmm

He gets hotter with each thing I read about him.

Ani Difranco & Birth

I came across a reference to this interview on a blog I read. The following excerpt sums up a lot of what I think about birth.

Ani Difranco -

I would definitely choose a homebirth again despite the fear mongering of this patriarchal society, which convinces women that they are incapable of having babies without the intervention of men and their machines. I look at societies where women are marginalized and oppressed their whole lives (even covered head to toe in tarps!) but are still in control of birthing practice, in a whole new way now. I mean, who is really more advanced? To take birthing out of women’s hands and deny us the continuum of eons of wisdom and experience is to eject us from the very seat of our power. I believe that women in hospitals are prevented from being able to have normal, healthy birthing experiences because of the intimidation of being on the clock, being pressured to take drugs to make it quicker, being inhibited in their movement and activities, and alienated by a sterile, fluorescent lit, feet-in-the-air type environment. You know the classic “performance anxiety” of not being able to pee or poo because somebody’s watching you? Multiply that by a million! A cervix is a sphincter after all! Then to add tragic insult to injury women are numbed through their great moment of revelation. I believe the act of giving birth to be the single most miraculous thing a human being can do and it is surely the moment when a lot of women finally understand the depth of their power and connection to all of nature. You think it can’t possibly be done, you think you can’t possibly take the pain, and then you do — and afterward you look at yourself in a whole new way. If you can do that, you can do anything. Check out the books on this subject by Ina May Gaskin. She’s one of my great heroes. [...] The memory of pain always recedes. The memory of triumph does not.

The Wonders of Technology

One of the coolest things about Benton's birth is that so many people were involved. Friends were texting each other or calling the notification phone tree. Dave sent out a text to his family, friends and coworkers with the baby's information.

Perhaps the coolest is that my sister and her family were able to "be" at the birth. She is such a very important part of my life; I feel honored that she could be "Skyped" into the birth. She and my nieces and nephew watched the last hour or so of the birth. They were with us cheering me on and crying remembering E's own recent homebirth. She stayed with us for several hours afterward talking about the new baby, the birth and miscellaneous things. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful sister. Thank you, E, for being at my first and my last birth!

40 weeks 1 day

I have had easy pregnancies. Each has been healthy without any real discomfort until the last two weeks. I developed a golf ball sized cyst that made sitting, standing, walking or lying down incredibly painful. My midwife and her backup OB advised sitz baths, warm compresses and rest. There was basically no way to drain it until after the birth. It was horrible. I started complaining a lot and crying. I was a bit afraid I would drown in my own self-pity.

I decided that this baby could not be born at 41 weeks or I would lose it. After crying Wednesday night over my pain, I begged the baby to come soon. Well, someone was listening.

I started having mild contractions intermittently on Tuesday night. The surges would start and stop never increasing in intensity. I went to Birth Circle on Thursday night with mild surges about 4 minutes apart. My midwives were there as well as a few friends. They told me they thought it would be soon. I went home with hopes of an overnight baby. Not so easy! The contractions stopped, so I went to bed around midnight. I awoke to stronger contractions around 2:15am. I laid there for an hour before deciding to get up to see if they would continue and increase intensity. Nope - they spaced out, so I decided to go back to bed. When Dave was getting ready for work, the contractions started again and I suggested he stay home as I thought we were close.

The morning went slowly. I kept apologizing to Dave for the false alarm. A very good friend of mine came over to help with the kids. I also apologized for the slow-going to her. The surges did not start to pickup in duration or intensity until 12:30-1pm. I tried lying down to nap as I had not had much sleep. The contractions came regularly and started to become more intense.

Around 2pm, I got into the bathtub. I remembered how great the tub was with my previous births. It was more difficult getting comfortable due to the cyst. It was painful. I asked Dave to call our midwife. He asked if it was close, because he wanted to make food run. I told him he had time, but to make it quick.

The midwives arrived around 2:40pm and things began to get intense. I went to the bathroom to pee and subsequently vomited. The same thing had happened with A, so I knew I was getting closer. I staggered back to the tub to be hit with really intense surges. I started losing a bit of control and really vocalizing. I was checked and cleared to push as my body told me. The surges hurt so much with the cyst. I felt as if the baby may split me in half. I started pushing and yelling about the pain. One of the midwifes applied counter pressure as I pushed on my knees. The head started to emerge and she asked me to flip over. The cyst was making things more difficult. I felt down and helped ease the baby's head out while supporting my tissue. The shoulders were next and a little sticky due to everything. I screamed, "Get it Out!" as I pushed a final push.

At 3:41pm, I felt my baby glide from my body and into the water. Dave & I saw immediately that it was a boy. We laid him on my chest and started talking to him. E & A welcomed their new baby brother enthusiastically. Neither wanted to cut the cord, so Dave did. He then took the baby skin to skin, while I got out of the bath and into bed. The placenta was soon delivered, and our new baby boy was checked out. He was perfect - 10lbs 13 oz and 22.5 inches long.

I had no tears and the cyst did not rupture. It had swelled a bit more (lemon/baseball size). My midwives were amazed at my strength and resolve with such an obstacle. Luckily it can now be resolved by the gynecologist and won't be a problem.

Thank you so much to all my friends for their support. It was a wonderful experience being at home welcoming our son.

Surrounded by Love; Supported by Friends

My friends planned a blessingway for me to celebrate my last pregnancy and prepare me for the birth. It was a beautiful evening surrounded by friends. One friend gave me a pedicure, which was a huge feat(no pun intended). Another painted my belly with henna creating a beautiful work of art. All gathered and showered me with kindness. Tibetan Prayer flags were created with each person writing a hope or wish for the birth and the baby. Seven prepared wishes were also included: May this baby’s life be filled with joy and happiness, may this baby’s life be filled with good friends and mutual respect, may this baby’s life be filled with the support and care of family, may this baby’s life be filled with health of body and spirit. may this baby’s life be filled with wisdom and insight, may this baby’s life be filled with laughter and humor, may this baby’s life be filled with warmth and love.

Candles were given out to be lit when I go into labor and as a means of letting everyone know when the baby was born.

Several blessings were given to complete the evening.

First Blessing

In every birth, blessed is the wonder.

In every creation, blessed is the new beginning.

In every child, blessed is the life.

In every hope, blessed is the potential.

In every transition, blessed is the beginning.

In every existence, blessed are the possibilities.

In every love, blessed are the tears.

In every life, blessed is the love.

And—blessed are our children and the renewal and fulfillment they give to our family circle.

Second Blessing:

Let us support Heather in her journey to raise children, who will be strong enough to know when they are weak, and brave enough to face themselves when afraid; ones who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, but humble and gentle in victory.

Let us support Heather in her journey to raise children whose hearts will be clear, whose goals will be high; children who will master themselves before they seek to master others; ones who will learn to laugh, yet never forget how to weep; ones who will reach into the future, yet never forget the past. Then their parents, will dare to whisper, “We, too, have been enriched.”

Great Movie

I was able to attend a screening of the film The Business of Being Born tonight. It was previewed by the Arizona Birth Network as a fundraiser for their organization. I went with some friends and ended up being on the discussion panel at the end. It was a tremendous movie depicting the scary state of birth in the United States. It is likened to Al Gore's Inconvenient Truth.

The movie raises some startling issues. Although we are a large developed nation, we rank high in infant and maternal mortality. The maternal death rate has actually risen. It is theorized that this is due in a large part to the many interventions common in most births as well as the startling cesarean rate. Cesarean are becoming elective with the Unite States having a rate above 30% (the World Health Organization suggests a rate of no more than 10-15%). Some states and cities have rates around 45-50%. This is amazing to me. Cesareans are a major abdominal surgery. It is not something to be taken lightly. The movie discussed the issue of bonding with an intervention laden birth. It is harder for the natural "love cocktail" to be released with the normal birth process is disrupted. With the absence of these hormones, breastfeeding can be harder as well as basic maternal/baby bonding.

I really recommend additional reading for anyone pregnant or planning to have children. Some good websites are pushedbirth.com, alternet.org, an article on avoiding c-sections, and loads others I can provide if you are interested.

The movie will be released in the beginning of 2008. It will also be available on Netflix. I really urge everyone to see this film. Regardless of where you choose to birth your baby, be informed of your choices and their implications.

Amazing

The first quote in this video is my all-time favorite. It speaks volumes to me.

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