Saturday, April 26, 2008

Cleveland Rocks!

How do you describe a workshop where midwives and physicians and nurses come together to learn and talk about waterbirth and water labor? How do you put into words the incredible energy that is felt not only at the workshop but also afterwards? How can you wait until your next childbirth class to tell the clients all the things you learned??????

Well, I am not sure what the answers are to any of the above questions. There was an incredible energy on Thursday in Cleveland at the Waterbirth Credentialing Workshop! Research and interesting information was presented. A "Birth Pool in a Box" was available for we the practitioners to get into and "try out". It is one thing to assist a mother during labor in a pool, it is quite another experience to try it and see how it might feel! Of course there was no water in the pool, however it gave us all new ideas on how to assist women who choose water labor and water birth!

I feel honored and very blessed to be assisting with these workshop during this year!

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Waterbirth Workshop Tomorrow

I will be traveling to Cleveland today to assist in the first traveling Waterbirth Credentialing Workshop of 2008. We will be at Lakewood Hospital. It will truly be exciting to bring such great research to communities across the country ~

We are even planning some Workshops in Canada. That will definitely be fun to be back up there, eh? (LOL) I love my Canadian birth sisters. Several years ago, they made me an honorary Canadian - of which I am very proud!!!

But I don't intend to work the entire time I am in Cleveland. Since I am driving, I plan to visit the Hard Rock Cafe in Cleveland and also perhaps travel a little to the west to Marblehead Lighthouse and Sandusky. I hear the Lake Perch is really tasty.

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Speaking Up...Speaking Out...again!

The third in a series of exposes about childbirth in America - the trailer is now on You Tube - Pregnant In America.

Film maker Steve Buonaugurio, who recently become a father, presents the evidence-based information about the sad state of maternity care in the United States.

You cannot argue with facts, although some still try. Birth statistics prove that in countries where midwives practice both in and outside of hospitals AND where homebirth is more common than in the US, those countries have better pregnancy outcomes than we do.

You cannot argue with facts - many maternity policies and procedures pave the way for fetal distress (those include restricting food/fluids to laboring women, restricting activity during labor, lying down positions for a majority of the labor and during second stage pushing).

You cannot argue with facts - those of us who experienced the natural childbirth movement in the 60's and 70's are working again to bring childbirth back to NORMAL. Pregnancy is NOT a state of illness....it is a state of health. Women and their immediate support systems should be educated to make the important decisions when giving birth in the hospital or wherever they are birthing.

You cannot argue with facts - the way we give birth in America often sabotages the breastfeeding success of many women. Epidurals do impede newborn reflexes such as sucking and latching on.

You cannot argue with facts - According to Autism Today, the web's largest site dedicated to autism, when you factor in a large national induction rate, Cesarean rate of 31% and epidural rates as high as 95%, a staggering number of medically managed births are subjected to a high level of pharmaceutical interventions that have never been approved for use in fetuses - for example Cytotec. And "Since autistic disorders produce an inability to make or maintain affectionate bonds or have normal social relationships, one cannot help but wonder if perhaps there is an causal relationship between these disorders and exogenous sources of an artificial form of oxytocin. Perhaps flooding the immature body of the fetus (especially boy babies) with this gender-specific synthetic hormone from animals somehow interferes with the eventual function of these psychological systems. It is an intriguing question."

Films such as "Pregnant in America" "Orgasmic Birth" and "The Business of Being Born" are not just radical granola crunchers looking for attention. We in the medical profession are sounding an alarm for the sake of
generations to come.

Sunday, April 13, 2008

New Birth Film

What if there was no fear of childbirth? What if there was only joy, anticipation and positive expectation?

The second of three birth films for 2008 will be unveiled soon...it is called "Orgasmic Birth". Featuring Christiane Northrup MD, Marsden Wagner MD, Ina May Gaskin MA CPM, Maureen Corry MPH, Robbie Davis-Floyd PhD, and Sarah Buckley MD, this film is the "baby" of Debra Pascali-Bonaro. Debra (Director/Producer) is an internationally renowned childbirth expert, 26-year speaker in childbirth education, and a Lamaze-certified veteran in maternity care with a passion for birth. She is also the mother of three sons and two stepchildren; her three sons were delivered naturally.

I have known Debra for many years, having worked with her on several Boards of Directors of various birthing organizations. Debra brings her zeal and dedication to the screen, showcasing the normalcy of birth and the evidence based information to back up this normalcy!

Debra will premiere her documentary film Orgasmic Birth on May 12th at the World Respected Childbirth Week conference in Prague, Czech Republic, followed by a May 16th feature segment on ABC-TV’s “20/20.”

I am happy to be helping Debra with some of the PR surrounding her film. To learn more, go to www.orgasmicbirth.com. To schedule a screening in your community and receive the comprehensive screening host packet, email screening@orgasmicbirth.com.