Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Quite Possibly The Shortest Blog Post I'll Ever Write...............

We cannot and should not expect physicians and nurses to know how to care for physiologic birth if they have never been taught.  


Childbirth Education: It's not just for expectant parents.



Monday, April 29, 2013

International Week for Respecting Childbirth May 20-27


The International Week for Respecting Childbirth (SMAR = Semaine Mondiale Pour L’Accouchement Respecte) is an opportunity to express a common commitment through an international campaign for the respect of the birth. It takes place every year in May. Each Global Week focuses on a specific theme. The theme for 2013 is "Please do not disturb, Birth in progress". (To get more information on this global even, go to www.smar.info.)

Imagine what we could accomplish if we all worked together!

So let’s try it!
International Week for
Respecting Childbirth
May 20-27, 2013

First, friend me on Facebook and encourage all of your peers and colleagues to do the same – then, look for the Facebook Event “International Week for Respecting Childbirth” – join it!

Second, begin now to write blogs, update your Facebook page and Tweet about the importance of attending childbirth education classes.  While this is not quite the Global Theme, you would learn about undisturbed birth and laboring the way the mother wants to labor if you attended childbirth classes!

As birth professionals, regardless of the smaller segment we represent (childbirth educators, doulas, nurses, physicians, midwives, massage therapists, lactation consultants and others), if we band together toward one common goal, we CAN and WILL make a difference.

Are you with me?

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

What Kim Kardashian's Pregnancy Can Teach Childbirth Educators

Do you feel like voyeur into Kim Kardashian's life?  

Sometimes, I feel like I do.  All over my newsfeed are stories about Kim's pregnancy, body hair
nightmares, weight gain, fears, anxiety, relationships, parenting.....WHEW!

And I began getting annoyed with it all until I had an AH HA! moment.  


Kim Kardashian's publicist(s) really do a great job with social media!



Think about it. She can't even take a breath (Lamaze or otherwise) without everyone knowing about it.  We'll probably know the contents of her Lamaze bag, layette, how she is feeding the baby and so much more than we should know.

Now, if childbirth professionals took a topic each "trimester" and infiltrated social media like that, we could very well change the face of maternity care in any country....in every country.

Just sayin'.........


Saturday, April 20, 2013

Why Childbirth Education Teaching Strategies Need to Change

Who is the person in childbirth education classes now?  

Gen X and Gen Y - the two most tech savvy generations, who also use social media and online learning to expand their knowledge base.

Unless guided to evidence based websites and blogs, even the most knowledgeable expectant Gen X or Y will still have a solid element of fear.  Hard to believe, studies are showing that women are not exposed to normal, uncomplicated vaginal births in the media (Morris & McInerney, 2010).  These same women may be unaware of childbirth education philosophies and practices that support low/no intervention births or physiologic births. This along with the rising cesarean rate, elective induction rate and high epidural rate, this makes for an evidence-based information dissemination nightmare.

According to Dr. Julia Kish-Doto, women of childbearing age rely heavily on social networks for health
information including childbirth knowledge.  By using social media to expose Gen X/Y to physiologic birth concepts, we may increase awareness of physiologic birth and decrease the fear factor.

It is also important to point out that women and especially mothers are the major influencers on their family units in regards to medical care.  If they do, in fact, rely on social media for information about pregnancy, birth, infant feeding and other medical issues, as childbirth professionals, this has become a mandate for us to assimilate social media into our education/teaching strategies.

Childbirth education using social media has a major advantage to the typical childbirth education classes: information can be accessed at ANY time day or night.  Information regarding newborns, breastfeeding and postpartum issues are available at 2 a.m. as well as 2 p.m.

We have a unique opportunity to wage a dynamic and comprehensive information campaign that can change the way our society looks at childbirth.  May is coming up and contains Mother's Day (May 12) and International Week for Respecting Childbirth (May 20-27).

What if, for one week, we all joined together in one gigantic media campaign to set right the information about childbirth, physiologic birth, evidence based information?

Imagine...........







References:

Kish-Doto, J. RUprego? The Role of Social Media to Educate Young Women about Low Intervention Childbirth.  Cases In Public Health, Communication & Marketing. Vol IV, Summer 2010.

Morris, T. and Mclnerney, K. Media representations of pregnancy and childbirth: an analysis of reality television programs in the US.  Birth 2010; 37(2): 134-40.

Monday, April 08, 2013

Interview with Katrina Zaslavsky Part 2

Facebook and Breastfeeding ~ What's all the hoopla?

What is the old saying?  If you don't like what's on television, change the channel.  

The same holds true for Facebook.  And also, Facebook should get a grip on reality.

Last week, Facebook pulled Christie Kemp's Breastfeeding Mama Talk  Facebook page because it violated their policy on nudity. Seriously?

Kristy Kemp created the breastfeeding support page on Facebook called "Breastfeeding/Mama Talk” and the page began to help other mothers. Kemp had her son three years ago and felt the need to stop breastfeeding him after 3 months because she felt embarrassed.

"When I started the page, women kept coming to me saying how embarrassed they were, how ashamed they were to breastfeed in public," Kemp said. "And I realized it was a bigger issue than what I even imagined."
She's posted many breastfeeding photos but one in particular got the attention of Facebook. The photo was taken down because the social media site said it "violated" policy. Kemp was locked out for 24 hours. After the lock out  was over, she posted another photo. It showed a mom breastfeeding her baby and five year old at the same time. It was also removed. This time, she was subjected to a three day lock out by Facebook.  Kemp used the media against Facebook and outed them.  Since then, Facebook allowed her back on her site and has issued an apology.
At 5000+ "likes", I don't think that Kemp is on the wrong track.  Quite the opposite.  I do believe that Facebook's reaction is a narrative on our society's view of breastfeeding: it is porn rather than a method of feeding a baby. Are we so small minded that we cannot see that food is being given to a hungry child when breastfeeding is shown?  
Perhaps instead of attacking mothers who already feel embarrassed and ostracized for breastfeeding in private and public, they should keep their focus on their software updates, which in my humble opinion, illustrates an epic fail.  Their latest redo doesn't load properly on a computer and often when one tries to "view more stories", one is taken back to the top of the page to stories already seen on the newsfeed.
Stick to something you know, Facebook.  Leave mothers who are feeding their children alone.

Wednesday, April 03, 2013

An Interview with Katrina Zasvlasky

For those of you who are not familiar with Katrina Zasvlasky, Katrina is a dynamic individual in the world of birthing. She is an author, speaker, Natural Birth Advocate, and creator of Empowering Birth Magazine (NEW Empowering Birth Magazine now available worldwide and digital for iPad). She is the author of A Modern Woman's Guide to a Natural Empowering Birth (paperback or e-book) and birth columnist for Holistic Bliss Magazine.  She is from Melbourne Australia.

To help you get to know her, I am posting the three part interview done with Katrina and Tracey Rose!  And be sure to visit her website www.inspiringbirthstories.com.au/