Love this quote on Motherhood

“Motherhood is the greatest potential influence either for good or ill in human life. The mother’s image is the first that stamps itself on the … young child’s mind. It is her caress that first awakens a sense of security; her kiss, the first realization of affection; her sympathy and tenderness, the first assurance that there is love in the world.”

David O McKay

The Birth of Malakai Thomas Reeves

I love so many things about this birth video. First, a real birth pool in a hospital room--not a cramped, hard tub in a cramped bathroom! I love that they let her do that. All moms & nurses need to see this! They need to know what is possible in a hospital when mom's wishes and desires are respected. Second, that everyone left her alone during labor per her request, which created the atmosphere for her husband's sweet whisper. I loved that. Third, that she and her husband calmly & quietly "caught" their baby. I was also impressed at how relatively calm and quiet the midwives stayed after the birth. The midwife rubbing the baby’s head was so gentle—such a contrast to the way most nurses rub the baby. About the only thing that bothered me was cutting the cord so early. It seemed like as soon as they cut the cord and took the baby away, they were comfortably back in their standard hospital mode, ready to do their “stuff.” Gloria Lemay has written extensively about how the cord needs to stay intact, especially in situations where the baby needs a little help with breathing. She has many suggestions of how this can be done with the baby on or next to the mama. You could tell the baby was not happy being separated by his cry. However, it appeared he was reunited with his mama pretty quickly as she was still in the pool. All in all, an amazing birth. It really looked like they honored and respected the mother’s wishes and desires. Very cool. Thanks, Mamas & Babies blog for sharing this.

OBGYN v. Midwife [The Hilariously True Appointment Comparison]

This has been my experience as well. I loved my midwives and I even loved the pregnancies where I used a midwife!

You Do Have a Choice

I saw this short (7 min) Birth Documentary on Mamas and Babies blog that has this excellent quote at the end:

"You are constructing your own reality with the choices you make...or don't make. If you really want a healthy pregnancy and joyful birth, and you truly understand that you are the one in control, then you must examine what you have or haven't done so far to create the outcome you want."
Kim Wildner
(Mother's Intention: How Belief Shapes Birth)

The documentary is pretty good too. I loved the nurses' candid explanations of the common medical procedures done during labor. I wish I could open the eyes of all women to the idea that they don't have to be a passive spectator in the births of their own babies. There is such a better way.

Moments That Matter Most

This video was awesome the first time I watched it, but it gets even better the more I see it. The mom closing her laptop...the son coming home...dancing in the kitchen...it's all good. Makes me cry.

Forks Over Knives - Official Trailer

This is an awesome trailer. I can't wait until the movie comes to my town. The research in it totally confirms Dr. Joel Fuhrman's book and Tandi Hartle's pregnancy nutrition recommendations I wrote about in another post.

Is Homebirth Really Better for Babies?

There is an excellent post on Birth Unplugged entitled "How Homebirth Benefits Babies." It brings to mind ACOG's position on women who choose homebirth. They basically have accused women of trying to be trendy by following the example of Ricki Lake, or of putting their own birth experience ahead of the well-being and safety of their babies. I love this post because Brittany does a great job of pointing out that research shows babies, not just their mothers, are much better off being born at home. They have fewer complications, less birth trauma, and higher success rates with breastfeeding. Of course, I should mention that this research assumes the mother and baby are low-risk and using qualified attendants.

One statistic I've had first-hand experience with. That is that homebirthed babies are less likely to require resuscitation at birth. With my second daughter who was born in the hospital, she needed a whole resus team to get her breathing--on a table on the other side of the room. I couldn't see what they were doing but my husband said they were basically slapping her all over her body including her face. (No wonder that when she did start breathing, she started screaming at the top of her lungs and didn't calm down until after about 10 minutes of nursing, poor thing. Also another instance of the stupidity of immediate cord-clamping.) The whole reason for that delayed breathing had to do with the drug Nubain that I succumbed to receiving during transition. Wouldn't have happened at home.

One other research finding I found really interesting was that babies "had better outcomes for homebirths when comparing between home and hospital births with the same cohort of midwives." So much for the idea that we can have the "best of both worlds" by utilizing the superior midwifery model of care in the "safer" environment of the hospital. The fact is that hospitals have all their restrictive protocols and ways of doing things that are really just for the convenience of the OB's and nurses, and not usually in the best interest of mom and baby. I learned that when planning a hospital birth with a CNM. She was subject to the same legal restrictions and attitudes the OB's were. It would take such dramatic changes in hospital policies and staff attitudes (nearly impossible in today's legal climate) to negate the risks of unnecessary intervention, that I honestly can't see that ever happening, at least in the US.

Anyway I highly recommend reading her post. It's well-researched and a direct contradiction to the propaganda ACOG and the media try to shove down our throats. And Brittany is much more tactful and unoffensive than I am. (Sorry--I feel so passionate about this topic, I just can't help myself.)