I had two natural hospital births. The first was empowering, a group of women cheering me on while I pushed. For the second, in the 10 whole minutes I was pushing, I was instructed to stop so they could get a read on his heart and prep the room. I can only imagine what fun we would have had if I’d been there longer.

For both, I thought I could run a marathon afterward, if I didn’t have to breastfeed immediately! I was strong and able.

But I’m one of the lucky ones. I was given a good birth legacy, a “Your body is capable. It can do this!” (Thanks, Mom.) Many are not so lucky. They are told that labor and delivery will be scary, painful, unmanageable without medications.

I think for most people birth is a nightmare
It hasn’t been what a baby would want.

In our births, is it only about us? When are we going to start asking, “What does baby want?”

This post contains additional media. Click here to view the full post.

Read more of this story »

Washington state has a new cost-cutting program that may also dramatically lower the rate of C-sections.

They’re going to start paying the same amount for an uncomplicated C-section as they do for a vaginal birth.

And because C-sections in that state cost on average $5000 more than vaginal births, this will help make sure the motive for the surgery–the most common in the United States besides circumcision–are the best interests of the patient.

We are choosing to improve quality mostly by using carrots rather than sticks.

Read more of this story »

On April Fools Day, I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy named, Clark. I wrote a post on how to prepare for homebirth and so when the day arrived things fell into place just as planned. The day before I gave birth I’d been experiencing a little cramping. Nothing unusual but the sense a woman gets when her monthly cycle is going to begin. I had a feeling that it was the onset of labor so I told my husband to be prepared to come home (he commutes an hour away). Just after I called him he left work because he too had a feeling. I called him in the early morning before 10AM and we spent the rest of the day taking it easy.

The cramping had subsided by late afternoon. I was 38 weeks and 4 days and ready to have a baby! I didn’t realize that he’d really come on April Fool’s day as some had predicted. That evening I went to bed at 8:30pm and woke up with surprise to what I thought was my water breaking. It turns out that I had a high leak which means that baby Clark only tore my bag of waters rather than rupture it. With my first my water broke and that was that! This time around it was a gradual process.

Read more of this story »

That’s why you should join The Big Push. This consortium of birth activists and midwives is fighting for a voice in the health care debate. From the press release,

All women deserve access to midwives no matter what their economic status, and adding Certified Professional Midwives to the Medicaid Providers list will help expand access to those who otherwise could not afford it.

A key member of Congress has said that 10,000 signatures for their petition would make a big difference. We’re about halfway there. Read on to find out the particulars of the campaign and pass it on!

Read more of this story »

Annmarie shouted to Matthew at 7:48 a.m. after she felt her baby crowning,

She’s here!

As we all know ad nauseam, OBs generally warn against a vaginal birth after C-section, or VBAC.  And in this case, it would be a VBA3C; all 3 of the Schultes’ daughters were born by cesarean. This time, to ensure they’d get the natural birth they wanted, the couple worked with two doulas, a midwife, and a physician throughout the pregnancy.

And whoa boy. They got a natural birth; an unassisted natural birth.

Read more of this story »

But don’t worry. Because according to Dick Morris, if we somehow manage to pass a comprehensive health care reform bill, the government will force you to give birth naturally.

MORRIS: What controlling costs means is –
O’REILLY: – is competition.
MORRIS: No. It means denial of services…. And that’s what — just as right now the government is telling people, cut back on cesarean sections. Go through natural childbirth; it’s a lower cost.

Wait, the government is currently telling women they can’t have C-sections? Just where does Dick Morris live?

Check out the video:

Read more of this story »

When I was 15 weeks pregnant, I left his father, my fiancé, and spent most of my pregnancy preparing to be a single mother.

I also readied for a natural birth.

Though I was nervous about the impending step into parenthood, I had a midwife I adored and a host of incredibly supportive friends.

In honor of my Little L, I thought I’d share his birth story with you. I believe in natural birth. And in sharing our stories, hopefully we can empower other women to trust in their ability to bring babies into the world peacefully and without unnecessary interventions.

Read more of this story »

While many people around the blogosphere has been pointing to the death of homebirth advocate Janet Frazer’s baby with a gigantic, “See?…See?!” (followed by a “Na-na-na-na-boo-bo!”), this, too can be an example of how even hospitals can–gasp!–royally screw things up.

Actually, 2 moms were infected in the maternity ward at Ohio’s Mary Rutan Hospital. Now, both the hospital and the CDC are baffled by the cases:

Babies were healthy, moms were healthy.

Well, the moms were healthy when they arrived. Not so much after giving birth.

Read more of this story »

Now that I have your attention, there is an increasing gap between the traditional Western medical community and that of midwife-delivered, woman-based care. A couple of recent articles, in Time and in the LA Times, explore this gap.

Here we are, discussing health care reform, and at the top of that discussion should be the way we bring babies into this world. One Oregonian midwife, Melissa Cheyney, has begun to examine the differences in care.

The U.S. has a limited idea of what it means to have a positive outcome at the end of a delivery. Basically it just means that everyone’s alive.

You’ve heard it, and I know I’ve said it, “You got the prize in the end!” Sure, you have the baby, but did you receive the care that was appropriate to your circumstances?

Read more of this story »

In my traversing this natural parenting bloggy world, I’ve been lucky enough to encounter a handful of amazing, brave women who have had incredible unassisted birth experiences.

I thought I’d share one with you. Introducing Sheryl, who writes at A Much Better Way, the bloggy site for her store. After enduring a bad, bad experience with a “medwife“, she chose an unassisted birth for her second daughter. She was kind enough to enlighten me (and you, too, I hope!).

Read more of this story »

This great video has been circulating around the birth-activist regions of the blogosphere recently, since it first aired a few days ago.  It’s a television commercial for a bed, and the characters in the commercial are no actors.  It’s actual scenes from an actual family, giving birth at home while a peaceful soundtrack plays, and voiceovers talk about the miracle, the specialness, the joy of birth, and the tradition of birthing at home.

There is no fretting about whether or not home birth is safe.  There is no screaming and panicking.  There is a secure and confident woman with her family by her side, bringing her baby into the world in front of our very eyes.

Read more of this story »

A large-scale study in the Netherlands has found no difference in death rates of either mothers or babies in 530,000 births. Whether you give birth in the hospital or in the comforts of your own home, the stats are the same.

Remind me again how home birthing is a crime?

Read more of this story »

NPR recently reported that in some Planned Parenthood clinics, the abortion rate is up.

We’ve seen some people who said that they didn’t really think that they would ever be making this decision, but recognize that this is a time when they have to think about taking care of the families that they have.

I’ve mentioned my mama before around here. She’s the home-birthin’, articulate and soft-spoken, intelligent and wonderful mother of 6 girls. Six vocal girls.

She raised me and my sisters to be pro-life feminists. Then, when I was pregnant with my first child, I became pro-choice.

Here’s why.

Read more of this story »

One of the hazards of natural living: you probably know someone who ate the placenta.

Officially, it’s called placentophagy: the act of mammals eating their own placenta after giving birth. Even herbivore mammals and our cousins, the gorillas.

Even if you don’t know someone who did this, you may have at least seen the blog story from MomLogic.com about twin sisters Kathy and Chrissy who shared a placenta feast (including leftovers). To your considerable gag reflex.

For what it’s worth, I don’t think these women necessarily deserve all the hatin‘ they’re getting. I don’t believe they are “cannibals” or “vampires” or some of the other nasty comments following the blog, though the collective “ICK!” of the commentators was funny.

I agree with some of the more positive thoughts: If you eat meat and are so far removed from your food, why are you disgusted by this nutrient-rich “meal”? As someone rightly pointed out, this is the only “meat” that comes from life, not death.

Personally? I wouldn’t do it. Not ’til I grow a tail. If you consider yourself crunchy but can’t stomach the placenta eatin’, let’s explore some other options, shall we?

Read more of this story »

I never had to face a Caesarean section. Not with these birthin’ hips. I know, and am even related to, women who have. It’s a tough recovery for many, both physically and emotionally.

Now there’s a movement to make the C-section more “natural”. Vaginal birthing has had a natural movement over the last 20 years, and one doctor wants the C-section to have the same.

British professor Nicholas M. Fisk wants to encourage the same bonding that is present in many natural vaginal births in his C-section patients. He thinks C-sections should be more “woman-centered.”

But with 1/3 of all American labors ending in surgery (in the UK the C-section rate is 24 percent), is this something we should encourage? Do we really want him to soothe us into the decision of a C-section?! “There, there. At least it’ll be natural.”

What’s next…is he going to “naturalize” the vasectomy?!

Read more of this story »

It’s not long before the birth of our baby makes his debut into the world. Preparing for a home birth can be overwhelming but for the most part it has really put things into perspective. For instance, having to get your home ready by doing all the cleaning and sorting and laundry seems to be the overwhelming aspect. Ordering the birth kit and receiving our water birth tub put things into perspective as I realize the birth our baby is not far off. After that, it’s mostly preparation in the home which seems to be a large task but if done at pace, isn’t so bad and well worth it. 

Having the labor and birth items 6 weeks before you deliver is usually key. The cleaning and sorting part can wait till the last few weeks. If you’re anything like me though- it can’t wait. I feel so much better working on things here and there as the weeks go along. Rather than trying to scramble and get it all done in one day or week seems more nerve-racking to me than spacing it out. At this point, I’ve been able to get to all the nooks and crannies that I feel should get cleaned prior to delivering a baby in our home. Focusing on the bathroom and birthing room is a must.

Read more of this story »

I’ve never been a fan of Dr. Phil.  I feel sorry for the people who are so desperate for help that they air their problems on TV, thinking a talk show host will give them the solutions. I admit, I succumbed once hoping Dr. Phil could help potty train my son and watched his show, but as each child is unique. I had to wait for my child’s readiness.  Now, Dr. Phil is seeking out guests to share home birth horror stories.

Did  you have a child at your home?

Did you want to have a soothing experience where you were in control and could bond with your child?

Did it not go the way you planned?

Do you regret having a home birth?

Do you regret using a midwife instead of going to a hospital?

Did you have your second child the traditional way in a hospital?

If you or someone you know regrets having a home birth please tell us your story below.

Read more of this story »

I spent the next few hours sitting on an exercise ball in a “birth zone.” A hypnobirthing class taught me a few breathing techniques and visualizations that allowed me to open gracefully to the experience and the journey that lay ahead. 

Read more of this story »

What makes a pregnancy book essential reading for natural birth?  I think a natural birth book should support all women’s choices, both home and hospital births, as well as carefully explain all of the interventions that could happen if medically needed.  The book should support women, as well as realistically discuss how each labor is unique.

Essential Books for a Natural Birth

• Special Delivery by Rahima Baldwin:  This book can be hard to find, but it is well worth the hunt.  This book prepares you for all aspects of a home or hospital birth, and we read many times to be prepared in case we didn’t make it town in time during my labors.  My first child was a breech baby, but she turned thanks to this book!  Rahima explains an exercise where mother’s lay with on their backs, knees bent, and pelvis highly elevated.  When followed precisely, this method turns babies 85% of the time.  It worked for my daughter, and I have this book to thank!

Read more of this story »

We don’t only want to tell our birth stories; we want to hear your stories too! As a pregnant woman, I could not read or hear enough women’s birth stories, because they were all unique and different. The experience is not the same for any two women. By sharing our stories, we hope to build a community of parents who can support and share with one another. Therefore, we are hosting a Labor of Love contest!

Read more of this story »