Nebraska Friends of Midwives

LB 712: Support and Opposition

noreply@blogger.com (NFoM PR Chair) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 04:56:00 +0000

Midwife Supports Home Birth Bill (only a portion of the story is available online) was the headline in the Hastings Tribune calling attention to LB712. Four perspectives on the home birth option were summarized:

-The Nebraska Medical Association (NMA): "In Nebraska, we have an adequate number and distribution of physicians and certified nurse midwives to provide for deliveries in hospital settings."

-Dr. Todd Pankratz of Hasting, Nebraska: "Hospitals are spending millions and millions and millions of dollars to make labor units feel like home,..Nobody requires you to do all the intervention that happens...We have resources available to make it the same experience as home but less risk," and, "When you're out in rural Nebraska and relying on a volunteer rescue unit you could be 30 or 40 minutes from the nearest hospital that could do a Caesarian section, plus the time it takes to get people into the hospital to do Caesarian sections."

-Barbara Devine-Peckham, CNM, of Hastings, Nebraska: "My thoughts are that women are going to birth at home, or want to birth at home, and I think a qualified person should be available for them."

-The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG): Recommends that women choosing home birth should adhere to strict criteria, including having a Certified Nurse Midwife or other medical professional in attendance. ACOG also stresses the importance of both respecting the rights of women to make informed decisions about their deliveries and ensuring they are informed of possible risks.

Now consider this: 48 states, Puerto Rico, and Canada do not have statutes that criminalize CNM attended home birth, and there are plenty of studies which point to the safety of home birth.

100 women gave birth at home in Nebraska in 2011. At least 66 of those were planned. Why "at least"? 66 is just the number of families that felt comfortable sharing the planned nature of their births with the Nebraska Department of Vital Statistics. For several years preceding this, Nebraska's home birth population has hovered around that number, actually increasing by about 30% over the course of five years. Most likely, there will be more planned home births in 2012. And ACOG recommends that those who choose to give birth at home have a medical professional in attendance.

It makes no safety-sense that the NMA would continue to oppose access to this recommended safety measure that Nebraska consumers have requested for years.

It is time, Nebraska! Time to allow consumers the option of CNM-attended home birth. Nebraskans deserve access to, not protection from Certified Nurse Midwives.

International Day of the Midwife & NFoM Legislative Day

noreply@blogger.com (2Shaye ♪♫) — Thu, 05 May 2011 03:50:00 +0000

Our friends and members have been rather busy here at NFoM headquarters in preparation for Thursday, May 5th. Not only is this special day the International Day of the Midwife, but we're also hosting our annual Legislative Day at the Capitol.

Here's a rundown of a few statewide events (let us know if we miss anything):

2:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Legislative Day at the Capitol in Lincoln begins at 2pm and will go to approximately 4pm. We'll be meeting in room 1023 as senators come in to meet and chat with our members. There will be refreshments, speakers, and door prizes for those in attendance. To RSVP or share this event with your friends, please visit our Facebook event page.

6:30 p.m.
Midwifery is the main topic of the Science Café at red9, Ninth and M streets in Lincoln. Karen McGivney-Liechti, certified nurse-midwife with Heart and Hands Womancare at the People's Health Center, and Barbara Sittner, Ph.D., assistant professor in the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Nursing, will give a presentation titled "Delivering -- CenteringPregnancy® to Nebraska."

4:30 - 7:00 p.m.

The Nebraska Friends of Midwives Panhandle Chapter will be holding a meeting and hosting a FREE movie screening at Chadron State College. The meeting will begin at 4:30 p.m. followed by a 6:00 p.m. showing of "Laboring Under an Illusion." For more information, visit the Facebook event page. To see the trailer of this documentary, check out the short video clip, below:

We hope to see you at one of our events this week!! (And please let us know if we've missed anything so we can update this post).

Who Says the Capitol Isn't for Kids?

noreply@blogger.com (2Shaye ♪♫) — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 18:09:00 +0000

Photo taken by April Segura

As many of you know, April Segura, Vice Chair of Nebraska Friends of Midwives, is one of our members who makes regular visits to the Capitol. Though she often attends in relation to midwifery bills, she also goes for other issues in which she's become interested in over the years. Recently, as LB 68 made its way to the legislative agenda, she made it a point to go for all of the important days. She's been taking her children along and has learned a great deal through this experience. We asked April if she would be up to answering a few questions about all that she's learned. Here is a brief Q & A that we're happy to share with you all:

Is it difficult to hear what's going on with children in tow?
By having kids there with me, it was a bit harder to listen in on the floor debate. But a cool thing is you can stand right outside of the floor and still hear everything that's going on. Outside the floor, kids don't have to be super quiet and they can talk quietly and giggle.

What do your children think about the floor debate?
As we went upstairs to watch the floor debate and see the bills get voted on, kids get very interested in the noises involved with voting. The loud "ding" comes up and they know that the senators are voting. My kids especially liked it because they love our senator. I like to show them where her name is on the sign and they can always look to see if she has voted on each bill, or not.

April's children with Senator McGill

Do you get to interact much with senators or staff during floor debates?
Waiting outside of the chamber is almost better than going upstairs, because you run into more senators and lobbyists as they come in and out. Most of them probably don't know that I, too, am a registered lobbyist (only an unpaid one...that's why I have my kids with me!). Also, if you want to call a senator off of the floor, most of the time they will come out to speak with you. We were able to call our senator off of the floor once just because my daughter had pictures to give to her.

If I were to take my children to the Capitol, are there any learning materials? If so, where can you get them?
Yes! They have these Unicam for Kids books that you can pick up either in a senator's office, or right outside of the chamber. If you ask someone with a red jacket, they will help you get one. The books are nice because they talk about the legislative process in easier to understand words (so we ALL can learn from them!). These are more geared towards school-aged children, but my kids loved the books just the same. They had received these same books a few years ago, too, but at that point were not interested in them, yet. In the beginning, it was nice to have something for them, even if it only kept their attention for a little bit. You can also visit the Nebraska Legislature Unicam Kids website to read up on the process with your children before-hand and then pick up the book when you get there for a good review.

How else can I prepare my children for a visit?
Well, in addition to the website, you might also let them watch a committee hearing or floor debate through NET Nebraska. We also talk about the senators at home and we have a picture of all 49 senators in our room so we can learn their faces.

Because of the frequency of your visits, I imagine you're no longer a stranger up there. Do staff and legislators know you?
That's a good question. Yes! Now when we go with another group for another issue, senators or aides that know me will see us and start talking about our midwifery bills or something closely related. Then they realize I am there on another issue and almost looked bummed. It is as though they really DID want those M&M cookies! I assure them that no matter what issue I am there for that day, I will ALWAYS be happy to talk about midwifery stuff with them.

What about tours? If I can only make it a couple times a year, do you know if we could align a tour along with visiting for a hearing or an M&Ms day?
There are GREAT staff that work at the Capitol that love giving tours. I would highly recommend a tour because the building has so much history in it. It is really awesome learning about the significance of each little detail that was involved while making the building. You can contact the State Capitol Tours Office at (402) 471-0448 to plan a tour in advance.

Do you know what rules they have on eating or drinking at the Capitol? Can we bring baggies of snack foods or sippy cups?
When we are at the Capitol we always have some sort of snack. We, of course, try to be respectful and bring things that don't make a mess. If a mess is made, we clean it up right away. I would recommend bringing your own water because not many of the drinking fountains work and the water that you bring will taste way better than the fountain water anyway. Capitol rules state that drinks are not allowed in the balcony, so make sure any kiddie drinks are in a sealed container that will not spill.

What can you tell me about parking? Do I need to pay for parking? And will there be any issues with a stroller?
Parking is fairly easy at the capitol. I mostly park in a spot that is a two hour (NOT a one hour spot). I usually have the best luck on the south side of the Capitol. If there are no direct parking spots you can usually find some just south of the Capitol on the street. Strollers can be a little tricky because there are steps on 3 of the 4 sides to get in. Whenever I bring a stroller, I usually just carry it up the steps, even though it is a bit annoying. Once inside the Capitol, there are small elevators for getting upstairs with a stroller.

For those with babies, is there a changing station we'll have access to?
Since my kids are older and I don't need a changing table, I haven't actually noticed whether or not they are available. I do know that in the woman's restroom on the south side of the building, there is a big bench that would be perfect for changing a baby.

Are there any hard rules that I might want to know about before visiting?
When visiting the legislature, they provide just a few hard rules. For example, no one can lean on or place any items on the banister. Drinks are not allowed in the balcony. You can take photographs, but you may not use a flash. And applause or other demonstrations are not allowed.

What final things can you share with those of us who've not yet been to the Capitol to meet our senator or see a floor debate?
In short, the Capitol is not a scary place. The senators are normal people, just like us. It is a neat place to watch the legislative process, whether it be going to a committee hearing, watching a floor debate, or just visiting your senator. I think it would be great for senators and staff to be able to recognize a lot more faces than the normal ones that go to the Capitol. So I hope to encourage our friends and members to come on out whenever you can, meet your senator face-to-face, deliver cookies with Nebraska Friends of Midwives, or maybe even attend a floor debate or hearing!

Photo taken by Rachel Howell

Many thanks to April for the interview and thank you to ALL of our friends and members who have taken time out of their busy schedules to visit the Capitol and meet with our senators.

Other items to check out:
Capitol website
Capitol map
Information for Students/Teachers
Live streaming for hearings and debates
Email the Capitol Bldg: hello@capitol.org

REVIEW: Pregnant in America (documentary)

noreply@blogger.com (2Shaye ♪♫) — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 12:00:00 +0000

I didn’t even know that this film existed, and there it was, instantly available on Netflix. As soon as the kids were in bed I watched it, excitedly anticipating something amazing. I don’t know why I have such high hopes for birth films, but I do, and I am never satisfied. I wanted more from this film - although in general it is a positive, if one-sided, effort addressing the issues that pregnant women in the United States commonly find themselves facing.

Created by Steve Buonaugurio, this film explores and examines maternity care in the United States from the unique combined angle of film-maker/expectant father, chronicling pieces of Buonaugurio wife’s pregnancy and labor, and documenting both of their perspectives at different points along the way. Basically informative, but not revolutionary, the usual topics of a (now over) 30% cesarean section rate, induction, midwifery care, and homebirth are covered. Buonaugurio and his wife Mandy travel to Holland and Germany for a comparative look at cultural perspectives and norms regarding maternity care.

Basic definitions are given for “birth words” such as labor, doula, epidural, induction, cesarean section, oxytocin, and “Mcdonaldization”. Dr. Marsden Wagner, Ina May Gaskin, and other familiar natural birth advocates make appearances, along with a dozen-or-so average Joes and Janes. The candid street interviews are really pretty good - it is fascinating and at times distressing to watch and listen to individuals as they share their stories. Throughout the film Buonaugurio constructs a relatively understandable picture of the untidy business/insurance/defensive medicine hodgepodge that tends to dictate the maternity care our nation is routinely offering to women.

The websites noted at the end of this article provide ample overviews of the work in its entirety, which leaves me free to highlight a couple of the more unique sub-stories:

Buonaugurio follows the story of his sister’s CPD (cephalopelvic disproportion) diagnosis. What makes this storyline interesting is the manner in which the sister handles her doctor’s opinion and Buonaugurio’s misadventures in his attempt to follow-up on what becomes an apparent misdiagnosis. There is also a rather confused threat of a HIPAA violation thrown into the mix.

I had read about it online, but I had not seen the story of Tatia Oden French addressed in a film. It is moving to watch Tatia’s mother’s uphill struggle to bring to light the dangers of the off-label use of Misoprostol/Cytotec to induce labor. Amniotic fluid embolism is a rare, catastrophic labor event, the incidence of which has been rising. I would really like to see a film about that. And I would have liked to see some numbers about the risks of this drug included in this story - and less of the dramatic music. I really don’t like emotionally leading music in documentaries. And Pregnant in America has a lot of it.

I wanted Buonaugurio to explain why a physician is more likely to find him/herself the subject of a lawsuit when there is a bad vaginal outcome as opposed to a bad cesarean section outcome. I also wanted him to explain why hospitals would frequently choose to use Misoprostol/Cytotec instead of using a more expensive ripening agent (approved for labor by the FDA) and simply pass along the cost to consumers.

I would have liked to see some numbers scrolled alongside the risks listed for epidural anesthesia and cesarean section.

Like Abby Epstein’s transfer in The Business of Being Born, Mandy Buonaugurio’s birth in Pregnant in America unfolds in surprising fashion. As a scarce amount of medical information is provided, viewers are left to wonder and speculate about the unexpected turn, as, it seems, are Baby Buonaugurio’s parents.

Trailer

Talking Points

I do think that this film could provide a great springboard for discussion- if I were still teaching childbirth classes I would definitely host a Pregnant in America film discussion. Maybe I’ll do it anyway. Some potential talking points might be:

Consider Maddy Oden’s effort with the FDA, and Steve Buonaugurio’s efforts following the birth of his nephew. Why is it so difficult for the average citizen to know where to go to express dissatisfaction or to improve birth-related situations?
Why do hospitals frequently choose to use Misoprostol/Cytotec instead of using a more expensive ripening agent (approved for labor by the FDA) and simply passing along the cost to consumers?
Would you want to be the subject of your husband’s birth documentary? How do you think the filming could affect your ability to make choices, to relax, to be present together in the important moments?
Should hospitals and staff have a right not to be photographed or digitally recorded? Should they be able to prevent parents, or a person acting on behalf of the parents, from recording the labor and birth? Should they be able to prevent parents from posting such recordings online?
What is HIPAA - to whom does it apply and what does it cover?
What is safer in healthy moms and healthy babies- cesarean birth or vaginal birth? How do you know?
What is safer about hospital birth? What is safer about planned home birth attended by a licensed midwife?
What would be difficult about changing care providers in the eighth month of pregnancy?-Why do you think the components of Mcdonaldization are being applied to maternity care? What is good about this? What is bad?
*SPOILER ALERT* Why does Baby Buonaugurio end up being hospitalized for several days?

Review completed by: Rachel Howell

A couple of Pregnant in America reviews more general in nature:
http://cfmidwifery.blogspot.com/2009/03/dvd-review-pregnant-in-america.html
http://www.christiancinema.com/catalog/article_info.php?articles_id=5869#

Genre: Documentary
Ratings: IMDB: N/A RT: N/A
Directed by: Steve Buonaugurio
Starring: Kerry Tuschhoff, Dr. Marsden Wagner, Joseph Chilton Pearce, Ina May Gaskin, Barbara Harper
Release Name: Pregnant.In.America.2008.DVDRip.XviD-DOMiNO
Size: 1CD, 703.05 MB
Quality: XViD 608 x 336 @ 762kpbs | MP3 VBR 2.0 @ 123kbps
Subtitles: None
Runtime: 106 mins
Filename: domino-pregnant.rxx
Links: IMDB, RT, Homepage, Trailer

Take Recycling up One More Step and help NFoM!

noreply@blogger.com (NFoM Vice Chair) — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 05:00:00 +0000

(click the image, above, to see it full size)

Most everyone has heard us talk about Terracycle, but perhaps you still are unaware of what it is. From the Terracycle website :

Terracycle's purpose is to eliminate the idea of waste. We do this by creating national recycling systems for the previously non-recyclable. The process starts by offering collection programs (many of them free) to collect your waste and then convert the collected waste into a wide range of products and materials. With over 14 million people collecting waste in 11countries together we have diverted billions of pieces of waste that are either upcycled or recycled into over 1,500 various products available at major retailers ranging from Walmart to Whole Foods Market. Our hope is to eliminate the idea of waste by creating collection and solution systems for anything that today ends up in our trash.

Nebraska Friends of Midwives (NFoM) is one of their collection sites. We collect things such as cheese packaging, chip bags, granola bar packaging, to old laptop computers, digital cameras, cell phones, and even ink cartridges. If you live in Lincoln, you can easily get your Terracycle trash to April Segura or you can drop it off at Healthy Start Chiropractic in south Lincoln. And if you are in Omaha you can either drop it off on Rachel Howell's porch, or get it to Theresa Hospodka.

NFoM gets paid on average 2 cents per trash item (electronics are more). That means for every cheese wrapper, chip bag, juice pouch, or whichever item you have, NFoM could be making some money! It might not seem like a lot, but we have already earned over $200 from this trash. As we get more people collecting, this number could double or triple in no time!

In other Fundraising news, the Lincoln Area NFoM group will be collecting gently used baby and children items for a local consignment sale coming up this spring. Check out the details at our Event Page on Facebook. If you have any donations, you can get them to either April Segura or Megan Jenkins.

Also be watching for our next online auction. It will be coming up fairly soon so stay tuned! If you have a desire to help with any of the fundraising efforts, please contact April Segura, NFoM Vice Chair.

First 2011 "m&m" Day

noreply@blogger.com (2Shaye ♪♫) — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 00:15:00 +0000

Photo by Ginnerobot

Despite oversleeping, cancelled babysitters, and stuck garage doors, today was another fabulous m&m (m&m cookies for Mothers and Midwives) day at the capitol for Nebraska Friends of Midwives! Those in attendance broke into three groups, each led by a registered lobbyist. The groups walked the corridors of the capitol -- one group upstairs and two groups downstairs -- delivering cookies and extending a warm welcome, or more often, a welcome back to each senator's office. Our accompanying children were frequently and warmly greeted with exclamations over their growth, and appreciation for their exposure to the state's political system. Several offices were glad to hear about LB 68, the privileging bill- there will likely be a few more co-sponsors. One legislative aide graciously shared ideas for lobbying techniques, and encouraged, along with many others, the continued efforts of Nebraska Friends of Midwives.

Lunch at Pepe's Veggie Bistro followed our work at the capitol- a delicious recommendation by April Segura, NFoM's Vice Chair. Sweet potato quesadillas, cactus enchiladas, and avocado cheesecake were among the fare enjoyed amidst the chaos of children and interesting conversation.

Many thanks to those who were able to fit this event into their schedules. Due to the warm response from so many offices, a decision was tentatively made to hold seasonal m&m days rather than just doing two this year. Fortunately, today constituted our winter obligation -- the next day should present us with warmer weather!

The m&m spring event will be announced on the Nebraska Friends of Midwives Facebook page as soon as possible to allow even more midwifery supporters to attend. No legislative or birth expertise necessary, no baby-sitters or public speaking required. =O)

Reporting: Rachel Gilligan Howell

The Birth House WINNER!!

noreply@blogger.com (2Shaye ♪♫) — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 17:50:00 +0000

Okay, this is kinda funny. But the winner of this month's book giveaway is none other than (imaginary drum roll, please)...

VANESSA PRUITT!

(who needs to update her profile picture :wink:)

Vanessa says:

And no, we didn't rig this giveaway so the actual reviewer would win. But it seems fitting, doesn't it? Vanessa's review was first published at BellaOnline: The Voice of Women HERE where she says:

"I was not paid or compensated in any way for writing this review. The Birth House, a novel, was lent out to me by a friend. I did not pay for this book (though I do plan to buy a copy!)"

We're glad to save you the hassle, Vanessa! Just forward your snail mail address to nfom.pr@gmail.com and we'll get The Birth House mailed off to you right away.

Thanks for playing along, everyone! We especially want to thank everyone who "liked" this article via Facbook (66 of you!!). Keep your eyes and ears open for our next giveaway. Oh, and while you're here, be sure to check out our Amazon widget (to the right on this page) or visit our Amazon Store (and feel free to make more suggestions on books and DVDs to add to our store...we're updating it daily).

BOOK REVIEW ~ The Birth House (and a GIVEAWAY)

noreply@blogger.com (2Shaye ♪♫) — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 15:30:00 +0000

The Birth House follows the life of Dora Rare, who lives in a small and slightly isolated village off the coast of Nova Scotia, around the time of World War I. Dora, a young adolescent, is the first girl to be born in many generations of the Rare family genealogy. This alone gives the town enough rumors to spread about her and her family. But when family circumstances force her to choose between staying with her “proper” aunt Fran or the local midwife Miss Babineau for the winter, she chooses to stay with the midwife. Rumors and stories abound. Many of the local townspeople view Miss Babineau, and now Dora, as witches or something of the like, and most keep their distance from the both of them; that is until a child is sick, a woman has gynecological concerns, or a baby is being born into the world. In all of those instances the townspeople come running to Miss Babineau for help, and soon to Dora as well.

The Art of Midwifery
The Birth House gives an enchanting example of how the practices of traditional midwifery were passed on from generation to generation. Being a midwife, which means “with woman”, was not and is not just about catching babies. In this story, traditional midwifery takes on a role for women that meets their needs and far exceeds the medical model of care. Miss Babineau does much more for the community than attend labors. Her wisdom abounds in many areas such as mixing up syrups and herbs for the sick that bring down fevers and soothe sore throats and coughs.

Politics and Society
Through this story we also see a political attack against midwifery and a societal misunderstanding of this traditional art. Gilbert Thomas, a medical doctor from a nearby town, continually threatens Dora and Miss Babineau with prosecution. He feels it is a crime to give birth at home when he has established a “superior facility” that is “safe” for women to give birth in. I couldn't help but feel connected to this story as it presented a belief that is still present in the United States healthcare system today.

Tough Issues
In the beginning, The Birth House may seem to be only about birth and midwifery in general, but the author of this novel, Ami McKay, does an amazing job of challenging her readers to confront many other tough issues through this story as well. Emotional and political topics such as abortion, contraception, war, pre-marital intimacy, and maternal and infant death are broached through an extremely personal point of view.

Overall, The Birth House is a story about controversies of humanity that are not unlike those we face today, midwifery being the central theme. The Birth house carries over the reality of discrimination that midwifery has faced for centuries. Traditional midwives today receive much of the same treatment toward their profession. They are attacked by the medical community, misunderstood by the public, and made out to be useless and old fashioned. The Birth House also shows us the holistic approach that is traditional midwifery and it's impact upon the community as a whole.

I couldn't help but be drawn into the personal life and journey of Dora Rare. She probably couldn't have ran from her “calling” to be a midwife if she tried. The suspense only grew as I hung onto every word; I couldn't wait to turn the page and find out what was going to happen to Dora next, wishing and hoping that her freedom to practice the art of midwifery would be spared and all would end well. I hope that the inspiring story of The Birth House will strengthen your heart for midwifery, past and present, as it did me. (be sure to check out our book giveaway details, below, and we'd love it if you would click our Facebook "like" button, as well)

Vanessa Pruitt, Reviewer

GIVEAWAY DETAILS

Nebraska Friends of Midwives would like to begin hosting monthly giveaways. This month we will be giving away a copy of The Birth House. Any of our readers could be the lucky winner by simply posting a comment, below. You may have extra entries by doing any or all of the following:

Become a public follower (to the right)

Post a direct link to this giveaway on your Facebook page

Post a direct link to this giveaway on Twitter

Blogging about this giveaway on your own blog will get you TWO extra entries

This means there can be a total of six (6) entries per person if you choose to do all of the above. Please leave a separate comment for each entry. This giveaway is open to residents of the USA, only. It will end Wednesday, December 15th at 8pm CST and we plan to draw and announce the winner the following morning. If the winner does not respond within 24 hours, we will draw another name.

THANK YOU for playing along and keep an eye out for our next book or DVD giveaway!

BOOK REVIEW ~ Your Best Birth: Know All Your Options, Discover the Natural Choices, and Take Back the Birth Experience

noreply@blogger.com (2Shaye ♪♫) — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 18:33:00 +0000

Those of you who know me know that I have been devouring books about birth for years. I am always reading something about how the American maternal healthcare system is broken or how safe homebirth is or why you should avoid certain procedures and drugs during labor and delivery. But, until now, I’ve never been able to pick just one book to recommend to other women when they are pregnant, especially as they may not have as much time to read or be as interested in all the gory details as I am. Well, no more! I have found my one book that every pregnant woman should read and it is Your Best Birth: Know All Your Options, Discover the Natural Choices, and Take Back the Birth Experience by Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein.

Ricki and Abby have done an admirable job gathering all the bits of information that I feel every pregnant woman should know into one place. The book is written in a conversational tone and peppered with lots of real birth stories. They have included many side boxes with good information as well. Their recommended reading list is a fantastic list of books and movies that I have read, seen, and also recommend for those who want to explore these topics in more depth. They also have lists of organizations to contact and an extensive list of questions to consider when developing a Birth Plan.

After an introduction that describes Ricki’s and Abby’s different paths through birth, they then state “Your best birth is one where you feel empowered because you know all your options and are confident in the decisions you have made about the birth.” Next, they split the book into four sections that explore the various aspects of birth, the choices women have (or should have), and the implications of various choices. The first section details the basics of a birth plan and discusses where a birth should be: hospital, birth center, or home. In the next section, they introduce the various people who could be at your birth: Obstetrician, midwife, doula, and the guests whom you decide to include. They also explain why you might not want to include certain people at your birth.

Next is a big section broken into very concise but informative chapters on the pros and cons of all the interventions that are so common in hospital births. These interventions include epidurals, pitocin, inductions, electronic fetal monitoring, episiotomies, vacuum, forceps, cesarean sections, and VBACs (vaginal birth after cesarean). This was the section of the book that impressed me the most as I had to read at least ten other books to find all the information that they summarize so succinctly here.

Finally, they close the book with a section on labor and how to embrace it, and then how to bond with the baby afterwards. I did become a little annoyed with this section as the boxes of side information were distracting me from the story they were telling. However there is so much good information in those side boxes (including references to Orgasmic Birth and HypnoBirthing, among others) that it is hard to stay mad at the authors for long!

I highly recommend this book for anyone who is or has a friend who is pregnant or even considering getting pregnant. All women should know more about their birth options before they are forced into the standard hospital care so typical of most births in America. All women should know their rights and the reasons for those rights. Your Best Birth helps women explore what they need to know about birth before they arrive in the delivery room. Very highly recommended!

Jessica Freeman, reviewer

Review of Bellevue Medical Center (Bellevue, NE)

noreply@blogger.com (2Shaye ♪♫) — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 01:20:00 +0000

I recently toured the Labor and Delivery Unit at the new Bellevue Medical Center. Shortly thereafter, I worked as a labor support doula at a birth there and wanted to share a few things about one of Omaha-Area’s newest Maternity Services Providers. The first thing I noticed upon walking into the unit was the size. It is smaller than most other area units. This gives it a much less clinical, big business feel. In contrast, it felt very warm and inviting with a real ‘birth center’ rather than ‘hospital’ feel. There are eleven rooms, nine of which have heated-whirlpool style bathtubs for pain management during the labor process. Most rooms have large windows allowing you to take in the lovely view. The rooms are complete LDRP meaning you will labor, deliver, recover, and spend your entire postpartum stay all within the same room.

Upon admittance you do have the ‘mandatory’ consult with an anesthesiologist who, in my client’s case, went over what the couple’s options were and told them to call if they wanted her services. This felt a bit like a sales pitch rather than a gathering of medical information. This was the only time that pain medication was ever talked about.

The nursing staff has a ton of collective experience in labor and delivery, and while they are still finding their groove, as one would expect with a new hospital, they were really great. They were very respectful of my client’s desire for a natural childbirth. Not one of the nurses ever suggested pain medication or any interventions along the way. They were very complimentary of how amazing she was doing and were very respectful of the family unit both during the entire labor, delivery, and moments after the birth.

A few details that I just loved: They have a real ‘Have it your way” vibe. Anything that the parents requested, they were quick to find a way to accommodate. Walking around the hospital, on the stairwells, working the baby out while in active labor was not an issue. Sitting on the birthing stool and intermittent monitoring with a handheld Doppler during the pushing stage was not a problem. Internal checks done only at mother’s request was, once again, not a problem. Really anything we threw at them they would either agree to or consult the healthcare provider about (and always came back with a yes). I this particular situation, it was a long labor, but the staff made it easy and seamless.

Their goal is 100% breastfeeding, and they do not provide ‘formula bags’ to moms unless requested. Their maternity care coordinator is also the lactation consultant and feels very passionately about supporting breastfeeding. They work very hard on encouraging rooming-in and respecting the new family’s bonding time. They have a level two NICU, so if your baby needs more intensive care, they will be transported to the ‘Mothership’ as one nurse joking called the Nebraska Medical Center.

If a cesarean is necessary, parents have the option to show newborn procedures via a closed circuit television to awaiting family and friends. Every effort is made to not separate mom and baby. If there is a need to, they are reunited as quickly as possible. One mom I know was able to breastfeed her daughter within the first hour of her cesarean.

The biggest flaw of the Bellevue Medical Center, at this point, is that they are unable to accomodate vaginal birth after cesarean (VBACs). There are no plans to change this in the immediate future and there would need to be a drastic shift in physician support in order for this to change. Of course, if a mother arrived in late active first stage it would be outright dangerous to turn her away or try to transport her, but the general policy is no VBACs.

I’ve since had a few of my Bradley Method couples also deliver at the Bellevue Medical Center and their experiences have been top notch. This facility is certainly capable of filling a real niche in our community. Additionally, there is talk of a water birth policy down the road. From the cozy ‘birth center’ size, to the extremely helpful dispositions by the staff, to the medical providers who are currently working with patients, it was easy to quickly fall in love. If you are looking for a hospital birth in the Omaha-Area you would be hard-pressed to find a better experience.

(Thank you to Kristen Treat for this review!)

Midwives & Doulas: Making Birth Better in ANY Weather

noreply@blogger.com (2Shaye ♪♫) — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 03:36:00 +0000

After weeks of planning, Nebraska Friends of Midwives, Omaha Doulas Association, and Lincoln Doulas Association teamed up on Saturday, August 28th, to walk in the annual Millard Days Parade in Omaha. We ended up having a great group of walkers including NFoM members, doulas, husbands, and kiddos. Our group theme was Midwives and Doulas: Making Birth Better in Any Weather. So to tie all the groups together with the theme, we all walked with umbrellas! We had big umbrellas, small umbrellas and even umbrella hats. It made us stand out from other groups walking and shielded us from the HOT sun!!

We learned some great lessons for future parades. For example, register early to avoid being at the end of the parade, have a few people show up early and have everyone else (especially the little kids) come right before it’s time to start walking, and bring lots and lots and lots of candy/flyers/business cards/magnets/stickers to hand out to the hundreds of people lining the street for the parade.

Everything went wonderfully except when the parade MC mispronounced the word Doula…he said “Omaha & Lincoln Douglas” instead of Omaha & Lincoln Doulas! We corrected him but he did not re-announce our group, unfortunately. He did say Nebraska Friends of Midwives correctly at least!

It was definitely a great way to get out our name to a really large group of people and to a really great demographic of families with small children!! Along with the NFoM banner we had little labels on the suckers that said on one side “Pregnant??? Get a Midwife” and the website information. The other side listed some of the benefits of midwifery care. All in all, it was a really wonderful time and so nice to have all three amazing groups working together to help get the word out.

Working together as a team will be the best way to change the birth atmosphere in Nebraska. Walking in the Millard Days Parade was definitely a step in the right direction!

(Thank to you AJ Cecil for reporting on the Millard Days Parade!)

2010 National Midwifery Week Library Displays

noreply@blogger.com (2Shaye ♪♫) — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 20:50:00 +0000

Our group forms around a common cause: our love for midwifery. And yet, so many in Nebraska don't know why we love our midwives so much. They don't know the facts and studies showing midwives lead to safer and more satisfying birth experiences. And so we educate!

The first week of October is National Midwifery Week, and it's a fantastic time to seize the opportunity to educate Nebraskans about midwives and introduce them to Nebraska Friends of Midwives! One very effective way to celebrate the week is to do a library display in your area. No public speaking required! You just need to get started now with a little prep, and your display will be a breeze.

The main steps include:

1. Contact your local library and ask if you may set up a display for National Midwifery Week. In fact, ask for the whole month! You never know what you may get. But call or drop by early if you want a spot, these spots are "first come, first serve." And DO NOT forget to look at both public libraries and academic (college/university) libraries!

      You may find a list of Nebraska public libraries,
      listed by city, at:
      http://www.nlc.state.ne.us/libraries/libs-pl.asp

      You may find a list of all Nebraska academic
      (colleges and university) libraries at:
      http://www.nlc.state.ne.us/libraries/libs-al.asp

2. While you're there, scout out the books and movies they already have on the subject (you can often do this in advance by using their online catalog from home). Be sure to use a variety of search terms such as: midwife, childbirth, pregnancy, etc. Then ask if you can request the library order more books for circulation to be featured in the display. If you put in your order TODAY, they have just under six weeks to order and get your books in the system in time for National Midwifery Week. Oftentimes, library staff will require you do all of the legwork for your purchase request by providing the full title, author, illustrator, year published, ISBN number, list price, etc. Some libraries allow book request forms to be filled out online, so see if that’s an option if you are short on time. My librarian offered me the tip that if you mark the request form that you want to be called to check out the book as soon as it comes in, you might get it ordered in sooner than other requests that no one is waiting for. See the end of this article for a suggested list of books you can request.

3. Go home and design your display based on the spot the library has assigned you. For example, some libraries give a small table for featured books and a space of wall for you to hang your display up. Other libraries may give you a table to arrange, and your display must be approachable from all sides. We have a few pictures at the end of this article to inspire your designing. Some super ideas that have taken place in the past are: featuring a belly cast as a work of art to draw interest; midwife-attended birth photos (G-rated of course); and fact sheets about midwifery. You can offer Citizens for Midwifery brochures from http://www.cfmidwifery.org or ACNM brochures at http://www.midwife.org/ (see clearance items at http://tinyurl.com/ACNMclear). In September, we will also make information sheets, printable business cards, and brochures available for members to download and print directly from our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/nemidwives. Another great idea is to have a sign-up sheet where people can leave their contact info for us to reach them with a complimentary newsletter. If you’re willing to spend a little money, you still have time to order a special item (mug, bag, t-shirt, etc.) from our Café Press shop to have on display (http://www.cafepress.com/nfom) and you can arrange to give it away at the end of the week/month by drawing from those who signed up for a newsletter. There are so many fun ways to make your display exciting, so have fun with it.

4. Show up early on the first day you're allowed to have your display up, set up your art and information, collect the library books to be checked out and set them out in an inviting way. Let the world meet NFoM!

5. Check on your display often, taking filled out sign-up sheets away, and making sure books that are checked out and returned end up back on the display (and not re-shelved). Take down your display promptly on the assigned day, thank the staff for letting you share, and tell them you'll see them again in May for International Midwifery Day! And if you’re doing a fun midwifery drawing, don’t forget to contact the winner.

6. If you want, think big, and do this at multiple libraries. I usually do two of my nearest ones, and as a result they now have lots of great books in circulation. I put my display on a tri-fold board, so I can easily store it to be updated and put out next year.

If you are willing to do a display in your area this October, please let us know! This is one of the best public relations AND educational events you can do on your own to help spread the word each year. We would love if you shared a photo of your display as well, so either email a copy of your photo to nfom.pr@gmail.com so we can add it to our collection or you can also upload it to our Facebook page.

Thanks for doing your part in making NFoM and midwifery known in your community and throughout our state!

Book list (you may click on the titles to see at Amazon):
Labor of Love: A Midwife's Memoir, Cara Muhlhahn
The Joy of Natural Childbirth: Fifth Edition of Natural Childbirth and the Christian Family, Helen Wessel
Rediscovering Birth, Sheila Kitzinger
Heart and Hands: A Midwife's Guide to Pregnancy and Birth, Elizabeth Davis
Giving Birth: A Journey into the World of Mothers and Midwives, Catherine Taylor
Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering: A Doctor's Guide to Natural Childbirth and Gentle Early Parenting Choices, Sarah Buckley and Ina May Gaskin
Born in the USA: How a Broken Maternity System Must be Fixed to Put Women and Children First, Marsden Wagner
We're Having a Homebirth (a children's book), Kelly Mochel
Spiritual Midwifery, Ina May Gaskin
Ina May's Guide to Childbirth, Ina May Gaskin
The Baby Catcher: Chronicles of a Modern Midwife, Peggy Vincent
The Midwife's Song, Brenda Ray
Gentle Birth Choices, Barbara Harper
Pushed, Jennifer Block
Misconceptions, Naomi Wolf
The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth, Henci Goer
Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way, by Susan McCutcheon
A Midwife's Story, by Penny Armstrong
Birth as an American Rite of Passage, by Robbie Davis-Floyd
Lady's Hands, Lion's Heart: A Midwife's Saga, Carol Leonard
The Five Standards of Safe Childbearing, David Stewart

Movie List:
Born in the USA
Business of Being Born
Natural Born Babies: A Modern Birth Story
Pregnant in America
Orgasmic Birth

Feel free to add more book titles, movie suggestions, or other library display options in the comment section, below. You may also click on the pictures, below, to see them a little larger (you will have to click the "back" button to return to this page).

(A HUGE thank you to Laura Leggott for sharing her years of "library display" experience with us this year!)

Review of Methodist Women’s Hospital (Omaha)

noreply@blogger.com (2Shaye ♪♫) — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 22:27:00 +0000

(Many thanks to Kristen Treat for providing the following review.)

I was granted a wonderful opportunity last weekend to tour the new Methodist’s Women’s Hospital on 192 and Dodge Street with several of my fellow Childbirth Educators. Here is what I learned:

The Good: The place is gorgeous. It has state of the art equipment, huge whirlpool bath tubs for laboring, and telemetry units for fetal monitoring allowing you to labor in the tub as long as jets remain off. If your labor results in a cesarean, you and baby will not be separated. All newborn procedures will be done in the recovery room and you can breastfeed immediately. You can now video tape the entire birth if you sign a video waiver. The breastfeeding boutique is in the lobby of the hospital making it easy and accessible. The building is designed with lots of subtle women décor.

The Bad: After hours you must go through the ER and be escorted to Labor and Delivery. They only have 6 (the website says 8, but the nurses said 6) of the whirlpool rooms (they have more operating rooms than whirlpool rooms) and you may only have two people with you for the birth (this means co-parent+ doula or grandma etc.). They have birth balls available but are extremely limited. They also have squat bars for the bed but these were still on order. They do not have birthing stools or squat chairs. They said they have mirrors for use in delivery, however, only one of these was found. You must also wear a hospital gown for labor and delivery.

In short, the new hospital is very beautiful and they have made the medical management of labor into a beautiful thing. The paraphernalia for a natural birth is more limited. You are also not allowed a water birth at this time. While there have been great strides in this new hospital, the true key to having a successful birth remains to stay out of the hospital for the majority of your first stage of labor. Remember a doula and a thorough childbirth education background will help you to better achieve these goals.

For more information on Methodist Women's Hospital and their affiliates, visit the website at methodistwomenshospital.org.

Earth Day Omaha (4/17) & Earth Day Lincoln (4/22)

noreply@blogger.com (2Shaye ♪♫) — Mon, 24 May 2010 16:34:00 +0000

What is the "greener" way to have a baby? With a doctor or midwife? We all know the answer but it was encouraging to be able to talk to so many other like minded people at both Earth Day Omaha and Earth Day Lincoln. It's always fun to reach out to the public and hear of so many stories such as "I was born by a midwife" or "My sister has a midwife" or "I WANT my son's girlfriend to have a midwife."

Also, our Terracycle display was a hit and we even had organizers of the Lincoln Earth Day event pulling items out of the trash. They just thought they were separating the recyclables but they were helping Nebraska Friends of Midwives earn some money!

At the Omaha Earth day it was nice for some of our Lincoln members to be able to connect with Omaha members. While at the Lincoln Earth Day booth, we debuted our "new" tent that was donated by a friend of April Segura's (thank you!). Good thing for that tent because we almost got rained on at the end!

A big thank you to everyone who came to help in any way for both of these events.

(April Segura reporting)

May NFoM Benefit Yard Sale

noreply@blogger.com (2Shaye ♪♫) — Mon, 24 May 2010 03:34:00 +0000

(Click on the above image to see it much larger)

The Nebraska Friends of Midwives Benefit Yard Sale was held May 14th & 15th at Megan Jenkins's house in Southwest Lincoln. It was a huge success, profiting our organization slightly over $460. The weather was gorgeous and it couldn't have been successful without the large group of members who donated items to sell, organized stuff, worked at the sale, watched kids, loaned tables, prepared food, and SHOPPED! The sale was advertised on Craigslist, Facebook, and with homemade signs around the neighborhood. April Segura and Lauren Letterman were huge organizers and the sale would not have been possible without their hard work including soliciting donations, recruiting volunteers, picking up tables, and staying on site throughout the sale.

The donations, help, and time of the following members and friends was much appreciated: Amanda & Ben Plouzek, Anita Epp, Carolyn Walters, Darcy Weides, Chandra Foster, Elayne Slevin, Heather Henry, Jessica Freeman, Kathie Smith, Kristen Kloepping, Lily Platte, Nicci Walla, Niecey & Rene Docherty, Theresa Hospodka, Katie Miller, and all other friends who stopped by to shop and support our group efforts!!

Two more NFoM Benefit Yard Sales are currently in the works for this summer. One will be in Eagle, Nebraska during "Eagle Days" on the first weekend in June. And another in Waverly, Nebraska during "Waverly Days" in July.

Stay posted to the NFoM Facebook fan page or our blog for more details as they become available!

(Megan Jenkins, reporting!)

Circle ME's RE-diaper Sale

noreply@blogger.com (2Shaye ♪♫) — Fri, 21 May 2010 00:06:00 +0000

Nebraska Friends of Midwives members helped out at a booth at Circle ME's Re-diaper sale which was held on April 10, 2010.

Though it seems like a place that we would be "preaching to the choir" it was not that way at all! We made many new contacts and people were very excited to help out with the terracycle items.

Thanks to everyone who stopped in and helped out at our booth!

(April Segura reporting)

May 2010 Online Auction

noreply@blogger.com (2Shaye ♪♫) — Sat, 15 May 2010 13:25:00 +0000

Nebraska Friends of Midwives held our first ever online auction in honor of International Day of the Midwife. There were many items and services such as massages from both Essentials Chiropractic in Omaha and Deeper then Skin Massage from Justine Erickson in Lincoln, a certificate for Pepe's Veggie Bistro in Lincoln, Spanish lessons, and a variety of homemade products from local mama's. Some of the higher bidding items were a wellness gift basket complete with chiropractic adjustments from Healthy Start Chiropractic in Lincoln and doula services for both Omaha and Lincoln.

We want to thank EVERYONE who helped out in anyway, whether it be donating an item or certificate, helping gather the items, or bidding and buying the items! A special thank you to AJ and Amanda for helping gather items and put them in the auction site. All together we raised $750 for Nebraska Friends of Midwives!!

Since this auction was so successful, we would like to have a HUGE online auction for National Midwifery Week in October. Start thinking about how you would like to get involved!

For better birth options,

April Segura
NFoM Fundraising Chair

NFoM Online Auction: TWO DAYS LEFT!!

noreply@blogger.com (2Shaye ♪♫) — Tue, 11 May 2010 15:58:00 +0000

If you're not on our Facebook FAN page, you may not be aware of an online auction we have going on in honor of the International Day of the Midwife. It began last Wednesday and will go on for only two more days.

There are many great items and services such as massages, photography sessions, artwork, handmade items, and even a Longaberger 3-in-1 Tote! Reserve prices are almost met on a few items so keep up the bidding!

To see the items, just go to http://www.32auctions.com/ and enter the following auction username and password. Sign up and bidding is EASY. There are two pages, so click "2" or "Next" to see the rest of our items.

Auction ID: dayofmidwife
Auction Password: nnffoomm

So far things are going well and we hope to have a MUCH bigger auction with services spanning the width of our entire state for the National Week of Midwifery in October. Thank you for your support!!

Have fun and HAPPY BIDDING!!

International Day of the Midwife

noreply@blogger.com (2Shaye ♪♫) — Wed, 05 May 2010 13:30:00 +0000

While our group celebrates midwifery every day of the year, May 5th is International Day of the Midwife. This means we have a special reason to pause and honor this amazing profession and the outstanding women who've dedicated their lives to respecting and preserving normal birth. Today, a number of families across Nebraska share a brief testimony about their experiences with midwives:

"We chose to go with a midwife because it gave us freedom to make our own choices about a lot of procedures that are routine for doctors. Looking back, the best part for me was having my precious, solid husband an active part of labor and delivery, not just a support team or loving observer but truly a crucial part of our beautiful miracle."
-Kassandra Brent, Chadron

"I loved having a midwife because I felt that *I* was the one in control of my own birth. Nobody told me what to do, or when or where. I was completely free to birth my baby the way I felt was best."
-Chandra Stewart, York

"I loved delivering at home with a midwife. After my first homebirth, I sat on the floor of my bedroom and wondered at how my two midwives had supported me and yet left my body alone to do what it knew best. I wondered at how I was not being ordered in and out of beds and delivery wards or ordered to eat or pee or whatever. The best part of the birth was sitting in the kitchen afterwards chatting with other women over a snack while the kids and husband slept. I still exchange Christmas cards with my midwives to show them how big my little baby is getting!"
-Jessica Freeman, Lincoln

"My midwife let me be in the driver’s seat. She was very respectful of my body and my boundaries, and gave me options instead of orders. Because of her willingness to step back, listen, and allow me to labor in my own way, I was able to securely, comfortably, confidently give birth to my healthy baby girl."
-Lauren Smith-Kuckkahn, Scottsbluff

"My first birth at home with a midwife was very long. However, in her care I never felt pressured to progress. There was never any fear that I had too beat the clock or face a c-section. Her skills and careful observation let me know that the labor was continuing in a healthy way...just at its own slow pace. In the end there was a healthy baby and a satisfied mom!"
-Rebecca Wingebach, Omaha

"I LOVED my home birth experience. My Midwife did all my prenatal care and classes with us in our home. She was very prepared and knowledgeable. I felt very comfortable with her and our emergency back up plan. I experienced a water birth, which was just amazing! My labor was pretty fast, it started in the night and did not get hard until 7 am or so. By the time my husband had the tub set up and filled I was about to transition. I went from contractions back to back to a nice break from the pain after I got into the tub. It wasn't long until it was time to push. My midwife was a great coach and talked me through each step. At 10 am our daughter was born, completely alert and happy and PERFECT in every way! My recovery from home birth was amazing. I was sore, and tired but I felt so empowered. Home birth is amazing, and I would do it every time if I could!"
-Ronna Susens, Crawford

"I think the things I like the most were that they seem to have a good sense of when to do stuff, when to tend to things that needed to be done, and when to get out of the way and let us appreciate the process of birth."
-Matt Whitman, Grand Island

"I had 3 home births attended by a midwife. I was fortunate enough to have the same midwife attend all three births. I appreciated the support and sense of real connection offered by my midwife through the whole pregnancy process. What I liked most about having midwife-attended home births is that she made it possible for me to be in an environment that was my own. There’s no place like home, there’s no place like home, there’s no place like home……Dorothy had it right!"
-Elizabeth Ledbetter, Chadron

"I loved having a midwife-attended birth because of the trust she put in my body. Trusting labor to work at its own pace, without meddling or checking. After each birth I was completely energized by the process, and back to my normal self within hours, even enjoying company. The complete support from beginning to end helped me to enjoy the experience. My 4 home births were the 4 best days of my life; moments I cherish thoroughly!"
-Laura Leggott, Melbeta

"I am blessed to have received my prenatal care from and to have been attended by a Certified Nurse-Midwife during my labor. Although my daughter ended up being a forceps delivery by an OB, two of my cousins have had similar labors and ended up with c-sections. CNM care is the best!"
-Lenetta, central Nebraska

Thank you all for sharing your personal experiences! It is touching to read your thoughts as we press forward in our legislative efforts to provide greater access to midwifery all across the state of Nebraska. We hope more of you will take a moment to share your experiences or gratitude in our comments section below.

KC Birthnetwork Conference 2010

noreply@blogger.com (2Shaye ♪♫) — Sun, 02 May 2010 05:24:00 +0000

The Kansas City Birthnetwork Conference was April 23rd-24th and featured Ina May Gaskin and Dr. Tami Michele as special guest speakers. A number of our Nebraska Friends of Midwives members were delighted to attend this year. We asked Kristen Kloepping for a write-up for our blog (THANK YOU!) and we hope others who were in attendance will share their experiences either in our comments section (below) or on our Facebook page:

“Today’s Obstetrics is old world technology, dressed up cosmetically,” Ina May Gaskin, Friday April 23rd. Our country has a long way to go to get to where we truly need to be, and Nebraska has even further to go. We made the trip to Kansas City, MO in numbers and returned with a new energy on the benefits of midwives, doulas, childbirth educators and the power of consumers, along with a cooler full of breastmilk! It was hard to leave some of our babies behind, but the knowledge that was gained was valuable and much needed. Thank you to all of the friends and family that helped to make the trip possible for so many of us.

It really didn’t feel like a lecture or seminar at all. It felt like a room full of friends, Ina May being one of them. Her welcoming smile and even embrace was more than any of us could have ever expected. She shared stories, laughed with us, posed for pictures and even asked a few questions of her own. She never pretended to be the one that knew all of the answers and was an equal participant in the entire weekend.

There was so much information included that it is really hard to focus on one topic. Some highlights include our American diet and how it is affecting the health of our pregnant mothers and their babies. Nature is our mother and we as American’s are dominating nature, therefore basically eating ourselves. A healthy lifestyle is a key component to pregnancy and birth, and we need to take control of our health and quit relying on technology to fix pregnancy complications that could have been prevented.

“Poop is your friend,” while it makes you laugh, it holds so much truth. Ina May continued to be lighthearted throughout her discussions on the ‘Sphincter Law’. So many births have crowds of people cheering mothers on. How easy is it for you to poop with a nurse shouting, 1, 2, 3….breathe, etc? The end result may be different in childbirth, but the mechanics are the same! Our Sphincters are shy. They tend not to obey orders, but respond much better to prayer and a relaxed jaw. The best way to open and relax your sphincter muscle is to smile and laugh. The next time you need a mom to relax and open up, or heck get your toddler to finally get over the fear of using the “big kid” toilet, get them to laugh!

Ina May also discussed challenging labors and ways to overcome the many obstacles that may come to the forefront during a woman’s labor. There are solutions for nearly all obstacles and those solutions didn’t include forceps, vacuums, pitocin or cesarean sections, tools used often in the obstetrical world. Movement, overcoming fears, position changes and patience are often all that is required. It makes sense that Ina May has never had a case of gestational diabetes and their current cesarean section rate is approximately 2-3%.

It was also encouraging to meet an obstetrician different from the rest. Too bad she lives in Wisconsin! We received hand massages, learned trigger points and did an emotional release on ourselves. So much information jammed into two days! The bottom line is that we have control of our bodies and our pregnancies.

There is a need for change, there is no denying that. Most of America chooses to turn a blind eye to the status of our healthcare system and blame others. If all men and women can come together and demand better outcomes and access to midwives, things will fall into place. Please join us in this fight for change! We deserve it. Our sisters deserve it. Our daughters deserve it. Our granddaughters deserve it. Be the Change.

~Kristen Kloepping

2010 Omaha Health and Wellness Expo

noreply@blogger.com (2Shaye ♪♫) — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 04:47:00 +0000

The weekend of April 24th and 25th proved to be a busy one for the members of Nebraska Friends of Midwives. In Omaha, six volunteers staffed the NFoM booth at the Omaha Health and Wellness Expo. This is known as the largest health fair pertaining to wellness, fitness, the mind, body, and spirit in the Midwest. Last year there were over 275 exhibitors, over 50 seminars, and well over 10,000 attendees!

A raffle ticket for four fantastic prizes was offered to every person who passed the NFoM booth. Local businesses One Tree Yoga, Labor of Love Doula Services, Balance Matters, and Massage Associates LLC all generously offered their services for use in the raffle this year. The following people are our lucky winners:

1 Session of Yoga at One Tree Hill Yoga - Jill B.
Labor of Love Doula Services - Kate H.
1 hour Massage at Massage Associates LLC - Angie S.
Energy balancing Session at Balance Matters - Danielle M.

Congratulations to our winners and thanks to our business supporters, volunteers, and NFoM members who stopped by! We made over 25 new contacts and enjoyed sharing the benefits of midwives and promoting our organization.

(Lauren Letterman reporting)

2010 Governor Proclamation Signing

noreply@blogger.com (2Shaye ♪♫) — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 00:30:00 +0000

"Midwifery is the oldest profession in the world,"
-Autumn Cook, spoken at the signing.

Ailani's Birth

noreply@blogger.com (Ms. Smoochy) — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 12:45:00 +0000

Contractions started Saturday afternoon, the 8th of July 2006 for me. It was kind of funny because Guy and Laurie left, and not very long after that, I had a contraction. Of course, at first I didn’t think it was anything different than the “braxton hicks” contractions, so I just kept going on, not thinking of anything. Well then the World Cup game came on, and I had a few more contractions, and it was really making me wonder... could this baby be coming?!! Contractions were coming at about 1 every hour, but I still figured that I was just in early labor and that this kid was gonna arrive within the next few days.

Contractions started picking up, first to 2 an hour, then to like 4 an hour. I called the midwife on Saturday around 8 pm to let her know what was going on, and she told me to call if my water broke, or if contractions started getting a lot closer together. Saturday night was pretty much about 4 contractions per hour. Sometimes more, but on average I would say 4 an hour. Around 9:30pm I noticed my mucus plug had came out, and so I knew that was a for sure sign that this was really the real thing! The baby was really coming!!

Saturday night was not very fun to sleep. Juan came home late, as he always does on Saturday night and we went to bed. Well, I tried all that I could, but these contractions were not letting me sleep! I would nod off for a few minutes, just to be woken up to the next contraction. They were not super bad, just annoying that I would wake up during them. I was really hoping that I would be able to just sleep thru them. Oh well. It was weird because even though I didn’t really feel like I got sleep saturday night, I know that I did because I remember that I had a few dreams, even in the short amount of time that I was sleeping at that given point (example– since I was writing down the contractions and their times, I knew that the last contraction had been at say 2:12 am, and then during that short time of sleeping, I would remember a dream, and the next contraction would be at like 2:21 am or something like that). Anyway, so then Sunday came, and I called the midwife in the morning to let her know about the mucus plug, and how the contractions were the night before. We had already had planned that she was gonna come over that day for just a visit anyway, but now when I was in labor, obviously it was not gonna be just a visit this time! So, knowing that the baby was coming very soon, Juan & I (more him though) started getting things ready for the birth. We wanted to make sure that we had everything available and not hiding in the closet somewhere. He got the kiddie pool and filled it with air, not water yet because I wasn’t really progressing that much so it was no use to have the water yet. It all felt so surreal to me. I couldn’t believe that it was actually happening! I was finally in labor! I was so excited! I didn’t really know what exactly to be expecting, but I knew I was sure excited!

I made sure to call my friends that were going to be present for the birth so that they knew that it would be sometime probably later that day that they should come over. At that point, I didn’t know how far along I was, so I just really told them to be ready. Nia went to get some food for us at Trader Joes as our fridge was pretty much empty (we were planning on going to get food that day anyway!!) but it was nice of her to go get the food because I dont’ think having a contraction in the store would have been a good place!!

The midwife came over after the world cup game for our “visit” to see how far along I was, and how I was doing. At that point I was 3 cm dilated and 80% effaced. She said that I was doing great, and that really there was nothing she would be doing if she stayed (although she said she would have if I would have wanted her to) I told her that I was fine at that point, and that I would call her if anything changed. Luckily, she decided to stay in Chicago and not go all the way home (she lives like an hour away) I checked in with her at 6 pm, and again at 8. When we talked at 8, contractions had been getting stronger and closer together, so when she asked if I was ready for someone to come be here with us, I said for sure.. so at that point, Juan started to fill up the pool with our EXTREMELY hot water (most people worry about running out of hot water... we only worried about melting the kiddie pool). Anyway, so he started filling that up as I just was going thru the contractions. The midwife had let me borrow a nice birth ball to help for the contractions, and it was wonderful!

Around like 9 or so, The midwife J and the apprentice midwife came over It was so comforting to see them! They were just so calm, and everything was so natural and normal. I really felt at ease with them there. A little while later the other midwife arrived. (ok, I really felt like a queen to have 3 amazing midwifes at the birth. I had crappy prenatal care thru my other midwife, but switching to these 2 amazing woman was the best thing that I did and it was amazing having them all 3 there!) Anyway, the funniest thing was when C touched the water in the pool and was like OH MY GOSH! because it was so hot. The whole time, Juan had been telling me how he should put some cold water in it also, but I insisted on him just putting hot.

Shortly after the midwifes came, they told me just to get in the water. I figured I should maybe wait to get in, but then I was just like, what the heck! It’ll be a lot nicer. So, I got in, and it was sooo amazing. Wow the water helped with the contractions so much. It was wonderful. It was just so comforting to me!

The midwifes made sure that I was eating a bit and drinking, more than anything drinking to keep hydrated. That was really important because sometimes I would feel that I should drink, but until they said to me to drink, would I drink. So that was nice.

Leana was the first friend to show up. She brought a fan and a flashlight since at one one point I didn’t know what happened to our flashlight. It was really nice, the room that the birth took place in, because it was very cool. It was a pretty cool night, and having the fans on really helped a lot. After a little bit, Nia showed up also. Chelsea showed up a lot later, but at that point I dont’ even know what time it was, or anything. Time was the last thing on my mind!

Contractions were fairly hard at this point, and I just felt like: is this baby ever gonna really come!! I was feeling kind of discouraged because I felt like I hadn’t even made any progress at all! When C asked me if I wanted her to check how far along I was, I gladly agreed just because I wanted to know if I was even progressing! At that point I was 6 cm dialed and my water still hadn’t broke. I couldn’t believe it, but they told me that I would know when the water broke. It's so weird because so many times you see on tv that the “start ” of someone’s labor is when their water breaks. This is sooo hardly true in real life!!!

So, contraction after contraction, my friends and Juan helped get me thru them. They all put a LOT of pressure on my back to help ease the pain. It felt amazing when they pushed! WOW! Juan was funny too, he did get in the pool with me, but he wouldn’t take off his shirt or his hat! I was like, can’t you just take them off! It was like he was nervous to be half naked in front of all those woman! HA! It was funny, and here I was completly naked! haha.

One point when I really remember was I had a strong contraction and instead of being in the same position as I had been in most of the time, I just went to Juan and just hugged him, and then I started crying. It was like they were tears of pain, but also tears of joy! I was just so excited that the baby was coming.

I don’t know what time it was or anything, but I think it was C asked me if I felt that I needed to push yet. I tried pushing and it felt kinda alright, but at that point the water STILL had not broken! I couldn’t believe it! They told me that is shouldn’t be many more contractions and that should break. It was like we were all just waiting on that water! Finally, I heard/felt this thing kind of pop. I was like I think the water might have broke! They were checking things, and Juan was like “yeah it did” but I was like how the heck does he know! But when C did the check, she confirmed that yeah, it had broke! I was so happy because I felt that to reach that point, it took sooo long!!! Well, that was a big hurdle that I had finally crossed, that meant the baby was coming soon!

After the water broke, things went quite a lot faster. It was just contraction after contraction after contraction.. C then asked me if it felt right to push, at that point it definatly did. At first though, I started pushing and definatly pooped! I felt so embarrassed but was thinking about some of the books that I had read that said that is completly normal. I still felt so embarrassed! But anyway, the midwifes were happy that I had pooped and they were like that means the baby is coming soon! They were really encouraging me and everything.

I started pushing then and after I dont’ know how many pushes, I started to feel the head. It was so cool because I kept my hands down there and really was kinda guiding it. It was soo cool to feel the head as it was crowning! I still kept thinking like is this really the head, what is this!! It felt so weird at first! It was really nice for me though to be able to feel the head as I was pushing it out. I kept getting so discouraged though as it would go back in there instead of staying out like I wanted it to. It was so weird too these urges that I got to push! I didn’t really think it would be like that! That is how mom had described them, but I was like.. how will it be such an urge to push! I didn’t think it would be true. Boy, it sure was!

Most of the time during the contractions and pushing, I was in the same position. I don’t know WHY, but I just was. Finally during the pushing, one of the midwifes was like, why don’t you try leaning back on Juan. At this point, the head was almost crowned, so I think that leaning back really helped. A few more pushes after that, there was a definate head that was out for good! My friends were all just like OH MY GOSH! They were so happy and so amazed! Leana was taking picture after picture! I was soo glad for that because I really wanted pictures!!

After the head was out, C had to rotate the baby as she didn’t quite rotate herself, and then it was like one more push, and woooshhh, out came the baby! It was so neat because I was the one who caught her. The midwifes asked me if I wanted to catch her, or if Juan was going to. I really wanted to catch her, so I am glad that I did. Juan was in back of me holding me up and helping from behind. So, I caught the baby, and brought her up to the air. Right away, the baby took the first breath, and was just looking around.. It was so cute! I was just amazed. There was this beauty in front of me that I had birthed! It was a feeling so amazing. Also, even after the long labor, even after the hard contractions, seeing this little creature for the first time made me forget about the contractions.. I can’t remember how painful they were or anything. I just know that it was all worth it!

So, I brought baby up to me as much as I could. The cord made it hard to pull out of the water more. Everyone was like well is it a boy or girl? I felt and I was pretty sure a girl, and so I was like a girl... I think. Then Juan felt and he felt the CORD instead, and was like I think boy. So, we had to lift her out of the water, and sure enough, mama was right, a little baby girl! Wow, it was amazing, seeing this beautiful baby for the first time being brought up to the world in such a gentle wonderful way!

After that, the midwifes helped me out of the water (I thought I would never be able to lift my legs over the edge! I felt like JELLO!) and then I sat down on this thing (and boy it hurt to sit!!) so that I could birth the placenta. I just wanted to get it out of there and be done! I had NO energy left! It was funny because like 1 or 2 minutes after I got out of the pool to sit down, my phone rang. The midwifes were like who is calling you at this hour? I figured it was my sisters, or someone from my family. Sure enough it was Amzi, so her and Andrea were the first to hear the news, they were so excited. I was like um, its a girl... I will call ya' back later I am too worn out to talk. hehe.

So, the placenta came out after like 5-10 minutes. It was a weird feeling when it came out. It was like just a weird sensation! I don’t know how to describe it. At that point, the midwives were showing me how to breastfeed but I didn’t have the energy to hold the baby up on my own at that point when I was sitting. We got it when we were laying in bed though.

After that, I was just in awe of everything. I didn’t know what to think! Time just went by so fast it seemed! The midwives made me some food which I gladly ate, and then after awhile me and the baby took an herb bath. I think that was at least an hour after she had been born, maybe longer. I don’t know. Everything blended together. It was at that point that the cord got cut. It was so cool to keep the placenta attached that way she would get all the good blood.

The herb bath felt amazing. Then what sucked is that I couldn’t pee. They were like, you need to pee. But I could not! So they told me that either they should catherate me, or they might have to do that the next day. I was pretty scared of that, but I told them to go ahead and do it. It was pretty gross, but I am glad that I had it done.

Juan had already passed out during all of this. I was like.. sheesh, I am the one who just had a baby, you should not be passed out. But I just let him sleep. The midwives did all their stuff and did their check on the baby and everything. That's when I found out she was 8 pounds, 22 inches long. What a nice sized baby!

Ok, so I am thinking that's about it for my birth story! It was an amazing time, I am so glad that we had a homebirth. It was 100% worth it.

Oh, another thing I should mention is that we had put my cat in the closet so that she would not interfere with everything. Then, after the midwives left at maybe 5 or 6 in the morning, I knew I needed to go lock the door after them. That's when I let Ceviche out of her closet. I tried to wake Juan up to go lock the door and let the cat out, but I couldn’t get him up, so I just wobbled over there to do it myself. Ceviche got let out and was acting WEIRD. She started making this weird meowing noise that I cannot even begin to describe how weird it is! She is still doing it a little now, but not as much as she did at first.

Anyway, homebirth is definatly the way to go, and more so, WATERBIRTH. I definatly recommend it, and if not actually pushing in the water, at least having the water there for contractions. It was an amazing experience and I am sooo thankful to have had the midwives that I did, and the friends that I had there with us. Of course, I am thankful for my husband, Juan also and his help through out the labor.

Georgia's Birth

noreply@blogger.com (Ms. Smoochy) — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 12:37:00 +0000

I had prepared myself for another long labor. After the two- day ordeal of my son’s birth, the best I dared hope for was a labor half as long. So when my husband, Jacob and I decided to birth our second baby at the Birth and Woman’s Center in Topeka, KS I was never really worried about the three hour drive Jacob would have to make once I had gone into labor. Surely he’d have enough time to get there… It was a small risk we were willing to take to have the out-of-hospital birth we both wanted. After my son’s homebirth I could hardly imagine going to the hospital to have a baby!

Jacob’s mom (Also named Rebecca!) lives in Topeka. My son (Jacob Jr. Yes, there are two Jacobs and two Rebeccas in this story.) and I drove down from our home in Omaha, NE to stay with her ten days before my due date. The elder Jacob remained behind to continue the nine to five grind. Rebecca accommodated us by transforming her formal living room into a gorgeous bedroom suite for me. It was lovely, as though it had been furnished for a photo shoot with Southern Living magazine. I felt welcome, comfortable, and more than a little pampered.

The days in Kansas passed uneventfully and peacefully. Little Jacob and I enjoyed our time with family and soon found ourselves in a comfortable daily routine in our temporary home. I loved being pregnant and didn’t feel anxious to be rid of my enormous belly; I was just excited to meet my new baby and to find out whether a little boy or a little girl would join our family. I was encouraged by daily Braxton Hicks contractions and figured that was a good sign.

I was right. At my 40-week visit with my midwife she asked if I wanted to be checked. Sure, I thought. Why not? Much to my utter amazement it was discovered I was about four centimeters dilated and could easily stretch to five!!! I was on cloud nine! It had taken over 36 hours of labor to dilate that far when Jacob was born. I thought I had been having more Braxton Hicks than usual that morning.

Of course, I called Jacob the moment I stepped foot out of the birth center and excitedly told him the good news. Though the truth is, neither of us thought it meant the baby was right around the corner. I had heard of women walking around dilated like that for days, or even weeks with their second or subsequent pregnancies. I continued about the rest of my day excited but not presuming the onset of labor.

That being said, I continued to have Braxton Hicks all day. These contractions were very short and did not hurt even a little. I couldn’t even call them uncomfortable. I was having a few every hour, though. So, when I showed up at Little Jacob’s Great Grandma and Grandpa L.’s house for dinner that afternoon everyone was a little surprised when I announced, “I’m five centimeters dilated and having contractions!” I said it mostly for shock value, and I explained that I didn’t really think I was in labor. Plus, I said, “If I hadn’t come to dinner the contractions would have stopped!”

However, after having a wonderful evening visiting with Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle John, Cousin Amber, and her two precious son’s Sam and Isaac, I was pretty sure something was happening. I continued having painless, short, sporadic contractions through our visit and the whole forty-minute drive back from Grandpa and Grandma’s to my mother-in-law’s house.

When I called Jacob to say goodnight and give him a progress report he was pretty dubious that I was really close to labor. He thought I was in danger of playing head games with myself, and becoming exhausted with worry. He told me to go to bed and get some sleep. I told him to have a bag packed and be on high alert. Half of me totally expected to go to bed and wake up in the middle of the night in labor. The other half was less certain…

I fell asleep about ten o’ clock that night but sleep didn’t last long. At about twelve thirty I woke up having very mild short contractions. They really weren’t uncomfortable, and with Baby Jacob’s labor in mind I forced myself to go back to sleep. “Rest.” I told myself, “Rest while you can.” And I did. I slept off and on for several hours. I kept waking up to pee, and I just kept having annoying contractions. Not enough to hurt but enough to keep me from sleeping soundly. I was bummed at the thought of how tired I would be in the morning, and thought about calling Little Jacob’s Grandpa and Grandma W. to ask them to watch him so I could nap the next day. I thought the way things were going I wouldn’t have a baby for at least two more days! Ha!

At about four o’ clock in the morning I couldn’t sleep through the contractions any longer. But, they still didn’t hurt. I timed them for a little while, they were very short (under twenty seconds) and they came about every seven to ten minutes. I contemplated calling Jacob, but thought better of it. I’d call him in a couple hours and tell him how things were going. I wanted him to get a good night’s sleep.

At five in the morning Little Jacob woke up and started crying. As I walked upstairs to get him out of his portable crib I was hit with the first painful contraction. Oh man, I thought, I had better call my hubby. By the time Little Jacob had a diaper change, a sippy cup of milk and was plugged into PBS Kids I had had several more painless albeit short contractions.

I called my Smoochy and told him how things were going. I was pretty sure I was in labor, but things were just getting going in my estimation. We finally decided that he would start getting around and that I would give him a call in an hour.

By that time, Rebecca was up and we were having our first cups of coffee together. After filling her in on the night’s events I confided that I was conflicted about whether Jacob should get on the road yet or not. He could only take five work days off, and I was very worried that he would waist a day on padromal labor that would be better be spent with an actually baby to enjoy. She suggested that maybe he should go into work and tie up his loose ends, and then I could call him back if things were truly progressing. That sounded like a plan to me.

About that time the coffee hit and I decided I needed to use the facilities. While I was doing my business I swear I felt myself dilating and sure enough there was bloody show as I wiped. I had been waiting all night for that! Then the contractions hit. While I was in the bathroom Jacob called back. I hollered from with in the bathroom, “Rebecca! Tell him he needs to come NOW!”

Rebecca made me scrambled eggs and toast to eat. I was struggling to get through the meal. Every time a contraction came I had to stand, walk, and moan. I was starting to feel pressure I couldn’t sit through. We decided to take showers and call the midwife. It was probably around six o’ clock at that point. Norla, my midwife, was already at the birth center for the day when I called and she said come on in when we were ready for a course of IV antibiotics (for Group B-Strep) and we could decide from there whether I’d stay or go home.

The contractions I had in the shower were really starting to demand my concentration. I moaned and rocked and let the water pelt me as each one hit. In between contractions I washed my hair and scrubbed up. Betsy, Jacobs little sister, was in the bathroom doing her hair and make-up for another day in the 9th grade. She looked at me a little worried through the clear plastic shower curtain and asked if there was anything she could do for me. “No Betsy, Thanks.” I swayed and moaned through a few more contractions.

Once out of the shower, I was really starting to feel spacey. I could hardly dress myself, much less lotion and groom they way I had planned. I heard Rebecca start her shower, and I prayed that she would be quick. I was starting to feel hot and panicy. Despite it being a chilly 68 degrees or so in the house I started to sweat. I started to pace. I started into transition… and I knew it!

I could feel so much pressure in my pelvis I thought I was going to burst. Literally. I had visions of my water breaking at any moment and the baby being born unassisted right there in my “bedroom”. I was terrified that I would never make it to the birth center to say nothing of Smoochy arriving in time. I was freaking out. It was at about that point (I think) that Patrick (Big Jacob’s 18 year old brother) stuck his head in the room and asked if I need anything. I snapped at him, “Pat, I love you but leave me alone!”

All I could think about was getting to the birth center. The contractions were hard and close together. All I could do was stay on my hands and knees and mooooan. Thank God Patrick and Betsy were there to take care of and entertain Little Jacob. They made sure he was dressed and fed that morning.

I heard Rebecca’s shower turn off and I breathed a sigh of relief. A few minutes later I heard her hair drier turn on and my head must have made several 360-degree turns on my neck as I screamed, “Rebecca, WE HAVE TO LEAVE NOW!!!” I heard Pat ascend the steps three at a time and relay to his mom that I had gone crazy (not exactly in those words!).

There was a great flurry of activity at that point. My family conferred on who would go to the birth center to take care of Little Jacob; they scurried to gather the food and bags we had prepared; and Betsy took Jacob out to load him in his car seat. I followed out behind them in my robe and slippers. Not exactly what I had planned on wearing that day. I got into the warming car to wait for Rebecca to come out, but as the contractions hit I got out and stood in the drive way rocking and moaning for what seamed an eternity as she locked-up and made her way out.

The drive to the birth center felt like five hours instead of the five minutes it actually took. I had three mega-contractions in rout, each compounding the pressure I was sitting on. It was miserable. Next baby, I hope we have the viable option of staying home. Car travel in labor is for the birds. Anyway, of course we got held up a red light waiting to turn left into the driveway of the birth center. I had a contraction at that exact moment and I think I told Rebecca and Betsy that I wanted to get out and walk the rest of the way. That might well have been the most painful moment of the whole experience.

What relief when we were at last parked and I left everyone behind to deal with Jacob and the bags. I pushed open the door to the birth center and was met by peace. Norla greeted me at the door and led me to the birth room (I have to mention here how AWSOME it was not to fill out papers, go through triage, or talk to strangers. I can’t imagine having to do those things in the sate I was in.)

Norla went right to the IV equipment to get me hooked up, and I went right for the birth ball and positioned myself up on the floor draped over it on my knees in the middle of the room. I was nervous about dealing with an IV and then saline lock in labor, but honestly the IV was over so quick, and the saline lock was forgotten as soon as it was in. I only wish I could say the same about the Thrush Georgia and I have dealt with for the last month as a result of those antibiotics! (*The thrush was awful. I can't remember how long it took us to get over it. 2 months?)

Anyway, once the IV antibiotics had been administered Norla suggested I move to the bed so that she could check my dilation. I had no fear (unlike during Jacob’s birth) that I would be checked and no progress made. I could just feel that things were oooopening. Sure enough, I was complete. I looked across the room at the lovely large Jacuzzi tub in the middle of the room and knew deep down I would never get into it now. But, I didn’t have time to think much about it before the next contraction rocked it’s way through me.

At some point during all of this Rebecca and Betsy made their way into the birth center with Little Jacob and all of our gear. Bless them they lugged in several bags worth of stuff that was never used: including my Ipod, scented massage oils, and hot rice socks. There was a large waiting/play room filled with toys and children’s books that connected to the birth room through a large set of French doors. Jacob played here peacefully through most of the birth. He did wander in and out of the birth room some to see what Mom was doing. Thankfully his Aunt Betsy was there to love, comfort, and entertain him. She was also my photographer, and I noticed several times that she had Jacob perched on one hip and was busy snapping photos with her free hand. She got some awesome shots!

I went through several more contractions on my hands and knees in the huge queen sized birthing bed as everyone got settled. At the end of each contraction I hade these low low groans. I remember at one point even sort of chanting the word “loooow” and “down baby, please!” And though I was complete and my body was obviously working the baby down and out I was not thinking about pushing. It just seemed too soon. So when Norla suggested I lay on my side I thought “Sure I’d love a rest!”

I however, was the only person who thought I would be getting a break. My birthing women knew better than I that we were cooking with gas. I was a little surprised that the contractions did not stop and that the two midwives (Norla had been joined at that point by Emily who was filling in for an absent nurse) and my mother-in-law coached me through my breathing at my body pushed along without me.

It wasn’t long before my waters popped and flooded the bed. Holy crap! I was so surprised. I’m sure my eyes nearly popped from my head. “Is the water clear?” I managed to ask. Yes, I was reassured they were. It started to really sink in that: Oh! The baby is coming NOW. I looked to Rebecca somewhat frantically and asked, “How far away is Jacob?” She exchanged a dubious look with the other women.

“He’s on his way…” she said.

“When?” I gasped

“He’s coming as quickly as he can.”

“Don’t give me that!” I snapped.

In my head I remember thinking: Come on! I’m a big girl just give me the freaking answer!

It was at this point that Norla gave me a pep talk about not holding back. Let the baby come when the baby was ready…

I knew then my husband was going to miss the birth.

Frankly, as much as I waned Jacob to witness the birth of his baby, I was in too much pain to purposefully prolong it. It was also about then I realized this was the time for action, not rest. I asked for help getting back on my hands and knees.

Once I was back on my hands and knees with the birth ball to collapse on between contractions I felt more comfortable. Or at least as comfortable as possible considering I had eight pounds of baby barreling through my vagina. I’m not sure how long I pushed in this position before she was finally born.

I remember squeezing the ever-loving-crap out of a latex gloved hand. I probably could have broken a finger or two. I remember being given cool sips of water through a straw. I remember the cool cloth the receptionist/child birth education teacher/insurance guru Kelly (working as doula) ☺ placed on my forehead. I remember snapping at my poor mother-in-law to “Stop toughing my hair!” She was just trying to move it off my face. Bless her patience and understanding! And I remember looking up to see my poor little son perched on Aunt Betsy’s hip whimpering in confusion and worry.

I had expected to feel powerful and in control while pushing as I had when Jacob was born. But, this was a different birth. It was so painful to bear down that I resisted quite a bit. The midwives kept urging me to tilt my pelvis down so that the baby could fit better through my bones, but that was utter agony. Finally, it occurred to me that if I started pushing in earnest I could get this over with faster.

So I pushed and pushed. It is such an awkward awful feeling, made worse by its resemblance to pooping. I thought for sure I was on the verge of taking a giant crap.

“No dear, that’s just the baby.”

As the baby started to crown my once low and controlled moans escalated to a high-pitched crazy-woman-scream. It was searing white heat. It was like being split open and I turned so far inside that everyone else was in a different world, on another plane. My eyes were squeezed shut. I made fists on my thighs and I PUSHED.

POP!

And release!

The most lusty startling squall filled the air.

From somewhere in the distance I heard Norla say, “Reach down and take your baby!”

I held in my hands the most amazing hot pink baby. Bright eyes looking straight into mine.

“You’re here!” I exclaimed in utter amazement.

The rest of the day was just pure joy. It was only 8:25 in the morning and we had the whole day ahead of us, to spend with this brand new sparkling little person.

I tried to call Jacob on the phone… but he was driving through a dead zone, somewhere in the fields of Kansas.

We delivered the placenta.

We settled in to nurse.

Introductions were made.

Jacob called me, and for the first time I started to cry, completely over come.

“We have a baby!” I exclaimed.

“What is it?” he asked.

“I don’t know. We haven’t looked yet. Hurry up and get here so we can find out!”

Some how none of us had seen or thought to check the sex of the baby, and in an instant I decided that we wouldn’t until Jacob arrived. We would discover together who had joined our family.

An hour later...

It was Georgia Elizabeth.

Gregory's Birth

noreply@blogger.com (Ms. Smoochy) — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 00:31:00 +0000

My husband, Dan, and I had been preparing for the birth of our first child since before he was conceived. After months of infertility, a miscarriage, and finally a little medical help, our little miracle was finally on his way. Growing up witnessing my mother give birth at home to each of my four sisters, I never imagined my own birth occurring in any other setting—barring medical necessity, of course. However, home birth is not common in Nebraska and midwives are hard to locate. I resigned myself to a hospital birth and began visiting the midwife clinic there for prenatal care. The hospital midwives were wonderful and very open to discussing our desires and concerns, all the while monitoring the healthy development of our baby. They were very nice and assured us that the kind of birth I wanted was achievable in the hospital setting, but because of my experiences and my conviction that birth is inherently safe, I couldn't get comfortable with the idea and renewed my search for a homebirth midwife. Out of desperation, the thought of unassisted birth did cross my mind—if all was well, I could just not go in to the hospital! But being my first baby, and considering that Dan was utterly terrified by the idea, it became clear that we had to find a midwife, or home birth was out. After searching for almost a year and a half, she finally came into our lives.

We prepared ourselves mentally and physically for the birth by attending Bradley Method classes and reading as much as we could. It was a time of excitement, and each new book inspired us and reassured us. As the time drew near, I began to feel nervous that something would come in the way of my home birth. There were valid, though unlikely, medical issues that could arise, but the most disappointing to me would have been if I had gone more than two weeks past my due date. At this point, my midwife would insist on a hospital delivery. Also, I was hoping that my mother would be able to come from out of state to be with us for the birth, but she had purchased a plane ticket for my due date and could only spend about 10 days with us. These time constraints weighed heavily on my mind and I was sure I was going to go very overdue and not only would my mom have to leave before it happened, but I'd miss out on my home birth as well.

Little did I realize, prodromal labor began about 10 days before my due date. I was having episodes of regular contractions that were not painful, but I wasn't sure whether they were different than the familiar Braxton-Hicks practice contractions. They seemed a little stronger, and it felt like they were, well, pulling on my cervix! They would continue for several hours but would always fade away when I went to bed, and they never distracted me from my routine activities. The day before my due date, my curiosity was getting the better of me and I asked my midwife to check me. I had been trying to feel around by myself and couldn't find my cervix. It was right down in front, very mushy, 3cm dilated and 90% effaced, with a very bulgy water bag—much farther along than I thought—turned out I had been reaching right past it! Maybe I wouldn't be going two weeks overdue after all??

We picked my mom up from the airport at about 11 pm on my due date. I had been having the usual practice contractions that morning, and actually was passing what seemed to be my mucus plug, but there was no blood and the afternoon was quiet so we made plans to really start trying to get things going beginning the following day. Dan put the golf clubs in the car thinking the walking and swinging might help kick things into motion, and we also bought ingredients to do some baking, thinking it would be nice to do during early labor. We stayed up until about 1 am chatting and catching up with my mom.

I awoke out of a deep sleep with a serious pain in my bladder area—this was not completely unusual, so I hauled myself out of bed and practically fell down the stairs as I groggily made my way to the bathroom. I peed, but that did not relieve the feeling of needing to go, although there was a considerable amount of bloody show. I sat for a while longer and eventually felt like I could get up. I thought something might be going on, so I did not go back to bed, but instead went to sit in the living room for a minute. It was 5 am. Soon I felt like I needed to sit on the toilet again. After a couple rounds of this routine, I realized these were probably labor contractions. I got a paper, pen, and Dan's watch, and started writing down when they started and how long they were lasting. This was a little tricky since I kept needing to go and sit on the toilet with each one. In the beginning they were 4–5 minutes apart and about 30–45 seconds long, but by 6 am they were 2–3 minutes apart lasting 90 seconds and longer, and getting pretty intense! I realized this was going pretty fast and decided it was time to let people in on what was happening.

I called my midwife and told her I thought she should come over—soon! I went into the guest room to wake my mom—I told her we were having the baby today and she said, "OK, sure honey." Then she saw me have a contraction—I had to get up and lean over onto the bed and sway my hips. She said, "You better go wake Dan!" He bolted out of bed at the news and threw himself into the shower. When he was out, I got in and he and mom started getting things ready around the house. My midwife arrived while I was in the shower—before 6:30 I think—and wanted to check me. I was trying to wash my hair but had to get on hands and knees for contractions. I let her check me in between and she thought I was a good 6 cm already.

I was starting to need to vocalize with each contraction. They were coming so fast I could barely finish my shower. I thought maybe I was getting close to transition. I was using visualizations of my cervix opening up—each contraction was pulling it up towards my ribs, over my baby's head. It was yielding easily. I got out and did Child's Pose on the bathroom floor for a bit, but soon went into the baby's room and leaned over the exercise ball in front of the air conditioning vent—I was so hot! I was feeling pretty fine in between contractions, but there wasn't much time. My midwife was having a hard time getting long enough to check my blood pressure! I was kinda shaky and felt a little nauseous. This was probably because the only thing in my stomach was a bit of blueberry juice I had drunk in that first hour in the living room. Mom found me a bucket, and Dan brought me some of the Labor-ade I had made the day before, which helped considerably. I never ended up needing the bucket! During contractions, I slipped into my own world—it was a completely separate space where I just felt my body do its work. It was not painful, just intense. I did not want anyone to touch me or say anything to me. I made very loud, low moans. It wasn't long before the moans were turning into growly grunts—was this the urge to push? It sort of felt like it. . . .

Dan kept coming in trying to ask me how to use the waterbed adapter on our kitchen sink to fill the pool in the dining room. We had done a practice run but I had been the one to set it up—oops! All I could say was, "I can't think about that right now!" I guess he eventually figured it out because he came in and told me the water was ready for me. When I got in, my midwife checked and found that my dilation was already complete. My bag of waters was still intact, though very bulgy. She wanted to break it to make sure there wasn't meconium. I hadn't intended on doing any sort of interventions like that, but in the moment it seemed like it wouldn't hurt since I was already fully dilated. The sensation that followed was crazy—so much pressure! But then I started to have really nice breaks in between contractions, which up to then I really had not had. I was able to put my hair into a ponytail. I could drink some more Labor-ade. I was feeling pretty great! When the contractions did come, that pushy, growly thing came over me. I decided to shift from leaning forward over the edge of the pool, to leaning back against the wall. Dan pulled up a chair and supported me under my arms, holding my hands. I sort of felt like things had been going so fast, now that they were slowed down I wanted to just hang out and enjoy it. It was still early! But it was time to push the baby out. I was not really mentally prepared for this yet, and during contractions I was starting to feel a very scary sensation that I would tear in the *wrong* direction. I was not really afraid of a normal perineal tear, but this feeling was terrifying. I could not do the "hold your breath and bear down" kind of pushing. It was all happening too fast. I was panting through contractions but I could feel the baby moving down anyway. I started to whimper, but my midwife gave me some reassurance that I would be OK. The time had come whether I wanted it to or not—there was nothing I could do about it. They told me to reach down and feel the baby's head. I couldn't let go of Dan's hands. The head popped out and the contraction was over. I had a moment and I could reach down and feel his little ear, and what was this? A little fist by his right cheek! Soon he started to turn towards my right thigh, and one by one his shoulders slipped out too. I was narrating this to the on-lookers, trying to share my experience! I lifted him up quickly and it seemed like as soon as his head was above water he started to scream. He was so purple, and his back was covered in vernix. His fist was still clenched up by his face. He cried for a moment more, and then calmed down in my arms. What time is it? 8:20! Only a little over three hours of labor, with only about 20 minutes of "pushing." Crazy for a first baby.

We all looked at him in awe—his face was swollen! I offered him my breast but he was uninterested. We thought he might be cold, so we put a hat on him and submerged his body in the water. After a few minutes, we decided it must not be warm enough for him, so Dan cut the cord and he and my mom took him and got him bundled up. I got out too and went into the bathroom to see about the placenta. I tried to sit on the toilet and pee, but I couldn't. After what seemed like forever trying to just go, I tried nursing the baby and this time he did latch on—and what do you know, the placenta came right out! I didn't even feel it. Upon examination, there appeared to be a "double membrane" which may have been why my water never broke on its own. Baby nursed for a few more minutes. Then we went to check out the damage—I had two first degree tears that each got a little stitch. Not bad for a nuchal hand! I was basically right about feeling where I was going to tear—but thankfully it didn't upset any important structures.

After I was all cleaned up, we looked the baby over and determined that he was perfect. 8 lbs even, 20 1/4 inches long. He was still a little chilly so we kept him wrapped up with a heating pad and settled into bed. He basically slept for the next 12 hours, and I couldn't even fathom closing my eyes—I was so high! So we got up and proceeded to call all our family and friends. Did I mention it was Father's Day? Dan was pretty pleased about that. . . . And that is how Gregory Sebastian turned us into a family.