A Short Birth Documentary

Breast Milk Reduces Vaccine Effectiveness

"Vaccination proponents have suggested that breastfeeding should be delayed in order to prevent immune factors within breast milk from inactivating vaccine-associated antibody titer elevations and 'vaccine potency.'"

Posted on GreenMedInfo.com

If breast milk immunities decrease the effectiveness of the rotavirus vaccine, then why don't we stick to breastfeeding and skip the vaccine?  Logically the breast milk will also protect against rotavirus itself. Delay breastfeeding?  I think not.  That would put my baby at an even higher risk of getting sick than if I were to opt out of the vaccine.  I've never had any of my breastfed babies get sick with rotavirus.

I'm all for choice, and I support informed decisions whether parents decide to vaccinate their children or not.  I just feel it needs to be an informed choice, and not simply based on one professional's recommendation.  Do your research!

The Raw Truth About Power and Control

Who controls birth?


I came across an article on MSNBC by Taffy Brodessor-Akner called Who controls childbirth - expectant moms or doctors?


In her article, Ms. Brodessor-Akner talks about the extremely traumatic birth of her first child and the impending birth of her second child. She opens up with her raw feelings, and it's powerful. She talks about her journey, of trying to heal and move forward, of facing the future with the hope of something better.

The author also talks about home birth but admits that she's not comfortable birthing anywhere but in the hospital.  The feelings and questions that she brings up in her article are so poignant, and I think they bear careful consideration. This article reminds me of how each and every birth is individual and sacred, and should be handled with appropriate care. Each mother and father should make the choices they feel are best for that birth, regardless of what happened at previous births or what so-and-so says and what everyone else thinks they should do. It's a personal decision, each and every step of the way.

In response to the article, Sheridan at Enjoy Birth asks the same question: Who DOES Control Childbirth? She argues that it depends on who the mother chooses as her care provider. She also provides a library of information to help women make the best choice in care provider for their child's birth, and lots of reasons why they should be judicious in their choice.

She has a point. Afterall, the woman's choice in her care giver determines how much power and decision-making she will give up. Giving power to someone isn't bad, if that person truly has your best interests at heart and understands and supports them.

In my personal experiences with birth, it has all been about control. Whether I have a positive or negative experience depends largely on how much I feel control was either respected or taken from me. I feel this was dependent on how much control I gave to others, and in whom I chose to trust with that power.

In this respect, I think Sheridan is absolutely right, and I also feel a woman's realm of control in birth extends further than her choice in a provider. She also has the power to choose her support team, the location and circumstances under which she wants to labor and give birth.

Can you really determine the circumstances of your baby's birth? In her MSNBC article, Ms. Brodessor-Akner talks about how unpredictable childbirth is, and how birth plans are a waste of time because of this. Yes, birth is unpredictable, but women still have power in the interventions they choose to accept or avoid. They can choose under what circumstances they want to labor and birth by choosing whether to allow a medical induction or augmentation, or to wait for spontaneous labor to start on its own. They can choose whether to birth in a place where certain things are required as "protocol", such as electronic fetal monitoring, breaking of waters, IV placement, and more. They can decide which interventions to accept or decline, and their decision in care provider and location will have a large impact on these other aspects.

I believe as we attempt to exert control in pregnancy and birth, we must also come to terms with a certain lack of control. This is where faith comes in. I do everything possible to educate myself to make the best decisions, and as I move forward knowing I've extended the limit of my personal power, I trust in something bigger, more powerful to guide me through. For some people this is a trust in nature, in our bodies to perform as they were made to.

For me, it's faith in God.

As I see it, God created the world and everything in it. He is nature. He created me, and He knows what I'm capable of. God has control in things I don't, and He has my best interests in mind.

"The next moment is as much beyond our grasp, and as much in God's care, as that a hundred years away. Care for the next minute is as foolish as care for a day in the next thousand years. In neither can we do anything, in both God is doing everything." ~ C.S. Lewis

What do you think? Who controls birth?

Great Post on Group B Strep

Sheridan at Enjoy Birth has written a great blog post about Group B Strep: Group B Strep - Why Should I Care? It's full of resources so you can educate yourself and make an informed choice in your prenatal care.

Update on Dr. Biter Rally

If you're following the story and events surrounding Dr. Biter's loss of delivery privileges at Scripps Memorial Hospital, here is an article about the latest rally event yesterday:

ENCINITAS: Crowd calls for doctor's return to Scripps Encinitas

Click here to read a woman's account of her experience under Dr. Biter's care

More info at BringBiterBack.com

I also want to include a video that shows just how effective grassroots activism can be in making a positive change in a community. It's a great motivator to get involved and stand up for what's important to you:

"Where's My Midwife?" from Kirsti Kreutzer on Vimeo.

Susan's Thoughts on Midwives

"I love my midwife who provided care during my last pregnancy during home visits. My body was faster than she was so I caught my own baby, but she was there for the placenta.

"That being said, it is very important for women to understand that their midwife may not be able to make it in time for a planned homebirth, which could be deadly for the baby and the mother. My experience taught me that it would be best to choose a midwife who works within a group practice so that the odds are that someone will be able to get there in time for the L&D (Labor & Delivery). This was not an option for me as the only midwife who would attend a HBAC (Home Birth After Cesarean) in my area is the one that I hired. I didn't feel comfy planning a hospital VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean), but I had confidence that if there was a reason to transfer that my midwife would be able to provide continuity of care. As it turned out, if I had transfered to hospital I would have been surrounded by strangers with a low VBAC rate so I stuck it out at home. I was blessed that I was in the majority of women who are able to birth without any intervention, but am acutely aware that we are lucky that there were no problems.

"Having a midwife is not a silver bullet, and although every woman deserves her choice of care provider, the fact is that some women will always be safer in the care of an OB. I have learned that autonomy of choice is sacred, and that choosing a cesarean is just as valid as choosing a UC (Unassisted Childbirth). It's just the risks that are skewed. My personal experience with midwifery care drove home the fact that it is more important to support whatever choice that the mother makes than to try and convince her that one way is better than the other based on my personal opinion. Midwives have taught me to support women and their choices."

Joy Szabo: Don’t Roll Over and Take it

Remember this mom who traveled hundreds of miles to have a VBAC after her local hospital banned them?

ICAN interviewed Joy Szabo about her choices and her feelings, and she shares some very good advice.

Joy Szabo: Don’t Roll Over and Take it