The Business of Being Born

"Birth: it's a miracle. A rite of passage. A natural part of life. But more than anything, birth is a business. Compelled to find answers after a disappointing birth experience with her first child, actress Ricki Lake recruited filmmaker Abby Epstein to explore the maternity care system in America. Focusing on New York City, the film reveals that there is much to distrust behind hospital doors and follows several couples who decide to give birth on their own terms. ...Should most births be viewed as a natural life process, or should every delivery be treated as a potential medical emergency?"

Click on the above picture to be directed to the official site for the movie and click here to hear a very short interview with the film's executive producer, Ricki Lake.

Leila Ali Shares Her Birth Story

Leila Ali shared the story of her baby's birth on the CBS Early Show. You can see it here

The clip is just over 3 minutes long. In it, Leila talks about her feelings that women should find out what their birth options are and choose what is best for them. I feel that her feelings mirror my own on this subject, and it's an important message.

My Amazing Sister

I just want to say congratulations to my amazing sister on the arrival of her baby girl! My sister was given pitocin to augment her labor and she still accomplished her goal of a natural chilbirth with no pain medication. It was hard, but she was blessed with the support she needed, and her baby arrived safely and healthy after a very long and exhausting labor. I'm so thrilled and proud of my sister for being so strong. I admire you Katie.

Natural, Pain-Free Childbirth?

I've added a link on the right side of the page with a list of Childbirth Education Organizations. Generally I will avoid listing information on my blog unless I have researched it myself. However, I've not yet been able to research each of the childbirth methods I've listed. I think it's important to provide resources and allow people to do their own research and decide what is best for them. With that in mind, please don't take the opinions expressed on here as fact. I am opinionated because of my personal experiences and the direction of my research. I want to help facilitate education and informed choices.

I have done some research on Hypnobirthing and Hypnobabies, so I'll explain a little bit about them for you. Both are based somewhat on Grantly Dick-Read's Fear-Tension-Pain Syndrome, covered thoroughly in his book Childbirth Without Fear. The concept is that fear, conscious or subconscious, creates tension in the body, which is what causes the pain in childbirth. Women have been conditioned over the years to believe that childbirth is always painful, and Dr. Dick-Read disagrees. He postulates that in many cases is it the fear of the unknown or fear of outcomes that lends to the physical pain in labor and delivery.

I know from personal experience that there can be a number of fears for a woman approaching childbirth. With my first labor I was afraid of having a c-section, afraid of being out of control, of not understanding what was happening with my body, despite my best efforts to educate myself. I was afraid of pain and the unknown. I know a woman who has always wanted a natural childbirth. She had a c-section with her first baby and has had more than one vaginal birth since then, but still the fear of possible uterine rupture keeps her from being able to let herself go without an epidural. Fear is powerful! Dr. Dick-Read wrote that the key element to dispelling fears related to childbirth is prenatal education, along with proper nutrition, exercise, relaxation techniques, and proper support from friends, family and professionals.

Hypnobirthing and Hypnobabies are the only childbirth methods I'm aware of that offer the option of natural, pain-free childbirth. Hypnobirthing was designed specifically after Dr. Dick-Read's extensive research and practice, and Hypnobabies incorporates the Fear-Tension-Pain Syndrome in its method, along with other practices including learning to tap into the body's natural anesthesia and send it to specific parts of the body, particularly during childbirth. Many women have used these methods and have felt no pain, and had beautiful, exhilarating birth experiences.

The concept of natural, pain-free childbirth is incredibly appealing to me. In the natural births of two of my children there was much pain, albeit well-managed. I will be taking a full 6-week Hypnobabies series in November as part of my doula certification requirements, and I'm very excited!

Here I am!

I've embarked on a journey, and it's the most exciting ride of my life! I finally feel like I have found what I'm meant to do.

I've always wanted to be a mother and raise my children. When I was pregnant with my first baby I wanted to learn as much as I could about pregnancy, childbirth and babies, but at that time my perspective and sources were limited. As I had more children, the desire to learn and grow became stronger, until after having my fourth baby I realized I wanted to do more than learn for myself; I wanted to help other women learn as well! This is about more than simply educating women. It's about empowering women and helping them to realize their beauty and their strength. It's about helping women plan and achieve the birth that is right for each woman and her baby.

I have four children. With my first pregnancy I said I wanted to have a natural childbirth, but I would take medication if it got too hard. The labor was hard and there were interventions made, including pitocin and epidural. My baby was born healthy and happy, and that's what mattered most. My second baby was also induced and I had an epidural with that as well. It was a smooth labor and was a wonderful experience.

When I was pregnant with my third baby my husband was in massage therapy school and he worked with a massage therapist who was also a doula. She asked if I would be interested in having her work with me in childbirth. I had heard of doulas but had no idea what they actually did. I decided to meet her and talk with her and see what she could offer me. She and I hit it off really well, and she was able to answer all of my questions about childbirth, and helped me put together my personal birth plan to have a natural medication-free childbirth. She was my support, along with my husband, and the labor and birth were incredibly beautiful and empowering. As soon as I discovered I was pregnant with my fourth baby I called my doula and asked her to work with me again. Another natural childbirth was achieved, along with a healthy and happy baby.

When my baby was just a few months old I decided that I wanted to become a doula myself and be able to help other women in some of the ways my doula was able to help me. Since then I have registered for doula training (happening next month!) and started studying like crazy. I've read book after book about pregnancy, childbirth and babies. I'm learning about different birthing methods and I'm soaking in all the information I can get my hands on!

I feel that each woman should know what her options are and be able to make informed decisions about her own care and childbirth. I feel that each woman should be loved and supported in her personal choice of how to birth her baby. I want to support all women in their unique circumstances and needs. I see each woman as beautiful and strong, and I want each woman to also see herself as such.

My goal in this blog is to reach as many women as I can and to share what I'm learning with as many people as will listen. Please join me in my journey; I'm sure it will be an exciting ride!