There’s been a lot of talk lately about physicians responding to their ‘patients’ birth plans by providing a copy of their own written birth plans of what they will or will not do, allow, accommodate, or condone during a woman’s labor and birth. The Feminist Breeder and Stand and Deliver have written recently about the … Continue reading »
Posted in June 2010 …
In case we needed more evidence that bodies are connected to emotions
Are you more likely to lapse into sweet, cozy sleep resting under a warm blanket or a sheet of galvanized tin? Is it a big surprise that our sense of touch directly communicates with our body-mind of emotions and thoughts? Here in the west our allopathic medical system’s understanding of the relationship between thoughts, feelings, … Continue reading »
It’s 2010, let’s STOP pitting feminism against breastfeeding!
Here are two excellent pieces exploring the social and personal dynamics among breastfeeding, feminism, and class: “What does feminism have to do with breastfeeding?” from the Breastfeeding Medicine blog: “After all, the conventional wisdom is that breastfeeding is a maternal duty that forces women to eschew their career aspirations to fulfill some ideal of motherhood, while … Continue reading »
Our stories: one woman’s VBAC Homebirth! (short)
This woman’s story could be told by tens of thousands of American women, but it is her story, her triumph as an individual woman that will inspire others. Like this warrior mama, too many women are coerced or led into cesareans for “failed inductions” and/or babies that “cannot fit” through their pelvises. Many of these … Continue reading »
Flashmob: pregnant women breakdancing in London
Raising awareness for the tragic, often preventable deaths of pregnant and birthing women worldwide for whom basic healthcare and maternity care is unavailable, unobtainable or unaffordable. 1400 women die every day during pregnancy and birth.
Delayed cord-clamping should happen ON the mother’s abdomen
I recently attended a planned hospital birth of a client who transferred out of my care shortly before her birth. We transferred her care to our small, local, natural birth-friendly hospital. A gracious family practice physician took over her care. Two of my client’s main hopes for her birth were delayed cord clamping (of at … Continue reading »
Circumcision is no longer the norm – Oprah talk
Over the last few decades, parent’s and physician’s attitudes towards circumcision have radically changed. Parents are thoughtfully re-considering what once was a routine, almost unquestioned procedure in the U.S. We’re now finally talking about what it means to permanently surgically alter an unconsenting baby’s body. It’s great to see this human rights issue for boys … Continue reading »
The Homebirth of Lucia Mae
What a tear-jerker! This is such a beautiful piece, no wonder it’s been circulating strong around the community. Attended by the lovely Rebecca Egbert of Green Midwife Community Birth Services, whom I’ve had the privilege of birth assisting the past few months.
CDC Statistics Comparing U.S. and European Infant Mortality Rates: We’re STILL at the Bottom of the Heap
from Birth Activist…. The United States remains near the bottom of the rankings. Among European nations, in the graph below, the seventeen countries above the US have better (lower) infant mortality rates. CDC Releases New Report Comparing U.S. and European Infant Mortality Rates
Bioneers’ Interview with Mohawk midwife Katsi Cook
Our power as women blows me away. Change happens one by one. Every action we take can inspire one small bit of change, one small ripple of peace that someone might carry with them through the rest of their life. “Our grandmas tell us we’re the first environment, that our babies inside of our bodies … Continue reading »
