New Blog!

As I find myself having less free time, the time has come to consolidate as much as possible. One way I'm doing that is by putting all my blogs in one place. Hopefully, this will help me to get information out faster and more often. So, follow me to my new home!

Happy Birthday!

In honor of my son's 8th birthday, I am posting his birth story. I have never shared any of my written down birth stories. The family situation has changed drastically since he was born, as have my views/knowledge of childbirth but I think the original story is what should be shared. It is raw, innocent of what was to come, and truthful in that moment. Enjoy!
Saturday November 17, 2001
Well, Billy finally got here. He was only 12 days past his due date. I was beginning to get scared I would have to be induced. I started to feel like I was in on the afternoon of the 14th. I had the same feeling I had the day before Leslee came. After work, we drove to Vicki's house to see if I had made any progress. Still dilated to 4cm, but more loose than the day before. My cervix was also a lot softer than it had been on Tuesday.
We went to Wal-Mart for groceries and carried on as usual. By 8pm that night I was starting to feel somewhat uncomfortable. We went to bed, but I found myself unable to sleep. I drank tea, read, and took baths but I still couldn't sleep. I let L sleep until about 3am, when the contractions were getting hard to handle by myself. I phoned Vicki and asked her to go ahead & come. L got up, and we started preparing ourselves for a baby.
The contractions proceeded to come and get stronger, but it wasn't the same type of pain I had with Leslee. With Leslee, I remember it being sharp pain around my whole belly and no waves ~ just constant. This time I could tell when a contraction was coming, and I felt more pressure than anything. I was able to walk around or rock in the rocking chair for the first few hours. By 3am, they were starting to get more intense and I felt like I needed help. I called Vicki and asked her to come. Then I woke up L(he was sick so I was trying to let him sleep). Vicki got here about 20 minutes later and by that time I would sit in the rocker breathing while L rocked me. I was relieved when she got there, even though I didn't think there was a whole lot she could do at that point. Helen, the doula, arrived about ten minutes after Vicki, and the moment she touched my head I knew I was glad she was there.
I kept my blue furry blanket with me almost the whole time. I found it not only kept me warm but also comforted me. Vicki brought a huge plastic ball for me to try to sit on. We set it up against the couch and I squatted on it, then leaned on L during contractions. I like that for quite a while. Vicki also brought her birthing stool, which I tried to sit on twice but never really liked. Around 4:30 or 5 we retreated to the spare bedroom/birth room. L and I laid on the bed (he rubbed my back during contractions) and Helen alternated between rubbing my legs and arms. I was able to rest a little during that time period. Vicki also brought these wonderful creations called hot socks (long tube socks filled with herbs & fragrances) that you heat in the microwave and place on your body. Those were really nice until close to the end. Helen brought aromatherapy oils with her, and I really liked those too.
As the pressure became more intense, I had trouble finding anything comfortable. Finally, I just hung on to L and we "danced" until the contractions were over. By this time I could hardly stand, so L was literally holding me up. Vicki and Helen told me to groan low in my throat to help, which it did! I felt stupid at first but I didn't care because it made the pressure seem less. Then I finally understood why my mom would make so many noises when my brothers were being born.
The first time I felt the sensations to push, it sort of scared me. I couldn't feel what I was doing with Leslee, and I never felt that urge. When I started pushing it felt very odd, and then something would click and it just felt okay. I knew I was doing it right. Then it stung. I could feel myself stretching and Billy coming down. vicki took my hand and touched it to Billy's head. I couldn't believe it. I was almost numb from him, but there he was and I could touch him. Then I had to try not to push so he could come out on his own. I saw his head come & Vicki told L to get where she was so he could catch him. He almost didn't make it ~ Billy came flying out. L put him directly onto my chest & I started crying. I was finally seeing my son and it was all over. I couldn't believe we had just done all this work ~ the pain was gone & we had this beautiful boy showing us how well his lungs worked.
About ten or twenty minutes later, L cut the cord and then I delivered the placenta. NO stomach mashing or pulling on the cord, she just asked me to push. It came out perfectly and in one piece. After Vicki checked it I got to see it. It looked like the pictures, but it was definitely different. I could see the little white spots where it was starting to disintegrate ~ I was 1 1/2 weeks overdue. Vicki showed me how it had looked inside my body, and where Billy had been held. She said the sack was very strong, which meant I had eaten very healthy while I was pregnant. By this time Billy was nursing, and as I watched him I still couldn't believe he was here.

Grassroots Network...Take Action!!

Dear Friends,

As the Senate and House are in the final weeks and days of preparing their Health Reform bills for floor debate, THIS IS THE TIME to write letters and anything else you can do to make sure your Senators and Representatives in Washington, DC, know that you want CPMs included at the federal level!

This e-mail includes three things to as soon as possible!

1. The MAMA Campaign continues working in DC to have Certified Professional Midwives included on the federal list of Medicaid Providers. Please write a brief letter to your Senators and Representatives today! They need to hear from their constituents! Even if you think your Congress people have already decided not to vote for any health reform bill, write to them anyway about CPMs. You can find all the needed information (including sample letter language and links for finding who your representative and senators are and how to contact them) at the Take Action page of the MAMA Campaign website: http://www.mamacampaign.org/contact-your-legislator/

2. The National Women's Law Center has produced a brief video "A Woman Is Not a Preexisting Condition!" that you can see at: http://awomanisnotapreexistingcondition.com/
They have an email setup right on that page to send emails to Congress about this issue, which has a section to add your own words. This is a great opportunity to add some sentences about CPMs, birth centers, and out of hospital birth in general. Thanks to Susan Jenkins for sending this information!

3. The Big Push for Midwives is encouraging everyone to sign their petition supporting CPMs and out-of-hospital birth. This is easy to do, and you are encouraged to forward this request to others. The petition sign-up is at: http://tinyurl.com/Support-CPMs-Petition. Find the full text of the Big Push notice at the end of this message.


This is our chance! Let's make sure Congress "gets it" about Certified Professional Midwives!

Sincerely,
Susan Hodges, "gatekeeper"

The Glow

The Glow of pregnancy...don't we all wish we had it? Personally, I do not think I look pretty when I am pregnant and I look in the mirror. I do, however, FEEL pretty. I feel alive, earthy, connected to every woman in the universe. But, I don't Glow and I know it.
My friend, M, does. She is pregnant with her third baby right now, only a few months along. Her hair is shiny, her cheeks are rosy, and she has just the tiniest baby bump protruding under her shirt. She is magnificent and I love watching her blossom.
I'm certain to a non-birth junkie this sounds strange, perverse even, but I can rest assured that those of you out there who suffer from the same affliction I do completely understand what I mean. Lucky for me, she does not mind that I feel the need to compliment her every time I see her or offer to carry her basket. I lavish upon her (or at least try to) the attention I feel each pregnant woman deserves.
All pregnant women carry in them more than babies, they carry hope. They carry hope that only innocence can provide, hope that the future is brighter, hope that the next "generation" will learn from us, but most of all hope that miracles really do exist. That is why in Uganda, the Chagga say: "Pay attention to the pregnant woman! There is no one as important as she!"