The Birthing Vagina's Bill of Rights

I was at a birth the other night supported by an OB. Never in my doula career have I ever witnessed any OB, midwife or nurse try to force their was into a woman's vagina, in this case a teenagers vagina.
But I did the other night.

Mom opted for Demerol. Demerol makes you dizzy, sleepy and 'out of it.' Dr Petraca, the OB, walked in to the room (first time meeting this laboring mother-to-be) and she was asleep, as was her own mother. No gentle waking, no gentle, amicable introductions were had. Instead, Dr. Petraca used a loud voice, as if mom was hard of hearing, telling her he was going to check her.

After getting mom centered in the bed, and her knees up, this doctor proceeded to pull on my clients legs and shout at her that 'she had to loosen up! She had to open her legs!' He 'needed to check her!'

 Because I look at my clients, observe them, I could see that she was having a contraction. Quickly double checking myself, I glanced over my shoulder and saw on the TOCO monitor that she was in fact contracting.

Putting my hand out as if to say 'hold on' I asked, "Can we please wait until she finishes this contraction!?"

What kind of a doctor, what kind of a man tries to force his way into a woman's vagina?

The rest of this story will be talked about in another post, but from this experience I realized that our vaginas need a Bill of Rights. Just because a child is being birthed does not mean that a woman gives up ownership of her vagina. It does not become the property of anyone else, yet it seems to me that there are cases where a woman's vagina is treated as not belonging to her... and that infuriates me.

So, I started writing. I listened to my own vagina. 

What would she like to say for herself and the other vagina's out there when in their birthing time?

While this started out kind of 'tongue in cheek' originally, I realized that my vagina was quite serious. This is what she told me.

The Birthing Vagina’s Bill of Rights

1.      The Birthing Woman who spent nine months in gestation of her child(ren) retains ownership of me, her Birthing Vagina. Regardless of the fact that I am bringing forth children, I am not a separate object but am connected to a human being, The Birthing Woman. A Birthing Vagina does not become property of any birth center, hospital, medical staff, Nurse, Obstetrician or Midwife.

2.      As a birthing vagina, I retain my right to choose whom and what I allow inside me and when I allow them inside me, and have the right to allow none inside me.

3.      As a sacred portal into this world, I deserve and have the right to respect. Approach me with kindness and reverence. Enter me as gently as possible at all times after, and only after, you are given permission to do so.

4.      As a Birthing Vagina, I retain my right of privacy. If requested by the Birthing Woman, all nonessential personnel may be asked to leave the room if permission is given to enter me. The Birthing Woman’s cultural and religious requirements of privacy should also be respected at all times by all members of medical and support staff.

5.       My sister, Uterus must be honored and those with permission to enter me will wait until she is not surging. Unless there is a medical purpose for it, you will exit me before the next surge begins.

6.      The Birthing Woman that I am a part of retains the right of informed consent and informed choice about any and all procedures that may potentially take place within and beyond me. This includes all augmentations, drugs and medications, including their risks and side effects to either her or the unborn child. She also retains the right to be told of any alternatives, and the right to deny any and all treatment as per the Patient’s Bill of Rights.

7.      I retain the right to not be enlarged by cutting my sister, Perineum. I have the ability as a Birthing Vagina to stretch to pass the child through me. If I tear in the process I can be mended by a skilled physician or midwife, giving me the best opportunity, as per researched studies, for a healthier outcome. We have the right to be gently supported with counter-pressure and/or gentle massage and gentle assisted stretching.

8.      As a Birthing Vagina, the Birthing Woman and I retain the right to birth the child(ren) in any position we agree is most beneficial for us, as well as the child, and not the attending medical or midwifery staff.

9.      All third stage procedures should be done gently and respectfully, taking into    account the feat I have just performed. The emergence of my sister Placenta should be given as much time as possible and if assistance is required, it should be as gentle as possible.

Translated by Tamrha Richardson CD(CBI)©

www.tamrhasdoulasupport.com

Reprinting and sharing welcome, with credit given.

A letter to Senator Flanagan of NY regarding the MMA Bill

I found out today that my Senator is not on board the Midwifery Modernization Act bill, which frees midwives from obtaining written practice agreements, essentially permission, from an OB to practice. . I'm so disappointed... I've repeatedly called, put up the red flags to the Birth Net of the finger Lakes gals and have just sent him a letter.

Please call your senator, and assembly person and ask them to get on board with this if they are not already.

To find out more, and how to locate your representatives, as well as what to say, go the Free Our Midwives page. To find out more about the MMA bill go here

Here's my letter...

Senator Flanagan,

I do hope that after recieving all the phone calls yo your office, and being sent further information regarding the Midwifery Modernization Act, that is eligible as of Monday for a vote, you will realize that the women of Long Island, and NY State, want and deserve this option in pregnancy and birth choices.

Will you be on the side of these midwives, who's professional, wise ways create safer birth outcomes for NY women and babies, who's mode of care saves the state money?  Did you know that the US sits at #44 in the WHO's list of countries with the worst maternal mortality rates? That means there are 43 other countries where I am safer, and more likely to survive childbirth, Senator Flanagan. This is the US. We are not a poor country. Why are women dying here? Why are women more healthy in other European counties? Why are they more likely to survive? Part of that reason is the Midwifery Model of care. Help make NY State one of the states to pull us up from those numbers and have healthier childbirth outcomes!

I was told today by one of your staff that you feel that women are in better hands because Obstetricians have gone to eight years of medical school. For the record, OB's never study normal, uncomplicated, natural births in their eight years of medical school. They study the pathology of pregnancy, the problems, the risks, etc. And that's wonderful, for some women and babies need those specialists. However, they walk out of medical school and begin to treat ALL women. And most women are not in the need of a specialist, or of a surgeon, because essentially that is what an OB is. A Midwife can do all an OB can do in a healthy pregnancy, except cut a cesarean section.

Not all pregnant women are high risk. The majority are healthy, pregnant women who's care providers are trained only in the problems... and therefore many often see only the problems. Or the possibility of problems, and then treat from a stand point of 'what -if' or 'safety' when in all actuality what they are often doing is harming women and babies. Hence, our World Health Organization ranking of #44. Of course, this is just a piece of that #44 pie for things like fear of litigation plays a huge part, but if I get into that I'll digress from the purpose of this email.

When necessary, our midwives are still going to work along side Obstetricians. This bill is not saying that they won't. What this bill does is free them from the written practice agreement, essentially the signature of an OB or group of OB's giving her permission to practice in their being willing to back her up. That's it Senator. That's all its aim is. Midwives will still refer their clients in need of those specialists to those specialists whether they be chiropractors, nutritionists, acupuncturists, or Obstetricians. They do this with all the rest without a written agreement, and there is no reason to suspect they would not refer out high risk clients to the OB's when the women need their specialties. The goal is a healthy mother and child.

Here is is the fact sheet that Im sure you have already received. Please do more research on this, Senator. NYS has some of the highest cesarean section rates in the US. We need our midwives! Near your Long Island office, St Catherine's has a section rate, in 2007 of 51.9%. That means more than half of the women that walk into that hospital are being cut. Good Samaritan has 49.4%, St Charles 47.3%,Mercy in Rockville Center is at 47.2%.In the city Lenox Hill is up to 40.1%, Long Island Jewish is at 40.3. 44.7 in Staten Island at Richmond University Hospital. ALL of these exceed the WHO's recommendation that no country have a section rate over 10-15 %.

You may find all the LI and NYC hospitals rates at an online list I created for Better Birth NY, of which I am the representative for here.

We NEED our midwives, Senator. And we need them to have the fetters removed. This is the 21st Century. Will you be on the side of women having access to all their birth options, or not?

Dr. Besser and a laboring girl in Haiti

Dr. Besser Assists in Haitian Baby's Birth



The reason I posted this video was for a few things. I guess it was in looking at the language used from the doctor in this report. Its very true that this small clip cannot give us a very clear picture of what was going on. However, There were still a few things I noticed.

Dr Besser (whi is an MD and not an OB. I looked him up on Wikipedia) mentions that Sariah had a 'trained midwife', Maritann, there. He says that he thought she was lucky because of that fact. In the end of the clip you can watch the midwife massaging and possibly palpating the girl's belly. I'd be curious to know where the transverse worry stemmed from... yet the doctor says "I was worried about transverse or feet first and that she needed a c-section." He doesn't state the midwife was worried about this, yet again, this is a short clip. We don't know. I did find his asking to touch her kind and appropriate.

Dr Besser then mentions her waters were brown and not clear. 'This could be a sign of infection." Really? Could the mother having gone through a trauma of an earthquake create distress in the baby and cause the baby to pass merconium, dr.? Of course its not a great scenario, there being merconium present but itsn't that more likely due to distress than an infection?

Then he says he emails doctors in the States. Why is that? He just before said she had a trained midwife there. How can a doctor a 1000 miles away really give an on target recommendation? They give a clip from Dr Moritz, located in New York. "Is there a heartbeat? It doesn't look good." What tells him that? The info from Dr. Besser most likely because sitting in NY how can he really make an evidence based call for a girl in Haiti? He can't, can he?

I was actually glad for some 'bells and whistles' of technology for this girl here. The ultrasound worked in her favor telling them that baby was 'in a better position that I thought.' High blood pressure? I'm not surprised either. I'm just glad for her that an unnecessary section was done for suspected mal position.

Dr Besser I'm sure had good intentions for this mother, but he had set out to do a story on "The impact of this quake on pregnant women and newborns." "What I didn't know was that it would unfold before me."

Really? Dr. Besser, don't you think you created some drama here? Possibly? We can't be sure, because we don't havethe whole picture, but I wouldn't be surprised. Made for a good story, this transeverse and breech woory. If she'd just birthed right there with her midwife, with no suspected mal-presentation... not so 'dramatic' to the ABC audience, is it?

VBAMultipleC Mamas!!

Its possible! With support, faith, and intention... it is very, very possible!

Birth and The Origins of Violence

One of my darling clients is a college student. She sent me this paper... and I need to share it. It's intense. Its full of lessons. Messages. Calls to stop certain actions and to take up other actions... or non-actions.

Babies are teaching us. Who's listening?

http://www.birthpsychology.com/violence/chamberlain1.html

No-Cry Nap Solution

Elizabeth Pantley, the author of books such as The No-Cry Sleep Solution, The No-Cry Sleep Solution for Toddlers and Pre-Schoolers, The No-Cry Discipline Solution, and The No-Cry Potty Training Solution has just released a new book called the No_Cry Nap Solution.

While my own boys didn't and don't cry too much when it's nap time (I think the key there was that I didn't let them pass that time slot too often) when things happened during the days when they didn't get to nap for whatever reason -being out, family party, etc. - bedtime was often rough.

In this excerpt from the book, Elizabeth talks about an important piece of information that I think Parents need to understand about their children - how long can they be aake before the meltdown, or as she calls it the 'volcano' starts.

Read on....


The No-Cry Nap Solution
Guaranteed Gentle Ways to Solve All Your Naptime Problems
by Elizabeth Pantley

www.pantley.com/elizabeth

Buy the book at Amazon: USA | Canada | UK The Volcano Effect: Why Skipping a Nap Results in Meltdown From the moment your child wakes in the morning he is slowly using up the benefits of the previous night’s sleep. He wakes up totally refreshed, but as the hours pass, little by little, the benefits of his sleep time are used up, and an urge to return to sleep begins to build. When we catch a child at in-between stages and provide naps, we build up his reservoir of sleeprelated benefits, allowing him a “fresh start” after each sleep period. As shown on the sleep chart below, as children age, the length of time that they can stay “happily awake” increases. A newborn can only be awake one or two hours before tiredness sets in, whereas a two year old can last five to seven hours before craving some down time for a nap. When children are pushed beyond their biological awake time span without a break that’s when they become fatigued, fussy and unhappy. Age “Happily Awake” span of time between naps Newborn 1 – 2 hours 6 month old 2 – 3 hours 12 month old 3 – 4 hours 18 month old 4 – 6 hours 2 year old 5 – 7 hours 3 year old 6 – 8 hours 4 year old 6 – 12 hours As the day progresses, and the sleep pressure builds, a child becomes fussier, whinier, and less flexible. He has more crying spells, more tantrums, and less patience. He loses concentration and the ability to learn and retain new information. The scientific term for this process is “homeostatic sleep pressure” or “homeostatic sleep drive” . . . I call it The Volcano Effect. We’ve all seen the effects of this on a baby or child, as it is often as clear as watching a volcano erupt; nearly everyone has observed a fussy child and thought or said, “Someone needs a nap!” As a child progresses through his day, his biology demands a sleep break to regroup, refresh and repair. If a child does not get this break the problem intensifies: the rumblings and tremors become an outright explosion. Without a nap break, the homeostatic pressure continues building until the end of the day, growing in intensity – like a volcano – so that a child becomes overtired, wired and unable to stop the explosion. The result is an intense bedtime battle with a cranky, overtired child, or an infant who won’t fall a sleep no matter how tired you know he is. Even more, a child who misses naps day after day builds a sleep deprivation that launches her into the volcano stage much easier and quicker. If she is missing naps and also lacking the right quality or quantity of nighttime sleep…watch out! Newborns and young babies have a much shorter span in which their sleep pressure builds. They rapidly reach the peak of their volcano in one to three hours. This is why newborns sleep throughout the day, and why young babies require two or three or four daily naps. Over time, as a baby’s sleep cycle matures he will be able to go longer periods between sleeps. It is not until age 4 or 5 that a child is able to go happily through the entire day without a nap, and sleep research suggests that even through adulthood a mid-day nap or rest break is extremely beneficial in reducing the pressure in all human beings. The Volcano Effect is not something reserved only for children! This biological process affects adults as well. Understanding this can help you interpret what is really going on in your home at the end of a long day, when children are fussy and parents are grumpy – resulting in a whole mountain range of volcanoes. Sleep pressure can be exaggerated by environmental issues such as the previous poor night’s sleep, on-going sleep deprivation, or daily stress. What's more, each person’s moodiness feeds off the others, causing contagious crankiness. And then you’ll find yourself losing patience and saying to your child, “I’m sorry, honey. Mommy’s just tired right now.” (This is a very telling explanation we don’t often stop to analyze.) This Volcano concept brings to light one more important point: Quality naps can make up for lost night sleep – but extra nighttime sleep does not make up for missed naps, due to the homeostatic sleep pressure concept. Therefore, no matter how your child sleeps at night – great sleeper or poor sleeper -- his daily naps are critically important to release the rising sleep pressure. Excerpted with permission by McGraw-Hill Publishing from The No-Cry Nap Solution (McGraw-Hill, 2009).

'Spotlight to Nightlight': Mayim Bialik: From Teen Icon to Unconventional Mom

Find the original article and video interview at
http://omg.yahoo.com/blogs/goddess/spotlight-to-nightlight-mayim-bialik-from-teen-icon-to-unconventional-mom/270?nc

posted by Ali Landry - Thu Aug 27 2009, 10:44 AM PDT

Mayim Bialik attends a performance in 1990 Ron Galella/WireImage.com Mayim Bialik arrives at a premiere in 2009 Michael Buckner/Getty Images

Anyone who watched TV in the early '90s knows Mayim Bialik as Blossom Russo, the lovable teen who lived with her two brothers and hung out with her best friend, Six. After making her mark as a Gen X TV icon, Mayim took nearly 15 years off to earn a doctorate degree and start a family. She now has two young sons (Milo and Fred) and has returned to TV in high-profile guest spots on "Bones" and "Saving Grace." On this episode of "Spotlight to Nightlight," host Ali Landry catches up with Mayim and talks about her non-traditional approach to parenting.

Ali's Take
I have to say that I was both nervous and excited to talk to Mayim because I had heard she had a very unique parenting style. There are so many interesting/somewhat controversial things that she is doing with her family: elimination communication, bed sharing, home schooling, home birth, and choosing not to vaccinate her kids. I knew it was going to be an enlightening interview.

First of all, Mayim needs to write a book. She has a way of presenting this style of parenting in such a way that it is understandable, relatable, and less "taboo." I was completely captivated. She made me think about parenting in a completely different way. I love and appreciate how in tune she is with her children's needs. I mean, for you to be able to successfully practice elimination communication you really have to know your child and every little sign they are giving you and then be disciplined enough to follow through. She also spoke about bed sharing, which I had always read was so dangerous. I can remember waking up in the middle of the night panicked from a dream that Estela was in the bed with us and under the covers, or being afraid I'd fall asleep while nursing. Mayim explained that there is a very safe way to have a family bed, but that there are rules. She and her husband use separate blankets for themselves so the baby is never covered by mistake. Also, the baby and toddler never sleep next to each other. One thing that Mayim has done with her kids that I could totally relate to is baby wearing. Wearing Estela was one of my favorite things besides nursing her that really bonded us and instantly calmed her. I still will wear her today because we both enjoy it so much.

I could go on and on about my interview with Mayim. What I really appreciated was that she said all of her parenting choices were made through lots of research and that while they work for her family, they are not for everyone. I am definitely going to research some of her parenting techniques and will try to incorporate some in my next go 'round.