Category: c-sections

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c-sections Current Events Mothering Pregnancy & Birth

Insurers Denying Coverage to Women Who’ve Had C-sections

If you have read my blog for a while, you know that I write frequently about c-sections.  It is my opinion that Cesarean sections are over performed in this country.  Previous posts I have written, discuss many of the complications that can arise from c-sections.  Despite the many risks and complications associated with c-sections, the c-section rate continues to rise.  Last year in the US, it was 31.1 percent of births.  That is a little more than one in three births.

The New York Times had an article on Sunday reporting that many insurance companies will no longer accept mothers who have had a previous c-section.  The thinking behind this is, once a woman has had one c-section chances are, she will have another one.  Because VBAC’s (vaginal birth after cesarean) are banned and prohibited in so many hospitals, the only choice basically left for women birthing another baby after a c-section, is another c-section.  Because so many c-sections are not medically necessary, the insurance companies don’t want to pay for them. 

Insurance companies are rejecting these mothers coverage, and some insurers even consider having a c-section, a pre-existing condition.  What makes this even scarier, is once someone has been denied coverage and rejected by one insurance company, they have to disclose that to subsequent insurance companies they apply to.  Once an insurance company sees the mother has been rejected, a red flag goes up, and makes it even harder to get coverage.  If they do get coverage their premiums are extremely pricey and expensive.  In Colorado it was estimated some premiums would be 140% more than standard rates. 

The article quoted Pamela Udy, from the nonprofit group, International Caesarean Awareness Network, (ICAN) whose mission is to prevent unnecessary Cesareans.  “Obstetricians are rendering large numbers of women uninsurable by overusing this surgery.”

There are a few “exceptions” some of the insurance companies are making, where they will cover a woman who has had a previous c-section, such as:  

  • If the woman has been sterilized after the cesarean section
  • If the woman is over the age of 40 AND at least two years had past since the c-section
  • If after five years, there has not been a complicated pregnancy AND another c-section

These hardly seem like fair options.  You can only get coverage after a c-section if you have been sterilized? 

This is definitely a fall out from c-sections being performed unnecessarily.  The article mentions that women are caught in the middle of this mess between insurance companies and doctors. Pamela Udy says,  “Women are caught in the middle of a dysfunctional system. Doctors are telling them they need surgery, even when they don’t, and insurance companies, who are tired of paying the bill for so many frivolous surgeries, are punishing women for the poor medical care of doctors.”

This situation should be alarming for every woman in their child bearing years.  Even if you have no intention what-so-ever of having a c-section, in the rare case that you did need a medically necessary one, you can be denied insurance coverage now, because the procedure has been over performed.

Doctors and hospitals must start allowing VBAC’s, and return to delivering breech babies, in order to lower the ever rising c-section rate.  If nothing else, c-sections should be reserved for true emergency situations.  Something has to change- now more than ever, our very health depends on it. 

Categories
c-sections Cole Mothering Parenting Pregnancy & Birth

Two Years Old

Cole is two years old today!  I have been thinking a lot about this week about my labor, delivery, and his birth.  He was technically born on the third Monday of May, and on Monday I was remembering the time line of his birth.

Having had a c-section with Ryan, I was attempting a VBAC (vaginal birth after caesarian with Cole.)  I have been through a c-section birth before, but with Cole, it was obvious my first time being in labor.  I remember after 42 hours of labor, and a successful VBAC, I finally was holding my brand new baby boy, and I couldn’t believe how small and tiny he was.  I had forgotten what a newborn looked and felt like.  The tiny toes, the tiny fingers, the microscopic finger and toenails, the way his body just nestled into mine and Joe’s- like that space existed just for him.  I relished those first few days and weeks- knowing in a blink of an eye, my newborn would be gone forever, and in its place, I’d have a baby, toddler, and then a little boy.

Two years later, a little boy has replaced my sweet newborn.  His toes and fingers are no longer tiny.  He doesn’t fit ‘just so’ in my arms, and in a sense I have forgotten again the details of a newborn.  However, two years ago, I could not even begin to imagine how much I am in love with the little boy Cole is.

While he is no longer a baby, he is such a special little boy.  His smile lights up a room.  He loves trying to make us laugh, and he succeeds every day.  From playing peek-a-boo with the kitchen towel, to trying on all of our clothes and shoes, and parading around the house, with the biggest smile on his face. 

Cole thrives on touch, hugs, and kisses.  I will never be lacking a child to hug, kiss or cuddle with.  As he turns two, Cole is learning to talk quite well, with his favorite words being, “mama,” “dada,” “me,” “eat,” and of course, “Ryan.”

Cole loves his big brother to pieces, and has to do everything just like him.  The other day, Ryan’s foot was hurting, and after I was done inspecting it, Cole came running up to me, lifting his foot up too, “whining.” 

While he tries to be just like Ryan, he is also very much his own person.  I love seeing how his personality is changing and growing.  I like to see him develop his different skills, outside of Ryan.  One thing I have noticed is how mechanical he seems to be, and can already put anything back together that he takes apart.  He also loves babies.  Everywhere we go, when he sees a baby, he yells “Baby!” and starts waving hello. 

Two years ago, I had a newborn placed on my chest, and while I knew his name, weight, and eye color, for all practical purposes, he was a blank canvas- I knew absolutely nothing about him.  Today, on his second birthday, my little boy’s portrait is being filled in with the most brilliant and vibrant colors.  Every day I discover a new color that is added to his portrait.  While I know the canvas is always a work in progress, I am so privileged and blessed to be Cole’s mother, and to see his essence being painted.

Happy Birthday, my darling Cole.  I love you so very, very much.  

                       

Categories
Breastfeeding c-sections Health Mothering Parenting Pregnancy & Birth

Recovering After a C-Section

ryan-batch-019-copy2.jpg

This is a follow up post to the post I wrote about C-sections, The Reality of C-Sections.  While writing that post, the thought occurred to me that it may be helpful to share some tips and ideas that could help mothers recover from a C-section.  Some of these tips I learned first hand, while I was in my recovery period, and some I learned and heard about after the fact.   If you have any other tips or something that is not mentioned here that worked for you, please let me know and I’ll add it to the post.  If you have had a C-section, it can be a long process to get “back to normal,” so any ideas we can pass on to other mothers recovering from their C-sections, I am sure will be appreciated.  🙂 

  • Rest and Do Not “Over Do” It– I know this is easier said than done, especially since there is a new baby, but I believe, in general, this is THE most important factor in determining how fast your recovery time will be.  Not only have you just had major abdominal surgery, but you are caring for a brand new baby, whose existence depends on you right now.  The laundry, and housework can wait.  Give yourself permission to rest at least for a week, and not take on all the housework too. Focus on your baby- that will be tiring enough, without worrying about the housework.  Your body needs rest to heal properly. 

If you are finding it hard to do this, (like I did), pretend that you just had major abdominal surgery for any reason other than having a baby.  Pretend that you had to have a hysterectomy (which is very similar to a C-section).  Would you be up and trying to cook dinner?  Would you be stressed your towels weren’t washed, or your bathrooms weren’t clean?  Chances are, no.  You would forget about these tasks for a while, and would be resting.  More than likely, you would have your husband, friends, or other family members helping out.  That brings me to my next tip:

  • Let Others Help Out– Again, I know this can be easier said than done.  No one likes to admit that we need help, but the one time in your life where you will need help is after having a C-section with a new baby.  Let your husband cook dinner, and put away the laundry.  No, he won’t do it exactly like you do, but in the end, it will get done.  Or if you have a friend or family member nearby, and when they ask how you are doing (which they will) tell you need some help, or tell them it would be wonderful if they could come over and help with a small task.  Make a short list for them, so they know what you would like help with. This also ensures they won’t start cooking something for dinner, trying to be helpful, when your husband is bringing take-out home. 

It is hard to ask for help, but again consider if your friend just had a baby, and asked if you could help her with a load of laundry.  Wouldn’t you jump at the chance to help her out?  Most people want to help, and it makes them feel good and useful.  If they can’t do it, or don’t want to, they will find an excuse not to come over.  But I believe that would be an exception.  Besides, they are all dying to see your new baby, and if I have to throw a load of laundry in the dryer to see a cute new baby, no problem. 

Don’t forget that you can ask for help with the baby too.  Maybe you are just dying to take a shower, or grab a short nap.  If your baby is okay being held by someone else, ask them to come over for an hour.  Believe me, most people will jump at the chance to come over and hold your baby.  Having a few minutes or a shower in peace, is not being a bad mother- it is a necessity for you to keep going, and to heal.  Friends and family are wonderful and can help so much.  You only have to ask, and let them know a little help would be greatly appreciated.

  • Don’t Overdo It With Visitors– Didn’t I just suggest to have friends and family help out?  Yes I did, but there is a big difference in having a few trusted friends and family over who you know will help out with what you ask them to, say hi briefly, and be gone.  You will be wiped out from the surgery and taking care of a newborn.  Now is not the time to have your chatty Aunt Cathy over for hours, or all your college roommates.  There will be plenty of time for you to have extended visits with these family and friends.   You need time to rest and heal.  You can’t do that when you have a constant stream of visitors in your house. 

A few ways of keeping visitors to a minimum are, stay in your pajamas, get into bed,  or put a robe on when someone is coming by for a visit.  You can tell them that you were going to take a nap, and if they see you in your PJ’s, or even laying down in bed, or on the couch,  they usually will get the hint not to stay too long.  Another great suggestion is you can say your doctor advised you to rest, and not have visitors right now, so you can recover from surgery.  It is pretty hard for that insistent relative who has decided she needs to see your baby *right now* to argue with doctor’s orders.  I also had a friend who had her baby at home.   Her midwife put a sign on the door saying something to the effect while the family appreciates shorts visits, this is time for the family to bond, and for the mother to heal and rest.  It specifically asked that visitors stay no more than 10 minutes, and if you see something that needs to be done, it would be appreciated if you could do it. 

The point is, that it is your house, your body that needs to heal, and your baby.  You don’t have to play hostess right now.  You can call the shots, so to speak, on which visitors you take, and how long you would like the visits to be.  Don’t feel bad, guilty, or feel like you are being rude.  People who want to see you and your baby will understand you need to rest, heal, and bond with your baby now.  The baby will still be there in a week or two, or even three for them to visit.

  • Follow the Doctor’s and or Nurses Suggestions– This one may seem obvious, but because some of us (okay, me) think we know better, we may try to ignore some of the discharge instructions.  Obviously, the health-care providers have lots of experience and tips.  They are not telling you not to climb stairs to be mean and confine you to one area of your house.  There is a reason for the suggestions, and having learned the hard and painful way, the suggestions really are given to ease pain, and speed up your recovery.   

For me, it was driving.  I was told not to drive for at least ten days.  Ridiculous, I thought.  One night about a week after I was home, I really wanted to have some pictures of Ryan printed.  Joe was exhausted, so I told him I would hop in the Jeep (an automatic too) and drive the 3 miles to my closest Walgreen’s.  He reminded me I wasn’t supposed to drive.  I told him I would be fine.  BIG mistake.  I never knew you used the muscles that were cut during the C-section to drive, but you do.  Every time I hit the gas and brake, it hurt- a lot.  After I got home, I was very sore, and even during the next few days, it felt like I had stretched the muscles in the incision area, and they were very tender.  I learned that night there was a good reason I was told not to drive while I was healing- it hurt, and it was like taking five steps backwards with my body healing.

  • If You Have Stairs, Move What You Need Into One Area– Stairs can be excruciating to walk up right after a C-section.  I have 14 of them leading to my upstairs.  My bedroom, bathroom, and Ryan’s nursery are all upstairs.  Walking up and down the stairs killed me.  I thought my incision was going to rip open, with every step I took.  After two days of this, when I came home from the hospital, I sat down in the glider in Ryan’s nursery and told Joe I was staying right there.  I was NOT walking up and down the stairs anymore.  I had all of Ryan’s clothes, blankets, and diaper items right there in the room.  Joe would bring me water, and food.  Because of a technicality with our bed (it is very high off the ground), I could not climb up into it or get out of it, without intense pain.  So I slept in the glider for three nights as well.

Have your husband or all those friends and family who want to help, move your items on one floor for at least a few days so you don’t have to stress your incision by climbing stairs.  There may be cases where you have to climb stairs, but you will not want to make any trips up the stairs that are not necessary.  My baby’s room worked well for me, since all his items were there, it was pretty easy to “set shop” up there for a few days.  Joe just kept a monitor on downstairs, and whenever I needed him to bring me something, I just called him.  This may seem like a small point, but it will help your body heal.

  • Follow Your Pain Medication Instructions– I forgot often to take my pain meds.  It wasn’t like I was busy or anything with a new baby.  A nurse told me when your body has pain, then your blood pressure goes up and it will take more medication  and it takes longer to stop the pain, than if you had stayed on top of the schedule.  This was really true.  When I forgot to take my pain medication, it took more medicine and it took longer for the pain to stop.  When I took it on schedule, I virtually had no pain- there wasn’t time for the dosages to wear off.   

I didn’t like taking the pain medication and I know that contributed a lot to me forgetting to take it.  It was a big psychological block for me too.  I felt “sick” taking medication several times a day.  I tried to wean myself off of it for a few days, before I allowed myself to just take it. I had to tell myself I wasn’t sick, and I wasn’t going to be taking it forever, but for the time being, my body needed it to help control the pain, so it could heal. 

  • Have A Pillow Nearby You Can Hold Up Against Your Incision– I was sick to my stomach after my C-section, due to the anesthesia.  Throwing up after a C-section, is NOT fun.  It was the worst pain I have ever had in my life.  Coughing, and laughing after a C-section is not fun either.  More intense pain. 

After I was home, my aunt, who is a nurse, came to see me.  I told her how much it hurt when I coughed, sneezed, or laughed.  Actually, I was trying not to laugh to avoid the pain.  She told me to hold a pillow into the incision/stomach area.  She said that would help support the muscles in that area.  I tried it and it worked great!  It was a great tip- I only wish I had known about it when I was in the hospital.

  • Have Something To Prop Yourself Up In Bed With– While I was in the hospital, any time I wanted to sleep or rest, I could just hit the button on the bed, and it would adjust into a position I could be comfortable in with no pain.  After coming home, trying to lay down flat in bed was awful.  I needed to be reclined somewhat, but the pillows I had weren’t working.  Finally one of those reader pillows with the armrests to the sides, did the trick, when I was able to finally climb into bed and tolerate the pain. 

 Of course we didn’t have one, and no stores in our area had them, so my aunt saved the day when she brought me hers to borrow.  This was one of those things that I never even thought about, until I was faced with reality that I couldn’t lay down flat to sleep.

  • Eat Nutritious Food and Beverages– This goes without saying, but not only will you feel better if you eat nutritious and healthy meals, but your will be giving your body the best energy sources you can, to help it do its job of healing.  Drink as much water as you can, especially if you are breastfeeding. 

Eat as much organic everything that you can afford.  You can certainly have some treats if you feel like it, but the more nutritious food you supply your body with, the better and faster job it will do in repairing itself.      

  • Hire A Post-Partum Doula– If you have family and friends nearby, this may not be necessary.  But if you don’t, or don’t have anyone you feel comfortable with asking to help out, a post-partum doula can be a lifesaver and the best money you will spend.  PP doulas will come to your home and will follow up with you, see how you are doing, check on the baby, hold the baby, cook, clean, do laundry, and general housekeeping.  I think a PP doula services would come in very handy as well, if say you only had your husband to help out.  He will be tired too, will be adjusting to the baby, and trying to keep you happy.  A PP doula can help ease his work load as well, and give him a much deserved break. 

In my area, the PP doula’s will come in for as little as one hour a day, up to forty hours a week.  Even if you think you can’t afford a PP doula, in actuality, you might be able to for a few hours a week.  Keep in mind too, it isn’t forever- just until you have recovered enough to start taking on the chores yourself.  Different doulas charge differently, so it may be helpful to interview a few several weeks before your due date, so you can have someone in mind.  Even if you don’t have a C-section, a PP doula is wonderful.  Consider how much it would cost if you overdo it, and end up back in the hospital for a few days.  You would have to pay for a hospital stay again, and most doulas fees don’t come anywhere near what you would pay for a hospital visit.  A PP doula can help you manage tasks, and ensure you don’t end up over doing it. 

If you have an unplanned C-section, you may not have even thought of many of these tips or ideas, but hopefully you can incorporate as many as you can, depending how far along in your recovery you are.  However, if you know you have to have a C-section, do what you can before the C-section in terms of moving things in one area, lining up friends and family to help, etc. and it will make it that much easier and restful for you, and your family when you come home. 

I know first hand how hard it is to be out of commission for a while.  If you overdo it, you will be out even longer.  Allow yourself the time you need to feel better, and recover from your C-section.  You will feel better faster, and you will be a much happier and healthier mama for your baby. 

Categories
c-sections Current Events Mothering Pregnancy & Birth

The Business of Being Born – My Review

I watched The Business of Being Born  (TBOBB) last night (available now through Netflix).  This is a documentary produced by former talk show host, Ricki Lake, on the state of birthing in America.  As I posted the other night, in short the summary of the film is this: (from The Business of Being Born’s Website)

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 recruits filmmaker Abby Epstein to examine and question the way American women have babies.

The film interlaces intimate birth stories with surprising historical, political and scientific insights and shocking statistics about the current maternity care system. When director Epstein discovers she is pregnant during the making of the film, the journey becomes even more personal.

Should most births be viewed as a natural life process, or should every delivery be treated as a potentially catastrophic medical emergency?

As I settled in to watch, I was expecting a “good” documentary on a subject that interests me.  To be perfectly honest, I don’t watch very many documentaries, and had kind of figured this would be like The Baby Story, but in reverse.  Instead of seeing high drama-hospital medical births with drugs and C-sections, I would see midwives and natural home births. 

In no way was I prepared for my reaction.  Shortly into the 1 hour and 24 minute documentary, I was in tears, sobbing.  It was like a floodgate had been opened, and every vented up emotion that I had about my own experiences giving birth, was released.

I was in awe of the beautiful, natural, and peaceful births shown at home, with skilled and highly trained midwives.  During labor, the mothers were roaming around their homes, freely and unobstructed.  There was a woman who had a water birth, with her young son watching, totally calm and relaxed.  There were images of newly born home birthed babies lying peacefully and contentedly on their mother’s chests just seconds after being born, gazing lovingly up in their mother’s eyes. The mother’s, though tired from just giving birth were alert, happy, and peaceful.

Those images were contrasted with the “typical” hospital birth.  Women in bed, hooked up to monitors, oxygen masks, and IV’s, with drug cocktails dripping into their systems.  Babies left screaming and crying in the incubators by themselves, or not “allowed” to be with their mothers immediately after birth. One scene showed an exhausted mother, being prepped and wheeled off on a gurney to the operating room for a C-section.  It was not hurried, so I don’t believe it was an emergency C-section, rather more likely than not, she was not able to birth her baby in the allotted time that so many hospitals have.  She had her eyes closed, totally detached from the experience, and it struck me like she was a lamb going off to the proverbial slaughter.

It was so striking seeing that, compared to the homebirths.  The women at home were in control and had complete and entire power over the birth of their babies. They were the ones who decided when it was time to birth their baby, and they had total confidence in their bodies.  They didn’t need IV’s, drugs dripping in their systems, weakening the labor process, constant monitoring, doctors and nurses telling them when to push, and micromanaging their labors, and they didn’t need C-sections.

As I sat there watching this, I kept thinking of the women shown having their babies at home, and THAT is what birth is supposed to be like.  That is how women have given birth for thousands and thousands of years, until the last fifty years or so in America.  Women should be the ones to dictate how the birthing of their child, their flesh and blood goes, not doctors, nurses, and hospitals who have to practice defensive medicine to avoid lawsuits, and to meet insurance companies criteria. 

It was a powerful moment for me, and I realized how angry I have been about Ryan’s birth.  I have written about my C-section before, but in summary, the only reason I had to have a C-section with Ryan was because he was breech.  No other complications or problems.  A C-section was my only “option.”  Doctors don’t “do” breech vaginal deliveries anymore and certainly not where I lived.    At the time, I didn’t consider home birth an option, and in my state it is illegal for midwives to knowingly deliver a breech baby anyway. 

I trusted that my doctor was doing her best for me, but in reality she was only doing what she “had” to do. Advise me a C-section was the “safest” way to deliver a breech baby.  She was in a large HMO practice, and even though she told me about doulas and exercises I could do to try to turn the baby, she probably couldn’t have told me the truth about what I was in for, even if she had wanted to.  I am sure she had strict guidelines to operate under.

TBOBB gets right to the root of this terrible epidemic- women are basically forced to give away their birthing power and choices to the doctors and hospitals, without really realizing what is going to be “done” to them, because it is not explained for the most part to them ahead of time.  As I watched that poor, drained, and drugged, mother being wheeled off to her C-section, I saw myself in her- I saw her power gone, totally helpless and at the “mercy” of the surgeon who was about to operate on her, because her body “failed,” and she could not give birth.

I realized for the first time ever, that I felt like I had failed Ryan and failed my body, because I was not allowed to even try to give birth to him.  Even though I doubt my doctor wanted to make me feel like that, it was recorded in my subconscious, that because my baby was breech, somehow my body “failed” at being able to get him in the “correct” birthing position, and now the only option was for her to step in and “save” me, save my baby by cutting open my abdomen and performing surgery to get him out alive.  I felt totally duped and mislead. 

Never mind that babies used to be born breech all the time, even when they had less technology.  Joe’s oldest sister was born breech in the 60’s, and guess what? She was born healthy and Joe’s mother was just fine too.  Never mind that one of my good friends gave birth at home to a surprise breech footling 9.5-pound baby boy in 2006.  Guess what?  Her son couldn’t be any healthier today, and she was fine too.

I was mad after seeing the peaceful homebirths that the state of birthing in this country is what it is, in that it denies women the opportunity to have the birth that they want.  It doesn’t even allow for exploration of the choice, it just eliminates any choice whatsoever. 

I was very impressed and surprised that there were so many doctors, and OB/GYN’s in the film saying that the current system wasn’t working either. One of the doctors at Mt. Sinai in the film said something to the effect that if something isn’t done, and if someone doesn’t step in, the caesarean rate will soon be at 100%. 

Several of the doctors said that with a skilled midwife, homebirth was very safe, and was usually a good option for women.

I was thrilled to see Ina May Gaskin (the most famous midwife in the world) in the film.  I had the privilege of hearing her speak in a town near me last May.  She pointed out that she didn’t have a mother who needed a c-section in her care until birth number 187.  Contrast that with 1 in 3 births today end in a C-section. 

One of Ina May’s quotes that she had in the movie, which I loved, was right before she gave the C-section number in her practice, was an answer to the argument that women in America are different from other women in the world, hence the high C-section rate.  Right after she stated that they didn’t see a C-section until birth number 187, and then they didn’t see it again until a birth in the 300’s (I can’t remember the exact number she gave).   She said, (and I went back and reviewed several times what she said, and wrote it down), “That tells me the pelvis of the American woman is just fine-thank you very much.”

There was another man who was in the movie several times, with some powerful statistics and commentaries.  Forgive me, but I did not get his name at the beginning, and by the end of the film I was too exhausted to go back and find his name.  But he was the older gentleman with the short grey beard, and I believe he was a doctor, but am not for certain. 

He was giving a lot of background information on birth in this country, and how they used to tie and strap women down in the hospital, give drugs during labor that caused children to have severe deformities, etc.  He said at one point, “If you want a humanized birth, get the hell out of the hospital.” 

He also drew a great analogy.  He mentioned that when he speaks to groups of OB/GYN’s and tell them about home birth, he said he always gets groans and heads shaking.  Then he asks the doctor’s who have actually witnessed a home birth to raise their hands.  He said he has never gotten a doctor yet, who has actually observed a home birth.  He said they are like a geographer who is trying to describe a country that they have never been to, but are too afraid to visit.  I couldn’t agree more.    

There was another doctor an, older OB/GYN in the film who was also a researcher.  I didn’t catch his name, but I do remember his credentials.   He was from another country, (Ireland?), and had a heavy accent, so when he spoke there were subtitles.  This made it very easy to write down what he said.  He had many, many, compassionate and very true things to say about birth, and how we need to just stop down the road we are going and go back to square one.  He said square one starts with the midwife.

There were so many other important points and information in this movie.  It was amazing.  I didn’t know it was possible to make so many points about birth in just under an hour and half.  It touched me deeply, and I imagine it would strike a cord with almost any woman, whether you “believe” in homebirth or not. 

It wasn’t so much a “homebirth” message, but a message on birthing, and women are powerful and are capable of managing their births the way they want.  It shows that there are some options that we don’t hear about very often, the option of homebirth.

The only small critique I have of the film is when they showed statistics, it would have been helpful to list the source of the statistic.  It could have been listed in the closing credits, but I didn’t watch for it. I think it would have been more powerful and more creditable to list the source of the statistic when it is shown.  But it is an excellent film, and one that I hope to watch again. 

If you have even the slightest interest in maternity care, or why hospitals and doctors do the things they do during birth, this film is a must see.  It is by far the BEST media subject I have seen on birth.  If you do watch The Baby Story, watch this.  You will be astonished.  I am so grateful that this film was made.  At the very least it has helped me in the last 24 hours come to terms with the feelings I have about Ryan’s birth. 

I will leave you with a quote, which was extremely powerful for me, from the wonderful OB/GYN researcher in the film.  He said so elegantly, when talking about what we are doing is clearly not working, and is not what is best for mothers and their babies was this,” When you talk with certain women who still have a sort of intuitive knowledge of the importance of what is happening when the baby is born, they cannot accept that caesarean section is the future.  They cannot accept that.” 

Categories
c-sections Current Events Pregnancy & Birth

It’s About Time- Celebrity & Normal Birth

I just came across this article from PEOPLE, and all I can say is it is about time!  PEOPLE usually drives me crazy when reporting on celebrity births, because they always seem to have to say and publicize when the birth was by C-section.  Yet, they hardly ever say when a celebrity has a baby by normal vaginal birth.

But maybe the tide is changing? They reported that John C. McGinley (from Scrubs) and his wife Nichole, welcomed an 8 lb. baby daughter (Billie) on Saturday.  They also reported, “She was delivered at 1:36 a.m. in a birthing tub at the couple’s home in Malibu, with a midwife in attendance.

“Nichole was a mountain lion, a warrior in the birthing process,” McGinley tells PEOPLE. “The birth was astonishing! Mom and baby girl are 100 percent. Billie is a ‘mini Nichole’! Thank God.”

New mom Nichole, an Ashtanga yoga teacher and birthing doula, adds, “We are all happy and healthy at home and enjoying these precious first moments of life together.”

I think it is great this couple chose to have their baby at home with a midwife, and bring attention to the fact, that it is perfectly safe to have a baby at home.  I hope PEOPLE will continue to report on more births like this.  After all, it is the NORMAL way to have a baby.