(Photo by Meg Wintory)
“There is power that comes to women when they give birth. They don’t ask for it, it simply invades them. Accumulates like clouds on the horizon and passes through, carrying the child with it.”
-Sheryl Feldman
This Midwife Is Fighting to Make Vaginal Breech Births a Thing Again
https://www.healthline.com/health/betty-ann-daviss-midwife-breech-births
Betty-Anne Daviss travels the world training healthcare providers in vaginal breech birth, which often isn’t attempted when a baby is breech, or feetfirst.
In the 40 years since she attended her first birth in Central America, Daviss has traveled all over the world — from the Northwest Territories in Canada to Germany to Afghanistan — to study, among other things, childbearing practices.
Aside from her unique journey to becoming a midwife, what sets Daviss apart from many other healthcare providers who specialize in childbirth is her expertise in vaginal breech birth. That means delivering a baby that’s feet- or bottom-first instead of headfirst vaginally instead of by cesarean delivery, commonly known as C-section.
In fact, Daviss has made it her mission to mainstream vaginal breech birth again
In some ways, Daviss, who also teaches in the women and gender studies department at the University of Carleton in Ottawa, might be considered a bit of a radical.
Last year, she helped publish a study that found there were significant benefits to a woman giving birth to a breech baby in an upright position — kneeling, on hands and knees, or standing —compared to lying on her back.
“We know now from the studies we’ve done that the pelvis is dynamic, and the baby winds its way through as the pelvis changes shape. How is it that we ended up with women flat on their backs and people actually thinking that was normal?” Daviss muses. “That’s totally an abnormal way to have a baby.”
(click link at top to read more about Daviss and breech births on healthline.com)
15 Signs That It’s Time to Fire Your OB, Now! | Mother Rising
https://www.motherrisingbirth.com/2018/10/fire-your-ob
OBs play very influential roles in women’s lives during pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum. Having the right or wrong person at your birth can make or break your vagina. Literally. Unfortunately, sometimes the doctor or midwife a woman chooses in the first trimester turns out not to be such a great fit as pregnancy progresses. But how should you know when it’s time to fire your OB or midwife? Glad you asked.
(Click link at top to read on Mother Rising blog)
I WENT TO A “VAGINAPRACTOR”—HERE’S WHAT HAPPENED
https://www.wellandgood.com/good-advice/what-is-a-sexological-bodywork-kimberly-johnson-wmn-space/
When I met Johnson at WMN Space, my first question was how, exactly, she started doing this kind of work in the first place. (I mean, it’s not something you can major in at college.) The former yoga instructor and bodyworker told me she found her calling while dealing with a serious pelvic-floorinjury brought on by childbirth.
“I started researching [treatment], and all I could find were tens of thousands of entries on postpartum depression,” she recalls. “But I was like, ‘Of course I’m depressed.’ I was pooping in my pants, sex was impossible, my low back was killing me all the time—and I’m someone who was totally fit and healthy [before giving birth.]
(Click to read about pelvic floors on wellandgood.com)
MOM TALK: MY SURROGACY JOURNEY
http://www.mothermag.com/surrogacy/
**Trigger warning. Story includes mention of a 24-week loss.
Like new mother Jennifer Talesfore so eloquently details in her essay below, surrogacy is a practice often shrouded in mystery and judgement. We hope reading her touching personal narrative of love, loss, and hope brings a better understanding to the families going through the surrogacy process and other challenges along the path to parenthood. -KHZ
(Click link above to read this beautiful essay)
Labor Day: We Asked a Midwife What to Expect
https://goop.com/work/parenthood/labor-day-we-asked-a-midwife-what-to-expect/
If there’s one thing the experts agree is guaranteed about pregnancy and birth, it is that “it will likely be very different from whatever you might be imagining.” This is Julia Bower, a CNM (certified nurse midwife) in Austin, Texas. Bower has delivered over 800 babies in her over her twenty-plus-year career. In case you are unfamiliar, certified nurse midwives like Bower are health care professionals who have a graduate degree in midwifery and have passed a certifying exam. Certified nurse midwives (as well as certified professional midwives, though they don’t necessarily have a degree) are licensed by their state* to provide much of the same care as ob-gyns and are experts in low-risk births.
We asked Bower to give us her unfiltered play-by-play of childbirth.
(click to read on goop.com)
Breastfeeding vs Formula: The social pressure on new mothers to breastfeed can, at times, be psychologically unhealthy.
https://medium.com/@alexandrasacks/breastfeeding-vs-formula-6b4f09652488
Whether it’s with breast milk, formula, or a combination of both, every mother and baby needs to figure out the feeding choices that work best for them.
These days, our culture sends a strong message about the benefits of breastfeeding. Many moms feel proud when breastfeeding is going well — like they have passed their first important test of motherhood with flying colors. That being said, not every woman can or wants to breastfeed, and it’s my opinion that the outcomes for babies who are formula fed may be academic, but in real life are imperceptible. Breastfeeding is not nature’s way of testing your abilities as a mother, and formula feeding is certainly not any indication of failure or insufficiency.
Whether it’s with breast milk, formula, or a combination of both, every mother and baby needs to figure out the feeding choices that work best for them. Though some find that it comes easily, most women say that breastfeeding involves a learning curve. It can take days or weeks for you and your baby to find your way.
The majority of women admit to me that, even when it works, breastfeeding is also really hard.
(click link at the top to continue reading on medium.com)
It is now legal to breastfeed in public in all 50 states. Just now. In 2018.
https://www.upworthy.com/it-is-now-legal-to-breastfeed-in-public-in-all-50-states-just-now-in-2018
Idaho and Utah recently joined the party, meaning that parents in every state can legally breastfeed in public.
Over the years, stories of people who have been asked to leave restaurants or other public places because someone complained about the way they fed their babies have made headlines, prompting outcry from advocates and providing fodder for debate among the masses.
Prior to states passing laws, there was little recourse for parents in such incidents. In fact, breastfeeders could be cited and fined for public indecency if a law enforcement officer responded to a complaint in some situations.
These laws were not passed without controversy — in fact, Utah’s almost didn’t make it past committee.
Utah’s Breastfeeding Protection Act passed the House Business and Labor Committee by the narrowest of margins in February, with a 6-5 vote in favor. Sponsored by Rep. Justin Fawson, the bill states that breastfeeding is legal “in any place of public accommodation.” The original bill also clarified that it didn’t matter whether the breast was covered or uncovered.
(click to read the entire article on upworthy.com)
