I'm going to eventually do a lot of research on this bill and keep my eyes and ears out for any new news on it being passed, but for now I just wanted to pass along the info on this new proposed piece of legislation from Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA).
The MOMS (Maximizing Optimal Maternity Services) for the 21st Century bill will seek to address the dismal maternal and infant mortality and morbidity rate in the U.S. in an effort to improve overall maternal and infant care. Seeing as the U.S. is ranked 33rd in the world for maternal and infant health, despite outspending every other country in birth-related health care costs, this bill could not be any more prudent or urgent.
Take a moment to read over the summary of the bill from Congresswoman Roybal-Allard's site and write her, or the Congressional representatives in your area, to show your support for this bill!
I'll post a template letter in the next few days so check back for that!
Friday, July 30, 2010
New Online Pregnancy Video Library from Childbirth Connection!
Wonderful news, expectant mamas! The always wonderful website Childbirthconnection.org has recently been updated to include a pregnancy and childbirth video library.
As a doula and birth advocate, I can tell you that although birthing videos are incredibly valuable learning tools, it is often difficult to find some of the best of them, and even when you do, they often come with a high price tag. So welcome the free, online video library!
Some of the options on the site are full length, others provide edited versions of the full length movies you can opt to purchase. A few others, such as The Business of Being Born, allow you to rent the movie on your computer for 24 hours for a small fee. Each video also directs you to the movie's official web page, making it easy to find even more articles, books, and videos on pregnancy and childbirth.
It is worth seeking out videos that celebrate the event of birth and seek to educate families of their options in childbirth and this new site makes it so easy. The videos featured on the site offer more than worthy alternatives to the TLC-run horror stories that take up a five-hour block of morning television.
As a doula and birth advocate, I can tell you that although birthing videos are incredibly valuable learning tools, it is often difficult to find some of the best of them, and even when you do, they often come with a high price tag. So welcome the free, online video library!
Some of the options on the site are full length, others provide edited versions of the full length movies you can opt to purchase. A few others, such as The Business of Being Born, allow you to rent the movie on your computer for 24 hours for a small fee. Each video also directs you to the movie's official web page, making it easy to find even more articles, books, and videos on pregnancy and childbirth.
It is worth seeking out videos that celebrate the event of birth and seek to educate families of their options in childbirth and this new site makes it so easy. The videos featured on the site offer more than worthy alternatives to the TLC-run horror stories that take up a five-hour block of morning television.
Monday, July 26, 2010
ACOG Changes VBAC Statement
Following the recent NIH conference on VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean) this past March, The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) recently altered their statement on the safety of VBACs to make them more accessible for the majority of women who have previously had a cesarean birth.
ACOG's previous statement, issued in 1999, stated that hospitals have an anesthesiologist who could be "immediately" available to perform a repeat cesarean section on women attempting VBACs if necessary--a situation which even the largest hospitals in the country could rarely accommodate. ACOG's previous statement, issued after an NIH conference in 1980, suggested only that the necessary staff for an emergency cesarean be made "readily" available, helping to keep the U.S. cesarean rate at a relatively low percentage.
The change in wording in the official statement was prompted by a handful of articles published in medical journals in the late '90s regarding the incidence of uterine rupture in attempted VBACs. Though these articles relied on limited data, ACOG soon shifted it's stance on VBACs, thus being a major contributing factor in the incredible increase in the national cesarean rate over the past decade.
In recent years, several more studies have suggested that attempting vaginal birth after prior cesarean is most often the safest option for women, backing the original data that prompted the ACOG statement prior to the 1999 change. These studies show that the chances of uterine rupture in labor due to a cesarean scar are below 1%, only increasing above 1% in cases where labor was induced or augmented. It is safe to say that ACOG is finally coming around to meet the evidence-based standards proven not only in the past several years, but in what was originally found throughout the 1970's and 80's.
This change should offer women more options in care providers and place of birth when attempting VBACs, though it may take several years to see this becoming a national trend. It is still to be seen whether or not this changes any stances on VBAC attempts in home deliveries, or for women who would wish to deliver at a birthing center, but this may open those options to women, allowing these practices to come out from the underground networks they are currently forced to transverse due to limited access.
Allowing more women to have vaginal deliveries should also cause a shift in the amount spent on births in the U.S. each year, and hopefully will send the national cesarean rate on a downward slope, edging closer, at least, to the World Health Organization's (WHO) recommended 15% (the U.S. currently has a 32% cesarean rate).
ACOG's previous statement, issued in 1999, stated that hospitals have an anesthesiologist who could be "immediately" available to perform a repeat cesarean section on women attempting VBACs if necessary--a situation which even the largest hospitals in the country could rarely accommodate. ACOG's previous statement, issued after an NIH conference in 1980, suggested only that the necessary staff for an emergency cesarean be made "readily" available, helping to keep the U.S. cesarean rate at a relatively low percentage.
The change in wording in the official statement was prompted by a handful of articles published in medical journals in the late '90s regarding the incidence of uterine rupture in attempted VBACs. Though these articles relied on limited data, ACOG soon shifted it's stance on VBACs, thus being a major contributing factor in the incredible increase in the national cesarean rate over the past decade.
In recent years, several more studies have suggested that attempting vaginal birth after prior cesarean is most often the safest option for women, backing the original data that prompted the ACOG statement prior to the 1999 change. These studies show that the chances of uterine rupture in labor due to a cesarean scar are below 1%, only increasing above 1% in cases where labor was induced or augmented. It is safe to say that ACOG is finally coming around to meet the evidence-based standards proven not only in the past several years, but in what was originally found throughout the 1970's and 80's.
This change should offer women more options in care providers and place of birth when attempting VBACs, though it may take several years to see this becoming a national trend. It is still to be seen whether or not this changes any stances on VBAC attempts in home deliveries, or for women who would wish to deliver at a birthing center, but this may open those options to women, allowing these practices to come out from the underground networks they are currently forced to transverse due to limited access.
Allowing more women to have vaginal deliveries should also cause a shift in the amount spent on births in the U.S. each year, and hopefully will send the national cesarean rate on a downward slope, edging closer, at least, to the World Health Organization's (WHO) recommended 15% (the U.S. currently has a 32% cesarean rate).
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Em.pow.er [em-pou-er] (verb-used with object)
Empower- It's a strong word. It's a word that commands that I straighten my spine and look people in the eyes when I speak it.
A good friend of mine is staying with me this week while she is in school learning to teach English to non native speakers, and so I have been thinking about language and words. Empower- this word in particular has been on my mind lately as I move through life.
I have not been as active as I would like to be as of late, partially out of pure laziness and partially out of a general lack of knowing where to go and what to do in this new, sometimes overwhelming, always exciting city environment. But I found a bikram yoga studio not far from my house that offers an awesome new student discount, so I built up some motivation and showed up for class yesterday, and my, how empowering! For a full 90 minutes my mind could think of nothing but holding the pose, breathing, my focal point, and there was no avoiding the rhythmic thumping of my heart bringing oxygen and nutrients to every cell of my body. As I lay in Shavasana at the end of the 90 minutes, manifesting the most forefront thoughts in my brain: a quick and beautiful birth for my client and the perfect living situation for myself and my roommates, I felt truly empowered. This is the feeling that goes with the word, I thought. This is why our business is Empowered Birth Doulas. This is what I want my clients to feel during and after birth. In fact, this is what we live for- to be empowered! Haha, ok, it sounds rather extravagant now, but it is so true. We live for those moments when we feel our deepest strength and we see what we are capable of. When we are empowered we are confident, we exude strength, and other recognize it.
To empower is to give power or authority to, or to enable. We can empower others and we can empower ourselves, and often we empower others by empowering ourselves. Certain acts can be empowering, especially ones that are difficult. In fact, difficulty and empowerment seem to go hand in hand. We can empower through education, action, and choice. Empowerment does not happen, it is something that comes to us after some very hard work.
I am intrigued by what empowers each of us, and how different people are empowered in different ways and by different experiences. For example, depending on your own life experiences, your decision to receive an epidural in childbirth could be the most empowering decision of your life, while another woman's choice to have a natural childbirth could be equally empowering to her.
So what is it that empowers you, and why? (I ask myself)
To be empowered we have to be open, to be aware of what we believe and to what feeds our souls. I love the potential for empowerment through birth, and I think this is one of the main reasons I was initially attracted to doula work: to empower women. Actually, empowering women in something that I think I will be striving to do for the rest of my life, on a global and local level, through birth and any other means I can. Empowering others is Empowering!
Ultimately, I feel a passion to empower women because I believe in and feel connected to the importance and sacredness of Women's work- to our communities and to the future of our planet. I truly believe that, as Agnes Sallet Von Tannenberg wrote, "If we are to heal the planet, we must begin by healing birth".
And so, Emily and I continue to do our part to heal the planet, one Empowered birth at a time!
Empower: (Em=before, Power= strength, power) to invoke power.
A good friend of mine is staying with me this week while she is in school learning to teach English to non native speakers, and so I have been thinking about language and words. Empower- this word in particular has been on my mind lately as I move through life.
I have not been as active as I would like to be as of late, partially out of pure laziness and partially out of a general lack of knowing where to go and what to do in this new, sometimes overwhelming, always exciting city environment. But I found a bikram yoga studio not far from my house that offers an awesome new student discount, so I built up some motivation and showed up for class yesterday, and my, how empowering! For a full 90 minutes my mind could think of nothing but holding the pose, breathing, my focal point, and there was no avoiding the rhythmic thumping of my heart bringing oxygen and nutrients to every cell of my body. As I lay in Shavasana at the end of the 90 minutes, manifesting the most forefront thoughts in my brain: a quick and beautiful birth for my client and the perfect living situation for myself and my roommates, I felt truly empowered. This is the feeling that goes with the word, I thought. This is why our business is Empowered Birth Doulas. This is what I want my clients to feel during and after birth. In fact, this is what we live for- to be empowered! Haha, ok, it sounds rather extravagant now, but it is so true. We live for those moments when we feel our deepest strength and we see what we are capable of. When we are empowered we are confident, we exude strength, and other recognize it.
To empower is to give power or authority to, or to enable. We can empower others and we can empower ourselves, and often we empower others by empowering ourselves. Certain acts can be empowering, especially ones that are difficult. In fact, difficulty and empowerment seem to go hand in hand. We can empower through education, action, and choice. Empowerment does not happen, it is something that comes to us after some very hard work.
I am intrigued by what empowers each of us, and how different people are empowered in different ways and by different experiences. For example, depending on your own life experiences, your decision to receive an epidural in childbirth could be the most empowering decision of your life, while another woman's choice to have a natural childbirth could be equally empowering to her.
So what is it that empowers you, and why? (I ask myself)
To be empowered we have to be open, to be aware of what we believe and to what feeds our souls. I love the potential for empowerment through birth, and I think this is one of the main reasons I was initially attracted to doula work: to empower women. Actually, empowering women in something that I think I will be striving to do for the rest of my life, on a global and local level, through birth and any other means I can. Empowering others is Empowering!
Ultimately, I feel a passion to empower women because I believe in and feel connected to the importance and sacredness of Women's work- to our communities and to the future of our planet. I truly believe that, as Agnes Sallet Von Tannenberg wrote, "If we are to heal the planet, we must begin by healing birth".
And so, Emily and I continue to do our part to heal the planet, one Empowered birth at a time!
Empower: (Em=before, Power= strength, power) to invoke power.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
New study on stem cells in cord suggest delayed cord clamping after birth
This is one of a long line of recent studies suggesting there are long-term benefits to delayed cord clamping--a practice which takes only minutes of patience and has little, if any, adverse effects.
To read more about this and other recent studies, please visit my article in The Examiner.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Learning CPR
Today I attended a free adult, child, and infant CPR class hosted at a friend's house. The wonderful trainer, Paula, noted that though she has trained doulas here and there, she's surprised at how few doulas seek out CPR training. It seems to her, and to me, that being trained in this area would be part of the general requirements for a doula, but it's not so.
I have been at a birth where the baby needed to be resuscitated just after birth, and I was thankful that I was not the only other person in the room. The midwife and midwife assistant were quick to respond to the baby's obvious slow start in a way that impressed me beyond words. But what if I had been there long before the midwives had arrived and baby decided to greet the world in my arms instead of her's? I took CPR years ago and learned a little about what to do in that situation if there is trouble, but I'm the type that likes to be way more prepared than that!
That situation does happen to doulas every now and again and so we should all be prepared by having infant CPR training. Very often local fire departments will hold free CPR trainings a few times a month. It is easy enough to call up your local station and ask if they offer CPR and First Aid, how much it might cost, and if there isn't training available through them, if there is another local station that does offer it.
And this doesn't just apply to doulas! Everyone could benefit from this knowledge, parents, babysitters, and teachers especially. Sure, we've all watched episodes of Baywatch where someone was given mouth-to-mouth so we may know a few things about CPR via cultural osmosis, but the standard procedures for CPR have changed in the last several months, reflecting new, evidenced-based techniques. Having better knowledge of these changes and getting some practice on a test dummy could literally be the difference when it comes to saving someone's life.
Visit the American Heart Association's site on CPR to learn more!
I have been at a birth where the baby needed to be resuscitated just after birth, and I was thankful that I was not the only other person in the room. The midwife and midwife assistant were quick to respond to the baby's obvious slow start in a way that impressed me beyond words. But what if I had been there long before the midwives had arrived and baby decided to greet the world in my arms instead of her's? I took CPR years ago and learned a little about what to do in that situation if there is trouble, but I'm the type that likes to be way more prepared than that!
That situation does happen to doulas every now and again and so we should all be prepared by having infant CPR training. Very often local fire departments will hold free CPR trainings a few times a month. It is easy enough to call up your local station and ask if they offer CPR and First Aid, how much it might cost, and if there isn't training available through them, if there is another local station that does offer it.
And this doesn't just apply to doulas! Everyone could benefit from this knowledge, parents, babysitters, and teachers especially. Sure, we've all watched episodes of Baywatch where someone was given mouth-to-mouth so we may know a few things about CPR via cultural osmosis, but the standard procedures for CPR have changed in the last several months, reflecting new, evidenced-based techniques. Having better knowledge of these changes and getting some practice on a test dummy could literally be the difference when it comes to saving someone's life.
Visit the American Heart Association's site on CPR to learn more!
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Namaste
Hello world!
This is Emily and Jasmiene of Empowered Birth Doulas. We're getting ready to move down to San Francisco and are busy updating our website, making connections in the SF birthing community, and choosing a new logo! Lots of exciting stuff.
Check back here to read about our exciting adventures in starting up our combined practice and keeping up with our education in doula work and massage. We'll advertise any local events that may be of some interest and write an occasional article about something we've come across that we'd like to share.
Thanks for stopping by! Please call again.
Warmly,
Em and Jaz
This is Emily and Jasmiene of Empowered Birth Doulas. We're getting ready to move down to San Francisco and are busy updating our website, making connections in the SF birthing community, and choosing a new logo! Lots of exciting stuff.
Check back here to read about our exciting adventures in starting up our combined practice and keeping up with our education in doula work and massage. We'll advertise any local events that may be of some interest and write an occasional article about something we've come across that we'd like to share.
Thanks for stopping by! Please call again.
Warmly,
Em and Jaz
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