Archive for September, 2009
Natural Birth Can Be Funny
Tired of all the “inspirational” natural birth stories out there. Too serious? Too sappy? Too unbelievable? Well, then I have the perfect birth story for you. Heather Armstrong, author of the outrageous blog Dooce.com goes from wanting an epidural two days before contractions even begin to thinking about being one of those nutso women who birth at home in their bathtubs…surrounded by candles, of course. [...]
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Beautiful Natural Birth Video
This touching video shows a gentle water birth at home attended by a midwife. With the help of her husband and a doula, this mom calmly brings her baby into the world. It definitely brought a few tears to my eyes as I remembered the wonderful feeling of having my own son.
Hooray for Washington & Idaho
It wasn’t until recently that I realized how lucky we are to live here in the Inland Northwest. Did you know that Washington and Idaho are helping pave the way toward national regulation and licensure of midwives by legally authorizing Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs) to practice in our states? Idaho passed this legislation just a few months ago in April of 2009. Visit the Idahoans for Midwives website to read about the journey to victory in that state. There are still 24 states in America where CPMs are not legally authorized to practice, including much of the Midwest and the South. Many of those states are currently working to change their laws, mostly through the efforts of grassroots advocacy groups. [...]
Today Show’s “Perils of Home Births”
On Friday morning The Today Show ran a very detailed story called “The Perils of Home Births.” As the title suggests, it questioned the safety of home birth and midwifery—even going so far as calling home birth “the equivalent of a spa treatment.” However, it does put the topic on a national stage for discussion. Part of me wants to jump in right now and respond, but I’d like your help first. Please tell me what you think! My plan is to go through your comments and write a blog post reflecting the thoughts of the birth community and our Bloom readers. [...]
BirthGirlz Featured Mama
I never intended to use the Bloom Blog to toot my own horn, but today I will do just that! I promise…it won’t become a habit. I just had to share the news that I am the Featured Mama on the BirthGirlz website this month. BirthGirlz is a non profit organization, working to normalize and revalue all aspects of motherhood in our society via education, outreach, community events and activism. Their goal is to empower women and families to create their own network of resources and make informed decisions related to pregnancy, birth, nutrition and sustainable family living. I thought this statement encapsulated everything I’m trying to do with Bloom here in Spokane and couldn’t be happier to support their organization. [...]
The Controversy Over Home Birth
I have recently twitted about two news articles concerning the safety of home birth. For those of you who don’t follow me on twitter, I’ll catch you up on the news. Here’s the scoop: The Huffington Post article, “ACOG Up to Dirty Tricks,” reported on the organizations efforts to collect stories solely about unsuccessful out-of-hospital births from its members to use as “data” in it’s lobbying efforts against independent midwives. And on the brighter side, USA Today published the article “Study: Home Birth With Midwife as Safe as Hospital Birth” which finds that planned home births may in fact have a lower mortality rate and fewer complications that physician-attended hospital births. [...]
Changing Prenatal Care Providers
How do pregnant women and their partners go about choosing a prenatal care provider? Often, they have not given it one bit of thought until they see two pink lines on a pregnancy test. Then it’s a mad dash to find someone you can trust to care for you during your pregnancy and give you guidance about how to birth your baby. You are not alone if somewhere down the line you realize that maybe you hadn’t initially given enough thought to who that person should be (I’ve been there!). Perhaps half way through your pregnancy you have become more educated about birth than you were when the baby was conceived. You may have changed your own views about what type of birth is right for you and now require the guidance and care of a provider who will support your vision. [...]
