From C-Section to Home Birth, and becoming a Midwife Inbetween!

This is powerful video details Lindsey's journey from the traumatic cesarean birth of first child, daughter Dylyn, to becoming a Doula, Childbirth Educator & Midwife in it's aftermath. It ends with the Home Water Birth of her son River.

http://vimeo.com/6885221

Lindsey Meehleis-Matthews is a Certified Doula (DONA), Certified Childbirth Educator, International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, Prenatal Yoga Teacher, & Midwife in Orange County, CA.


Here's Lindsey's birth philosophy: I believe that birth is a profound rite of passage that every woman should be able to experience with being surrounded by options, love, and support. But all and all, I think Gerri Ryan states this best, "Deep within every woman is the ability to birth. When she has confidence in her own abilities, the encouragement and freedom to tap into her innate wisdom, and has the loving support of family, friends and professionals who believe this too, she will truly have a satisfying birth experience."

Here's a link to her doula info: http://www.ocdoulas.com/lindsey_meehleis.htm

image from: http://www.ocdoulas.com/Assets/courtney_portrait.jpg

Uplifting Art: Bras for a Cause

Feeling creative? Great fun for a worthy cause - if you enter, send me a photo of your ArtBra!

Community artists and creative folks are invited to submit a decorative art bra to A Woman’s Touch for Uplifting Art: Bras for a Cause, an art contest and charity auction benefitting ABCD: After Breast Cancer Diagnosis.

What is an "art bra"?

It’s anything you want it to be. Decorate, design, embellish and create bras in a way that says "art", "beauty", or "celebration of women" to you. Use any medium you like (no perishables, please). We encourage you to submit a fun name, theme, or dedication with your submission. Anybody can enter, including businesses and organizations. Have some fun with it!

Submissions must be accompanied by an entry form, and are due by January 9, 2010. Early submissions are encouraged, and may even be featured online or media or public relations for the event. Please see our Design Guidelines & Contest Rules for more information.

ABCD: After Breast Cancer Diagnosis provides free personalized information and support to people affected by breast cancer. Created to complement the work of health care providers, ABCD offers breast cancer support through its signature One-to-One mentoring support service, and provides a variety of resources for breast cancer patients and their loved ones. To learn more about ABCD and their current programs, call 414-919-9222, or visit them online at http://www.abcdbreastcancersupport.org.

For more information about Uplifting Art: Bras for a Cause, please see our Design Guidelines & Contest Rules, or contact the Milwaukee location of A Woman’s Touch at:

200 N Jefferson Street, Suite 101, Milwaukee, WI 53202
Phone: (414) 221-0400 * Email: awt.milwaukee@gmail.com

http://www.awomanstouchonline.com/upliftingart.php

Canadian Home Birth Study Finds Home Birth As Safe or Safer Than Hospital Birth

by Jennifer Margulis, Mothering Magazine's website (emphasis theirs)

A study by Canadian researchers published in the September 2009 issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) concludes that planned home births with a midwife in attendance have comparable or better outcomes than hospital births in British Columbia, a province of Canada with some 4.4 million inhabitants.

The researchers studied over 2,800 planned home births attended by the same group of registered midwives over a 4-year period.

They found that women who planned home births had lower rates of invasive and negative interventions than women who had planned hospital births, whether the hospital births were attended by a midwife or a doctor.

Women birthing at home were less likely to experience:

• Electronic fetal monitoring
• C-sections
• Episiotomies
• Augmentation of labor with oxytocin or amniotomy (artificial rupture of the fetal membranes)
• And the use of drugs during labor, among other interventions 


While there were at least six infant deaths in the hospital births, there were no infant deaths among the women who gave birth at home.

Mothers who had a planned home birth had far fewer severe tears or postpartum hemorrhage, and health problems for the mother was much lower among women who had home births. Home birth proved safer in almost every category measured.

Newborns born at home had fewer incidents of:

• Birth trauma
• Meconium aspiration
• Need for resuscitation at birth
• Need for oxygen therapy beyond 24 hours. 


However, they were at a slightly higher risk to be admitted to the hospital after birth. The researchers hypothesize this was for jaundice treatment, for which the newborns born in the hospital would simply stay longer.

This was a highly controlled study of all comparable births attended by the same group of midwives and comparable physician-attended hospital births.

Despite this study and dozens of other large studies showing home birth is safe, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) cites safety reasons for its continued opposition of home birth.

This Canadian study adds to the growing evidence that the widespread American bias against delivering babies at home is not guided by science but by politics, business interests, and misinformation.

http://mothering.com/canadian-homebirth-study

photo: http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:gD87BJ1d6eHOhM:http://www.attachmentscatalog.com/images/born_at_home_lavender.jpg

Infertility Stories: In the Know Short Film Winners

One in eight couples experience infertility issues, and they often feel isolated and alone on this challenging journey.


RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association, and the pharmaceutical company EMD Serono joined together to solicit film diaries from couples struggling to conceive.

The goal was to diminish the stigma attached to infertility and inspire hope and encouragement through shared stories.

The In The Know Short Film Competition call for entries was held earlier in the year, and here are the three families who sent the most compelling films:

www.fertilitylifelines.com/film/

Momversations: Depression

An honest conversation about a painful subject:

http://www.momversation.com/episodes/depression-hurts-overcoming-depression

New Study Ties Some Antibiotics to Birth Defects

The first large scale study looking at the use of antibiotics during pregnancy has found a "surprising" link between antibiotics prescribed for urinary tract infections and birth defects.

The findings indicate that "mothers of babies with birth defects were more likely than mothers with healthy babies to report taking two types of antibiotics during pregnancy: sulfa drugs (brand names include Thiosulfil Forte and Bactrim) and urinary germicides called nitrofurantoins (brand names include Furadantin and Macrobid)."

These antibiotics predate the FDA's current testing requirements and have been used for decades with no studies conducted on whether or not they are safe for moms-to-be. "The FDA now grades all drugs for safety to the fetus based on available research, but rigorous studies are so lacking in many cases, that no antibiotics get the highest grade of ''A.''

The challenge is that bacterial infections left untreated can affect the fetus so antibiotics should not be avoided altogether. Information gathering and conversation with health care providers is warranted on the mom-to-be's part.

The FDA has proposed changes to prescription drug labeling that would require more complete information for women of childbearing age, pregnant women and those who breastfeed.

The study appears in November's Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.

read the complete AP article here:

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/11/02/health/AP-US-MED-Antibiotics-Birth-Defects.html?em

There's a discussion thread on this topic over at Mothering.com
http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=66916