August 2011
75 posts
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am i surprised that there are only a few (white) midwifes/doulas left who i can actually deal with, who have not betrayed me on their way to becoming relevant?
nope.
im still glad that i went through the process of trying them out. one by one. cause finding the real versus the fake is worth the fucking heartache.
outlaw midwives is not a lifestyle choice. it is a fight for our lives.
and...
Pregnant and on the Job | zinelibrary.info →
Your Legal Rights Pregnant and on the job is a working mamma’s guide to law; it outlines you basic legal rights and projects during and after pregnancy.
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poemsofthedead-deactivated20120 asked: I overheard a disconcerting convo yesterday btween 2 strangers in the store. 1st woman: "When are you having your baby?" 2nd woman: "Tomorrow" 1st woman: "Oh yeah? My mom is having hers tomorrow too!" So... uh... wth? Is induction becoming the norm or something? Everybody is *scheduling* their births???
Birth Peeps with Pam England: January 2011 →
Diethylstilbestrol (DES) is a synthetic estrogen that was first manufactured in 1938. The prevailing theory at the time was that miscarriages and premature births occurred because women did not produce enough natural estrogen. So, in the name of prevention, between 1938-1971, doctors prescribed DES to an estimated 5 to 10 million pregnant women—and their unborn children—to prevent...
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Plan on circumcising your child with a penis? →
iwillnotshavemyvagina:
Here are some facts regarding circumcision that most parents are unaware of, and some websites and many physicians fail to mention. We thought you should know them.
About 117 infants-with-penis die each year in the United States as a result of their circumcision, most from infections or blood loss.
The current U.S. circumcision rate is steadily declining. In 2010 it...
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Early cord clamping - Why it shouldn't be done
Question : I am researching early vs. late umbilical cord clamping. What is your opinion on the issue? Any suggestions on more resources?
Michel Odent: Clamping the cord before the delivery of the placenta is to interfere with the physiological processes.
Having been in charge of more than 10,000 'non-managed third stages' of labour in the French state hospital of Pithiviers. I cannot see any reason to interfere with the exchanges of blood between the newborn baby and the placenta. We must keep in mind that it is between the birth of the baby and the delivery of the placenta that a woman has the capacity to release the highest possible peak of the hormone oxytocin. The release of oxytocin is always highly dependent on environmental factors. The main condition, in the particular case of the third stage of labour, is that the mother has nothing else to do than to look at the baby's eyes and to feel the contact with the baby's skin...in complete privacy, without any distraction. Clamping the cord or trying to detect the time when the cord stops pulsating are powerful distractions that 'brings back to our planet' a woman who had 'forgotten the rest of the world'.
Needless to recall that this peak of oxytocin is necessary for a safe delivery of the placenta and that this hormone has well-documented behavioural effects (it is the main 'hormone of love').
Dr. Michel Odent - Notes on Birthing
seaoftinyflames asked: whats your take on 'childbirth education', how do you approach this with pregnant folks as a midwife?
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feathers & glowsticks: midwifery licensure →
feathersandglowsticks:
A midwifery license is a piece of paper. It’s an electronic file on a goverment owned computer. It is not:
A guarantee that your midwife is “safe” or experienced.
Protection against something going wrong at your birth.
Something that will stop your baby from dying.
Mandatory licensure is:
A way criminalize many indigenous, granny, and traditional midwives.
A good way...
Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme: Maintaining... →
cant afford the abortion or the kid « guerrilla... →
just got this comment on my wp blog…i am going to do more research on it…but what an exciting possibility… thank you divine oubliette…
Herbal Birth Control in the form of Rosemary served me well for YEARS! Rosemary grows in my garden and strong infusions taken 4 times a day from ovulation to menstruation will PREVENT a fertilized egg from attaching to the uterine...
Do Vaginal Exams Have to Be Part of a Homebirth? →
And along those same lines is my developing ability to not just “walk with” but be with these mamas in labor. It is a subtle difference that I am eager to develop and use even further. I have certainly studied how labor looks, feels and sounds from the outside, and that is a definite help in minimizing or avoiding the need for vaginal exams. But more importantly is the spiritual connection...
Do You “Trust Birth”? →
What is reality and what we should be advocating trust in is this. The inner voice that we all have. Not “birth”, not even blind trust in our bodies or our babies. Yes, these things all work well most of the time but there is no perfect birth system. If we educate and empower women, if we support them to make decisions in love and not fear, then they will be able to accept whatever the...
Homebirth Lessons of the Month →
When a woman trusts her body, all else pales in comparison.
Yeah, this goes without saying. But in the realm of homebirth, I get to witness this firsthand. Her trust in her body doesn’t mean that things work out perfectly; it means that she hears what her body is saying, what her baby is saying and does not question it. When a woman is in tune this way, it makes any “monitoring” I could...
Homebirth Lessons of the Month →
It’s about having patience. See, outside of the birth world, I don’t think I have much patience at all. And I admit, I can be tempted to think of all the ways to speed up a labor too when I’m exhausted and needing to nurse my own baby and miss my kids, etc. I realize that even at homebirths, there are a lot of “natural tools” used to speed things up. And I realize how I am really against all...
“To massage therapists, or other body workers, this concept is nothing new. As a...”
– The Best Tools a Midwife Could Ask For
hands.
The group beta strep bacteria lives in the gut of many healthy people. It is not an STD. The bacteria, when “normally” colonized is not a problem, and there are plenty of people walking around with it that have no symptoms and never feel the worse for it. The problem comes in, according to some, when a pregnant woman is over-colonized with this bacteria, especially at the end of her...
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impressions of heart and hands
heart and hands: a midwife’s guide to pregnancy and birth by elizabeth davis. 4th edition
okay. so i am reading through heart and hands…there is a lot in here that i like, but right now i just want to note some things that irritate me…
random thoughts:
—wow. she is really all about sticking your hands up a woman’s vagina for a whole host of reasons. just wow.
...
“What I am vexed with is the idea that, by having an abortion, a woman is somehow...”
– How To Be a Woman, Caitlin Moran
This is quite simply one of the single most honest, touching and convincing pro-choice arguments I have ever read.
(via petitefeministe)
although i take issue with her last sentence - in an earlier era, or a different country - when good amount of people in the us...
Sterilization of Women of Color: Does “Unforced”... →
latinosexuality:
foxxyleopatra:
U.S. women of color have historically been the victims of forced sterilization. Some women were sterilized during Cesarean sections and never told; others were threatened with termination of welfare benefits or denial of medical care if they didn’t “consent” to the procedure; others received unnecessary hysterectomies at teaching hospitals as practice for...
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guerrilla mama medicine: midwives →
guerrillamamamedicine:
I saw a line on your post on facebook,and mistook it for learning or teaching midwife,I’m currently in training,and I gotta say going to the birth of a child whose life is in your hands,It really scares the shit out of me,but after the birth. The new life,another example of mother earth at work….
Q: Various studies have concluded that babies fed “non-human milk” have a higher incidence of respiratory disease, including pneumonia and bronchitis, diarrhea and other digestive illnesses, ear infections (up to four times more), urinary tract infections, meningitis and sudden death syndrome. One study says that during a baby’s first three months, exclusive formula feeding increases infant...
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“Let me tell you some things.
I used to investigate child abuse and neglect. I...”
– STFU, Conservatives: When I say I’m pro-life…
This is perfect.
(via mis-anthrop-ologie)
And I mean, I believe in stuff like this.
(via freudianflips)
Well, this made me tear up this morning.
(via tastiejam)
Realest thing to ever grace my dash
(via southerntellect)
guerrilla mama medicine: hi,i just want to... →
guerrillamamamedicine:
hi,
i just want to acknowledge that a lot of the stuff i reblog and post is really cis-centric. it is. not only women have periods, get pregnant, have abortions, give birth, breast feed, etc. men do. genderqueer do. lots of folks do.
but you are probably going to see a lot of the stuff on here…
“Slow progress in labor is associated with fetal and maternal morbidity, and...”
– Pitocin Shortens Labor But Doesn’t Reduce Interventions - NYTimes.com
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How do I become an abortion doula? « Radical Doula →
black women birthing resistance →
guerrillamamamedicine:
Our Vision is to resist and transform a historical and contemporary legacy of trauma and violence of socially and state controlled birthing. Our Mission is to document, honor and sustain the role of Black women, families and our traditions of birthing as legacies of survival and resistance against the attempted genocide of our communities. We will gather birth stories...
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i am a person!: birthing babies while brown and... →
chelseaelsea:
last night as i was falling asleep, some thoughts occurred to me.
i was reading a bit of the book the new jim crow and at one point in the book the author talks about absent fathers. she talks about how the media and politicians bring up absent black fathers and how these men need to stand up and take responsibility for their families. she goes on to talk about how these...
Ondaadiziike. The Ojibwe phrase for giving birth. When I was writing this article, I was hoping to combine ondaadiziike with the Ojibwe words for safety and comfort. I was surprised that the dictionaries I consulted didn’t include these words. So I was left with just ondaadiziike. No safety, no comfort to accompany it. This is reflective of modern birth culture in Native American communities, I...
Greetings Beloved Community,
In the spirit of unity, we write to you as we move forward on our journey to Birth Justice. With you, our beloved community, we have marched for justice in Atlanta, Detroit, Oakland and many other cities, fought for midwifery care in Miami, facilitated childbirth preparation circles, developed a framework for Birth Justice, and attended the births of some of your...
Birth Justice is…
a mother’s right to ensure the well being of herself and her baby; it intersects with all aspects of our lives – social, political, economic, spiritual and emotional. When mothers are empowered, a community is transformed. If we bring… our babies into the world with justice, in the natural way, without anyone telling us how to do it, then it nurtures our innate...
Birthing Justice: Black Women and the Politics of Childbirth
Edited by Julia C. Oparah, Nonkululeko Tyehemba
A project of Black Women Birthing Justice
Women in Africa and the African diaspora have rich traditions of midwifery and “motherwit”, rooted in the Southern states of the U.S., and in Africa and the Caribbean, that have empowered many thousands of women to give birth naturally...
on doulahood
okay so quixotess has me all thinking about being a doula. so i woke up today with these randomish thoughts on the brain….
—when i first decided to become a doula. was one those aha! moments. i was preggers and looking for a childbirth education class. the recommendation from my midwife was this lil collective called mama luna doulas, which were basically two women who were...
getting used « guerrilla mama medicine →
getting used
December 12th, 2009
i keep starting new posts and then putting them in saved. so i am going to try to finish some of them… i have been thinking alot about this since i read it a few weeks ago:
Doulas, whether they like it or not, are being USED by the medical establishment. They are being used to keep the laboring woman under control. Even though WE feel we are helping women, the...
what possessed me to read about the north carolina...
dopegirlfresh:
i feel like i’m slowly going to be enveloped by a huge, all encompassing fucking rage that leads me to rain fire on innocent lives
like
what the FUCK?
(do not click that link unless you can cope with some serious medical violence)
you can cut our wombs up and make us responsible for wet nursing your babies at the same time? WORD?
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Latino Sexuality: Postpartum Depression Clinic The... →
latinosexuality:
Maria Bruno knew something was really wrong when she put her newborn son, Nicolas, down for a nap and then was too afraid to pick him up.
“I was experiencing anger and rage, and I had suicidal thoughts,” she says.
In her desperation, she called her midwife and said, “‘I don’t know what’s…