Birth & Beginnings: childbirth conversations

Hello mothers and mothers-to-be! This blog focuses on pregnancy, childbirth, children, and parenting. Along with providing helpful information and resources, it is also a place to discuss choices and trends in these areas. The blog will inform and encourage mothers as we share and learn from each other. It is not a place to say that one opinion is better than another; instead it is a forum for camaraderie and for sharing personal experiences. So feel free to read, respond, and absorb information on a daily basis as together we traverse this world of motherhood.


Laura Tolman, CCE, LSP

Photographer

Laura Tolman is a local certified childbirth educator and labor support professional. She also works as a postpartum doula. She and her husband are long time Alaskans and are the parents and forming relationships with families while learning about other cultures. In her free time Laura enjoys writing freelance articles, poetry, and the performing arts. Her favorite pastime is being with family and coaxing uproarious laughter out of her young son.

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Archive

Getting From Here to There - 10/1/2008 9:14 pm

Birth on T.V. and in Movies - 9/27/2008 11:22 pm

Birth: the Play - 9/24/2008 6:54 pm

The Zombie Zone - 9/24/2008 4:43 pm

Birth Survey - 9/21/2008 9:17 pm

They are What We Eat - 9/16/2008 10:58 pm

Unwanted Advice - 9/9/2008 10:50 pm

Hello Baby, Goodbye Pregnancy - 9/2/2008 11:31 pm

Pre-natal Exercise - 8/22/2008 10:35 pm

No Fear - 8/17/2008 12:02 am

Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction (SPD) - 8/14/2008 10:20 pm

Connect With Moms - 8/7/2008 10:40 pm

The Chronic Whiner - 8/6/2008 10:55 pm

Last month of pregnancy - 8/1/2008 10:41 pm

Baby’s sleeping arrangements - 7/21/2008 11:02 pm

How many children? - 7/16/2008 11:38 pm

Go For the Full 40 - 7/11/2008 11:41 pm

Dream of Numbers - 7/7/2008 11:23 pm

Happy 4th of July - 7/4/2008 9:18 pm

Dealing with an Unexpected Birth Outcome - 7/1/2008 10:02 am

Another Breastfeeding Benefit - 6/25/2008 10:16 pm

Affirmations and Birth - 6/22/2008 10:53 pm

full archive »

American Pregnancy Association

Posted by mamas

Posted: March 30, 2008 - 9:32 pm

If you are pregnant or recently had a baby, you may want to visit the American Pregnancy Association for information and articles. They also provide a great checklist on what to take to the hospital when you go into labor.


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  1     April 9, 2008 - 11:01am | JEC

c-section rates

When I first heard about this blog, I was excited because I thought it might be a forum for important discussions about birth practices in our community and in our nation. However, I have been disappointed that it is not addressing the trend to medicalized birgh with numerous gratuitous interventions. When I saw the American Pregnancy Assoc. resource, I navigated to the place where it explains the causes of c-section: http://americanpregnancy.org/labornbirth/reasonsforacesarean.html. As you can see, it only discusses physiological indications and ignores the other reasons why this rate is rapidly increasing, without the subsequent benefits of decreasing infant or maternal deaths. The rapidly increasing c-section rate is not merely the consequence of physiological conditions but is part of a cultural trend as well. I highly recommend Childbirth Connections article that asks the question of why the c-section rate is going up. Women who want to be informed before birth need these kinds of resources: http://www.childbirthconnection.org/article.asp?ck=10456

I would encourage this blog to provide more resources that encourage women to think critically about the choices they face ahead and to draw upon more evidence-based assessments of healthy, natural birthing practices. The Listening to Mothers survey from Childbirth Connections is also very helpful, and their web site provides a great deal of empirical research. To date, this blog seems to be supporting the status quo, and I don't think 1 out of 3 of your readers really wants major surgery when 5-10% tend to be what is medically indicated, according to the WHO. Beyond that number, the intervention tends to do more harm than good.

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  April 9, 2008 - 11:19pm | mamas

Thanks

Thank you for the opinions. I don't know if you have read the C-section chatter on the first blog post "what would you like?", but we did talk about some of these matters and the readership does have differing opinions. When a reference site is posted, it does not mean that I fully agree or endorse everything on that site, simply that some of the information will be useful to some pregnant women such as the “what to take with me” checklist mentioned in the post.

I strongly encourage women to get involved in the research process necessary when making decisions. In my opinion, simply telling someone how to think is not going to change their mind, but providing them information and getting them involved in the process will help them to make healthy choices and yes, to think critically about decisions. Thank you for the links to childbirthconnection. I agree with the fact that the highly medicalized system that we are in causes C-sections to be the most common surgery in our midst, most of which are unnecessary. Also, the rise in c-sections is now being linked to the fact that the rate in the U.S. of women dying from childbirth complications is going up as well. I have discussed that one intervention leads to another before and will continue to bring up this important information.

This blog is meant to be primarily conversational in tone, but also to hear and respond to the opinions of others. Although we haven't come back around to C-sections since the first blog, we will definitely bring it up again. There are many subjects that we haven’t touched on yet and will in the future so thanks for the input and feedback.

-- Laura Tolman

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  April 9, 2008 - 4:17pm | akvbacmom

I agree JEC

you read my mind. Women really need to be informed about their options, not just told to ask your doctor. In this age of C.Y.A. obstetrics, that just doesn't fly anymore.

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