Filed under: baby care | Tags: baby in nature, baby's development, compassionate intelligence, mothering, parenting
by Diane GordonHow important is it for children to be exposed to nature? “Essential,” says Joann Lundgren, a long-time volunteer with the Foundation for Global
Community. “The earlier children connect with the natural world, the better for them and for society as a whole”
A parent, grandparent, former teacher and school principal, Lundgren heads a team from the Foundation which offers a course for parents and
teachers titled “Children and Nature.” Explains Lundgren: “Allowing the young child to experience the natural world is not just a nice thing to do.
It is vital. Children have a basic need to establish a deep emotional connection to the natural world. Until our society recognizes and finds a way
to honor this need, the future of our culture-and indeed, the future of all life-is endangered. Children who are denied the opportunity to bond with
the Earth are also denied the opportunity to develop a moral compass.
“It is this kind of profound bonding, first with the family and then with the Earth, that ensures that the child by age fourteen will have established a
foundation for compassionate intelligence-an intelligence that has the well-being of all life as its guiding principle. It is our job as adults to ensure
that our children develop that bond.”
One of Lundgren’s inspirations to create the course came from the writings of The Magical Child. The word
“matrix” is the Latin word for womb or origins and is defined as “that within which something originates, forms, or develops.” In Pearce’s model
each matrix provides a safe secure environment, a source of learning. The first transition from the womb and into a new matrix happens at birth,
which is where the Children and Nature course begins.
Photo by Etolene
Filed under: breastfeeding | Tags: benefits of breastfeeding, breastfeeding, colostrum, healthy baby, prevent breast cancer, weightloss after birth, weightloss after pregnancy
What are some of the scientifically recognized benefits of breastfeeding?
1. Breastmilk has biological specificity. No two mothers make the same milk. Your milk is custom designed for your baby. The specific need for human babies is for brain growth. God designed human milk to contain nutrients that promote brain growth. Breastfed infants score an average of 8.3 points higher on IQ tests administered at age seven to 8.5; the studies show that the more human breastmilk they received, the higher the IQ.
2. Human breastmilk is designed so that the baby’s body can totally utilize it – little is wasted. Contrast the bowel movements of breastfed and formula-fed infants. Formula- fed infants expel more smelly, solid waste. Their bodies are not able to fully utilize all the ingredients of the formula.
3. Protection against disease. Breastmilk contains white blood cells which destroy harmful bacteria in the baby’s intestines, and antibodies which kill germs and increase the baby’s immunity. Colostrum, the first milk your baby receives, contains the highest levels of these protectants.
4. Colostrum protects the baby’s immature digestive tract. When a baby is born, his digestive tract is sterile. It contains no bacteria at all, and the walls of the intestines let virtually anything through into the bloodstream. This condition sets the child up for potential allergies, because foreign substances which pass into the bloodstream get targeted by the immune system, and the infant’s body begins to manufacture antibodies against that substance. In other words, many of the ingredients in infant formula which are not present in breastmilk pass directly into the baby’s blood stream and cause him to produce antibodies. Whenever those substances are introduced into his body again, he will develop an allergic reaction based upon the antibodies in his blood. Colostrum coats the lining of the intestines, which helps prevent foreign substances from passing through the intestinal walls into the blood stream.
5. Women who breastfeed have a lower incidence of breast cancer.
6. Breastfeeding helps Mom get back in shape after pregnancy. Part of the fat layer which pregnant women put on is specifically for the purpose of supporting lactation after pregnancy. If you don’t breastfeed, that fat doesn’t come off as easily.
7. Breastfeeding releases the hormone prolactin into the mother’s system, which is a natural relaxant.
8. Breastmilk contains epidermal growth factors (EGF) which enhance the growth of these cells in the lining of the intestinal tract.
9. Breastfed babies are well-disciplined. According to Dr. William Sears (1993), Pediatrician and attachment parenting expert, “A baby who is on the receiving end of nature’s best nurturing learns trust, and the right feeling that goes with it. The mutual sensitivity that both members of the breastfeeding pair have for each other helps both behave better.”
10. Breastfeeding encourages proper facial and dental development.
11. Mother’s milk contains beta-lactose, which favors the growth of acidophilus and bifidus bacteria, break down carbohydrates, inhibit growth of yeast, help form natural antibiotics and anti-carcinogins, and produce some of the B vitamins. Cow’s milk (and cow’s milk formulas), contain alpha-lactose, which does not promote these beneficial effects.
12. Because breastmilk is so easily digested, breastfed babies wake up more frequently at night. This frequent night waking is extremely beneficial for both health reasons and developmental reasons. Babies wake up because they are easily aroused from light sleep. This light sleep state makes it easier to communicate their survival needs. When baby needs to eat, needs warmth, or needs you to remove breathing obstructions, he will be able to easily wake up and let you know something is wrong. Also, babies’ brains grow rapidly during the first year of life. During light sleep states, babies’ higher brain functions remain “turned on” whereas during deep sleep they are switched off and only the lower brain functions remain in operation. The more time a baby spends in light sleep, the better the brain development of higher brain functions should be. When babies spend more time in light sleep, or REM, they are also more likely to awaken frequently. When babies are formula-fed, this alters their sleep behavior so that they do not spend as much time in light sleep.
13. Breastfeeding is easier than bottle-feeding: no water to boil, no bottles to sterilize, no formula to buy, no warming before baby can drink it, no refrigeration required, no need to listen to baby cry while bottle is prepared, no chance that it will be too hot.
There is no human formula that will ever be made that is as healthy as breastmilk. There is no way of feeding a baby which promotes attachment as well.
Many people cannot understand this statement. They say, “I don’t know why you say that bottle-feeding isn’t as good as breastfeeding. The baby doesn’t know the difference. He only knows he was hungry, and now he’s full. Even though he doesn’t know the difference between formula and breastmilk, he knows that Mom met his needs. That’s all that matters. He’s still being held, still being touched, still looking into the eyes of the person who’s feeding him. The bottle doesn’t really make that much difference.”
I’m sorry, but I can’t agree with any of the above statements. First of all, babies definitely know the difference between breastmilk and formula. They smell differently, taste differently, and babies feel differently after drinking them. Babies who are formula-fed have more digestive upsets, more constipation, and more ear infections and allergies. Breastfed babies definitely have more of a feeling of well-being simply because they don’t have these digestive upsets.
Secondly, there is a whole sensory experience that goes along with breastfeeding which is lacking in the bottle-feeding experience. Babies who breastfeed are skin-to-skin with their mothers, and there are many benefits of skin-to-skin contact and which are desperately needed. It is a fact that breastfed babies spend more time in mothers’ arms. How often have I seen babies lying in cribs or infant carriers with bottles propped up on pillows so Mom could do something else while baby eats. Because breastfed babies are held more, they get more eye contact. When a mother breastfeeds, this is a deeply intimate experience. She drinks in her baby with her eyes as the baby drinks in her milk. There is a connection there, as if they are one. There is a distance between the bottle-fed baby and the mother, one that can’t be avoided. When I have shown pictures of nursing mothers and bottle-feeding mothers to people and asked them which mother “looks” more nurturing, the majority identify the nursing mother. When asked why, they say things like, “She’s caressing her child while she feeds it,” “She is cradling the child in a caring way,” “The child seems to be part of her,” and “There is a contentment on both their faces.” Bottle-feeding mothers hold their babies differently. The baby lies on the mother’s lap with more space between them and in a more open position. Baby is able to flail his arms and legs around more in space, and the experience is one of separateness from the one feeding him. The breastfed baby is often held in such a way that his body is wrapped around his mother’s body, and pressed tightly or firmly against it. His experience is one of closeness, of being part of a whole. It is often difficult for adults to understand how these subtle differences can be important. To the infant, every physical experience has an emotional experience attached to it. Though these experiences may seem insignificant to us, they hold deep meaning for the infant, and if repeated frequently, constitute a kind of conditioning which form the infant’s beliefs about himself and those who care for him.
Sometimes mothers will say to me, “Well, I’m going to bottle-feed my baby, but I’m going to do all the things that breastfeeding mothers do. I’m going to hold the baby close, look into his eyes, caress him, and then it will be the same.” If you’re going to do all that, why not just breastfeed? Why this resistance to the actual act of doing it? Why try to camouflage bottle-feeding and dress it up to look like breastfeeding? Why not just do the real thing?
Just because there are other options today does not mean that they are best. I hope that you will consider the benefits of breastfeeding and make the choice to give your child the very best.
Judie C. Rall and The Center for Unhindered Living
Photo by ibu Menyusui
Filed under: labour | Tags: benefits of labour, bonding, function of labor, Ina May Gaskin, labour, oxycotin, prolactin, unmedicayed labour
Ina may Gaskin on “why is labour important?”
Labor is important, because during labor, both the mother’s and the baby’s body is prepared for birth. The levels of certain hormones rise and ebb during labor. For instance, the mother’s oxytocin levels rise markedly just before the baby is pushed out of her body. This protects her against postpartum hemorrhage. High oxytocin levels in the mother (which are accompanied by higher levels in the baby, too) prepare the nervous systems of both to be attuned to each other. This creates a special “sensitive” period during which these special hormones remain at high levels in undisturbed birth, and this period is best spent by mother and baby in skin-to-skin contact with each other as the baby begins to nuzzle and nick the mother’s breast or the two just look into each other’s eyes and adore each other. The euphoria that follows an unmedicated labor is a very special time for anyone who is privileged to witness it. It’s even better for those who get to experience it.
When the mother experiences labor, she also has higher levels than usual of beta endorphin. This hormone then triggers another hormone, prolactin, which prompts her body to get ready for milk production at the same time that it prepares the baby’s lungs for more efficient breathing.
Labor also gives the baby’s torso a good squeeze, which helps to dry out the lungs and make them ready for breathing air in the outside world. Cesarean-born babies typically have wetter lungs, which can mean a higher rate of needing breathing assistance at birth.
Photo by Ian
Filed under: pregnancy | Tags: baby emotions, feelings of fetus, life in the womb, pregnancy info, prenatal parenting
Q. When does a baby’s brain develop, and do we have to wait for this development before trying to communicate with our baby?
Around the third week after conception, a folding maneuver creates the neural tube from which the brain and spinal cord develop. If all goes well, a rapid, richly choreographed set of movements will put all the basic parts of the brain in place by eight weeks. These will not be replaced. From this foundation, brain parts will send out branches and establish billions of connections necessary for the perfect coordination of the entire nervous system. This process will continue for years after birth. Amazingly, the brain, like the heart, remains active during its own construction. Various experiences the brain has during this period including encounters with food, drink, medicine, games, accidents, and nicotine–will actually determine its final size and organization. Therefore, it is best to assume the brain is already working and to love your baby and communicate with it without any waiting period.
Q. Can our baby feel pain or become emotionally upset in the womb?
Medical specialists and psychologists never thought this would be possible even for a newborn baby, but research now confirms that even babies born very prematurely express a gamut of emotions, and, without doubt, can experience excruciating pain. Ultrasound observations of behavior in utero, especially among twins, reveal a spectrum of emotions including anger, fear, and affection. Babies appear to react to needles that intrude into the womb with a mixture of shock, withdrawal, and aggression. Studies of pregnant mothers watching upsetting videos suggest that babies can become upset along with their mothers. Several studies have revealed that babies tend to become depressed when their pregnant mothers are depressed, an effect which begins in the womb and has been measured after birth.
Photo by Mark Von Minden
Filed under: postpartum care | Tags: baby bath, bathing after birth, herbal bath, postpartum, postpartum bath, postpartum herbs
- 1 C Sea salt
- Lavender flowers
- Myrrh
- 1 Ounce of uva ursi
- 1-2 Ounces of organic comfrey leaf and root
- 1/2-1 Ounce of shepherd’s purse
Boil large pot of water. Add herbs, and simmer 30 minutes to an hour. Strain. Add sea salt Notes: sea salt– antiseptic. Uva ursi — healing for female organs. Comfrey — soothing and is said to aid healing by causing the edges of wounds to grow together. Shepherd’s purse, — preventing and controlling heavy bleeding.
Filed under: pregnancy | Tags: embryo's perception, lullaby from the womb, natural pregnancy blog, pregnancy, sound in the womb
The sound environment of the womb is very rich. There are various interpretations as to the noise level, ranging between 30 to 96 dB. (decibel being a measure of sound intensity or loudness). A whisper can register 30 dB., a normal conversation is about 60 dB. and rush hour traffic can average about 70 dB. On the other hand, shouted conversations and motorcycles reach about 100 dB. Rock music has been measured as 115 dB. and the pain threshold begins at 125 dB. Yet, recent research with hydrophones have revealed that the womb is a “relatively quiet place” (Deliege & Sloboda, 1996), something comparable to what we experience in our environment between 50 and 60 dB.
Uterine sounds form a “sound carpet” over which the mother’s voice in particular appears very distinct and which the prenate gives special attention because it is so different from its own amniotic environment. These sounds are of major importance because they establishes the first patterns of communication and bonding. Some researchers have discovered that newborns become calmer and more self-regulated when exposed to intrauterine sound (Murooka et. al 1976; DeCasper 1983; Rossner 1979).
The soothing sounds of the ocean and water are probably reminiscent of the fluid environment in which we began life. Tomatis suggests that the maternal heart beat, respiration and intestinal gurgling, all form the source for our collective attraction to the sound of surf and may have to do with our inborn sense of rhythm. Prenatal sounds form an important developmental component in prenatal life because they provide a foundation for later learning and behavior. With fetal sound stimulation the brain functions at a higher level of organization.
The ear first appears in the 3rd week of gestation and it becomes functional by the 16th week. The fetus begins active listening by the 24th week. We know from ultrasound observations that the fetus hears and responds to a sound pulse starting about 16 weeks of age (Shahidullah & Hepper, 1992); this is even before the ear construction is complete. The cochlear structures of the ear appear to function by the 20th week and mature synapses have been found between the 24th and 28th weeks (Pujol et al. 1991). For this reason most formal programs of prenatal stimulation are usually designed to begin during the third trimester. The sense of hearing is probably the most developed of all the senses before birth.
Four-month-old fetuses can respond in very specific ways to sound; if exposed to loud music, and their heart beat will accelerate. A Japanese study of pregnant women living near the Osaka airport had smaller babies and an inflated incidence of prematurity-arguably related to the environment of incessant loud noise. Chronic noise can also be associated with birth defects (Szmeja et al. 1979). I recently received a report from a mother who was in her 7th month of pregnancy when she visited the zoo. In the lion’s enclosure, the animals were in process of being fed. The roar of one lion would set off another lion and the sound was so intense she had to leave the scene as the fetus reacted with a strong kick and left her feeling ill. Many years later, when the child was 7 years of age, it was found that he had a hearing deficiency in the lower-middle range. This child also reacts with fear when viewing TV programs of lions and related animals. There are numerous reports about mothers having to leave war movies and concerts because the auditory stimulus caused the fetus to become hyperactive.
Alfred Tomatis notes that the ear is “the Rome of the body” because almost all cranial nerves lead to it and therefore it is considered our most primary sense organ. Embryonically, according to him, the skin is differentiated ear, and we listen with our whole body.
Filed under: birthstories | Tags: birth stories, birth story, homebirth, natural childbirth blog, sharing birth story, water birth, waterbirth, waterbirth blog, waterbirth story
A proud mom describes her water birth:
Hello, everyone! Well, I did it!
Christian Spencer Taylor was born at 12:53 a.m. on Tuesday, March 30, 1999. He was born at home with just a few hard pushes and one big pull — a whopping 10 pounds 2 oz!! And no tears. Isn’t God good?
I will write as much as I can while he hangs out here on my shoulder sleeping. (He thinks he has to nurse constantly. I mean hours in a row!)
Ah he is awake again. I’ll try to type anyway; forgive the typos!
I saw the midwife Monday morning and she said I was ready — 100% effaced and 2 cm dilated. She gave the cervix some encouragement, pushing the bag of waters away from the edge all the way around and actually stretching the cervix to 3 or 4 cm. She sent me home and said “It’ll be tonight.” A 7 or 7.5 pounder she though. Boy, did we have her fooled!
Mild contractions started about 2 p.m. My mom and I went out to eat and ran errands. I called the midwife when I got home, and called my husband Derek. Everything was casual for a few hours. I could eat or drink whatever I wanted — a nice change from hospital routine! But I DO NOT recommend Krystals! They taste so bad later…..
At one point I felt really private and just went in the other end of the house and cried. I felt briefly that I couldn’t make it, didn’t want to do this, etc. Then I realized I was shaking and knew it was just a phase of the delivery. Hard contractions started at 10 pm. I stayed vertical in between contractions, and during I assumed whatever position struck me — sometimes squatting, leaning over the bed, on the toilet, hands on knees or just leaning on Derek. MW kept reminding to relax, let the baby press down, not tighten my buttocks.
At about 7 cm, I got in the tub. WOW, what a relief! Any part of my body that was under the water felt great. The only “pain” was in the top of my belly where the water wasn’t deep enough. Derek took a big plastic cup and poured water over my belly so it would feel good, too. The contractions were INTENSE, overpowering, huge, and frightening. But they did not “hurt.” I found that by controlling my breathing and movements, I felt like I was riding on top of them instead of being ridden over. With each contraction I spread my legs wide to welcome it, envisioned the cervix spreading, and breathed “hoo hoo hoo” at first fast and then slower, in rhythm with the contractions, and Derek’s water pouring, and it was all like a strange dance that everyone could feel the beat to.
I know these descriptions sound strange — they always did to me when I read them but now I know what they mean! There is a birth rhythm, something good and strong and intense but it isn’t PAIN unless we perceive it that way. I had to experiment to find what that rythmn was, which sounds made me feel the best, which movements, etc. I was in control and I felt good. It wasn’t long before I was completely dilated. I pushed for just 12 minutes. His head emerged slowly; I felt the “ring of fire” but not as intensely as I had in my previous births. I saw it in the mirror and realized he was HUGE! Suddenly the MW said “Get her out!” Everyone grabbed my arms and pulled me straight up out of the water. I didn’t know why, and was terrified something must be wrong. She said “hands and knees” and when I was on the floor on my hands on knees on some towels, she just pulled him out me, really fast. It felt like my insides were coming out, but it happened so quick, and then he was on the floor between my legs, kicking his feet and screaming. (His shoulders had been stuck, she later explained, and this position rotated him so that she could get him out and
breathing quickly.)
Derek was crying. I was in awe of the whole experience, and couldn’t believe how quickly it was over. The baby was wrapped in towels and I held him against me.
Unfortunately, I retained the placenta and ended up going to the hospital for a D & C. This was unpleasant, but it would have happened no matter where the baby had been born. (In fact, I had the same problem in my last birth, but it was manually retrieved w/o the D & C.)
So here I am with my little fat baby in my arms 
The homebirth experience was GREAT. It was so nice to eat and drink and be cared for by my husband, my parents and my wonderful midwife & assistant. It was wonderful being in my own home. Every time I go to the bathroom, I see the place where he was born and I am just filled with awe. Above all, I feel really strong and brave and well, a little cocky. A 10 lb baby! I don’t know anyone who has done THAT! Especially without drugs, doctors, C-sections or even an episiotomy! Not even a tear, and I feel great! I told Derek “I feel like a REAL WOMAN.”
As for the water birth question, you will LOVE it — I will never birth on land again! LOL. I always thought it sounded goofy, but it was GREAT. We live in a strange society when something so simple and basic seems “unnatural” to us, but it seems “natural” that women BEG for 2-inch needles in their spine!
gentlebirth.org
Photo by Melting Mama
Filed under: herbal remedies, pregnancy | Tags: herbs during pregnancy, herbs to avoid during pregnanacy, prevent miscarrage
Remember that herbs can have powerful effects on you and your unborn child. Just because an herb is “natural” does not mean it is SAFE! Some herbs can be very helpful to you but others should be avoided.
Avoid the following herbs during pregnancy:
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Borderline Herbs:
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Filed under: postpartum care | Tags: episiotomy, herbal remedy, postpartum, postpartum care, sheperd's purse, stop bleeding after birth, tearing, umbilical cord
Under no circumstances should the umbilical cord be cut until it has stopped pulsing. Babies whose cords are cut immediately have a tendency to become jaundiced or anemic because they did not receive all the blood from the cord and placenta that they needed.
Some mothers prefer not to cut the umbilical cord at all to separate it from the placenta. After the placenta is expelled, it remains attached until the cord falls off naturally at 5 to 7 days after birth. This is called lotus birth. Mothers who use lotus birth believe that the drying up and falling off of the cord is part of the natural process of birth that they do not want to interfere with. The typical procedure is to rub the placenta with salt and rosemary, store the placenta in some kind of carrier, a small bag of some kind, and it remains attached to the baby until it falls off. The placenta is then disposed of in a variety of ways. Some parents keep the placenta and bury it underneath a young tree planted in honor of the new child. Some parents cook the placenta and eat it as a way of strengthening the new mother physically and symbolically. If you are giving birth in the hospital, you will not be allowed to keep your placenta.
In the hospital, the normal amount of time that is allotted for expulsion of the placenta is 30 minutes. During home births, the time is much more flexible. I have known of women whose placentas were expelled anywhere from one hour after birth to 2 days after birth with no ill effects. There is no reason to necessarily rush the placenta. However, if the placenta is not expelled within the first couple of hours, I would periodically check the mother’s temperature to make sure there is no infection setting in. It would also be a good idea to take 250 mg of vitamin C every hour until the placenta is delivered. This helps to prevent infection.
After the placenta comes out, it will be inspected to make sure all the pieces were expelled. It is a symmetrical piece of material, and all the lobes should match up. If a lobe is missing, a piece of placenta may still be inside the uterus. In the hospital, the doctor will probably administer a shot of pitocin or methergine to cause the uterus to contract and hopefully expel and loose pieces of placenta. If this does not occur, the doctor will go in manually and explore the uterus to find the missing piece of placenta. Home birthers have found that if a piece of placenta is not expelled on the first day, if will often be expelled within the next couple of days as the uterus begins to return to its normals size.
If bleeding continues to be heavy, the herb Shepherd’s Purse is often given in tincture form, and is usually very successful at stopping bleeding. Also, the Homemade Cayenne Tincture, 15 to 20 dropperfuls squirted into the vagina, will stop bleeding in seconds. In the hospital, your uterus will be massaged manually and another shot of pitocin and methergine will be given. However, home birthers have found Shepherd’s Purse to be quite effective. You should also use Positive Belief Suggestions to suggest to yourself that the bleeding should begin to lessen.
If you gave birth in the hospital and you have any tears, they will be repaired surgically. If you had an episiotomy, a surgical procedure to widen the birth canal, this will also be repaired. You would not have had an episiotomy without first having a shot of local anesthesia into the tissues. Or if you had an epidural during your birth, you would not have felt the episiotomy, or the repairs. At home, any minor tears can be repaired with superglue until the tissues grow together. Women with extremely small tears should stay in bed and lie as much as possible with their legs together, and usually any small nicks or tears will heal without any repairs.
Many doctors prefer episiotomy to letting the tissues tear naturally. They feel that a cut heals better than a tear. However, there are no studies or clinical evidence that this is true. In fact, there have been no studies done which show episiotomy to be of benefit at all during birth, yet it is a routine practice. If you are remaining upright during your labor and delivery, you will not need one, and you will probably not tear either.
Judie C. Rall and The Center for Unhindered Living
Photo by Chris and Jennie
Filed under: baby care, birth | Tags: apgar scoring system, baby care, birthing, natural birth, newborn assessment
Immediately after the baby is born, the baby will be tested using the APGAR scoring system if it is born in the hospital. If the baby is born at home, it is a good idea to perform this assessment yourself to see help you evaluate how the baby is doing. The APGAR test is performed at 1 minute and 5 minutes after birth. Ideally, the scores should improve during the four minutes that elapse between the two tests. A score of 10 is considered a perfect score. The infant is tested on five different indicators of the well-being, and receives a score of 0, 1 or 2. The items tested are:
| Sign | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Heart Rate | Absent | Slow | Over 100 |
| Respiratory Effect | Absent | Slow, Irregular | Good, Strong |
| Muscle Tone | Limp | Some Flexion of Extremities | Active Motion |
| Reflex Irritability (response to bulb syringe or lips being touched) |
No Response | Grimace | Cough or sneeze (or strong grimace) |
| Color | Blue, Pale | Body Pink, Exremeties Blue |
Completely Pink |
A score of 8-10 is excellent, 4-7 is guarded, 0-3 is critical. This lets you know how the baby is doing and if he/she is going to need extra assistance.
The baby should be offered the breast immediately because the sucking stimulates the uterus to contract, expel the placenta, and clamp down to reduce blood flow. If the infant does not want to nurse right away, there is no rush to do anything else unless there is hemorrhaging taking place.
Under no circumstances should the umbilical cord be cut until it has stopped pulsing. Babies whose cords are cut immediately have a tendency to become jaundiced or anemic because they did not receive all the blood from the cord and placenta that they needed.
Judie C. Rall and The Center for Unhindered Living
Photo by Barb
Filed under: birth, labour | Tags: contractions, empowered birthing, how to push, labour, natural childbirth blog, natural delivery, pushing the baby out, when to push
Releasing Your Baby From Your Body
Once you are dilated to ten centimeters, and perhaps even before ten centimeters, your body may begin involuntary pushing efforts. Some women never get this urge to push at all. Whether you do or don’t, it is NOT necessary to add your own pushing efforts to that of your body. By staying totally relaxed and upright, the combination of gravity and the contractions of your uterus can birth the baby.
Women who have heart conditions are not allowed to push to birth their babies because of the strain this puts on their hearts. Yet, their bodies still birth their babies without help.
As the baby makes its way down the birth canal, this is a very intense time. Many women find that they have very primal feelings. They feel the need to make vocalizations, and some even report feeling like wild animals trying to get free. At this point, the intensity of the contractions is calling the shots. The intensity dictates your position, your breathing, everything.
As the baby’s head nears the opening of the birth canal, the perineal tissues will start to bulge. If you have remained upright and allowed gravity to bring the baby down and fan the tissues out naturally, there is very little chance you will tear. However, some women prefer to massage the tissues with oil and warm the tissues with warm, wet washcloths. A good way to keep these hand is to have two crock pots – a small potpourri size pot for the oil and a large one for water and washcloths so they can be ready any time needed. Both should be set on low.
The perineal area is the area below the vaginal opening and above the anus. As this tissue starts to bulge, the birth partner can, at the request of the woman, support the tissue with firm pressure from a hand covered with a warm washcloth. The warmth usually feels very comforting. Pressure against those tissues as the head is emerging can often prevent tearing and can guide the head gently out. However, if you have remained upright, and are giving birth in an upright position, you will probably not have a need for support and there is little chance you will tear. Birthing in the squatting position gives the baby the maximum amount of room available. The position also maximizes the pressure of the diaphragm on the top of the uterus so that the baby is literally propelled down the birth canal without extra pushing. The position pulls the tailbone out of the way so that there is no obstruction of the birth canal. The position normally provides 2 to 3 extra centimeters, which is more than enough room to birth any baby. A standing supported squat also will allow the baby’s head to fan out the birthing tissues so that there is no tearing.
As the head emerges, the perineal tissues will be stretched around the largest diameter of the baby’s head. At this point, some women experience a burning sensation that has been termed the “Ring of Fire.” This burning sensation is only momentary and passes as soon as the baby’s head moves past this point and the vaginal opening closes around the baby’s neck. Once the head is out, the body should be born within the next couple of contractions.
Once the head is out, the baby’s body must rotate so that the shoulder is released from under the pubic bone. Once the shoulder is released, the whole body is immediately born.
I encourage the birthing woman to be the one to catch her own baby. Once the head is out, the woman can reach down and guide the baby out as the body is release from the birth canal. If she does not feel able, the birth partner can be the one to “catch” the baby. As soon as the baby is out, he/she should be handed directly to the mother. If the baby does not take a breath immediately, the mother should stroke the baby, rub his/her back, speak softly and gently to him/her, and soon the baby should begin to breath and his/her color should pink up.
Babies born to mothers who have remained upright throughout their labors rarely need to have nose or mouth suctioned because the fact that they have been head down the whole time means mucous has been draining from the nose and mouth throughout the entire delivery. As the baby descends through the birth canal, his chest and lungs are tightly squeezed so that any fluid or mucous is naturally expelled.
Judie C. Rall and The Center for Unhindered Living
Filed under: birthstories | Tags: birtstory, empowered childbirth, healing birth, healing birth experience, homebirth, intimate bierth, natural childbirth, natural childbirth blog, rape and birth, survivor mom
Empoweredchildbirth
“Having been raped at 17, I knew that I needed my birth experience to NOT resemble rape in anyway. And to me Rape is being in a vulnerable position with a man that you do not trust or know, touching you in places you would rather not be touched telling you what to do, against your better judgement, and feeling like your not in control. For ME that meant staying as far away from the hospital as possible, where all the potential birth rapists convene.
I knew before I even experienced birth that I would be in the most uncontrollable, vulnerable situation in my life, and I not only wanted, but I NEEDED it to be a good experience, with the only person in my life I trust implicitly, my husband John. If it was not, or had not been the birth it was, I fear what my mental state would have been afterwards. I feel it would have been like being raped all over again, and being the basket case again, I was for 9 years in silence before I started to even admit to anther human that the rape had happened.
I can’t imagine not having UnaBirthed my daughter, my first child, Anjohli. I knew from long before she was ever conceived that gentle was the way to go, and that only I and John would be able to fully understand the process of MY birth, and what I and the baby needed, emotionally, as we had confidence that the physical just happens without needing to be guided.
Seeing that John and I are so close in our relationship and love for each other we feel each others pain and pleasure without the other one expressing it, I knew that the birth of out child HAD to be a good experience for all three of us. It was OUR inner wisdom that allowed us to have the best birthing attendants available to us for our Unabirth, us alone, sharing an intimate moment, trusting each others actions, without question.
There is something so feminine in giving birth that for me was enhanced tenfold by just being in the moment of the waves of the contractions pushing our baby out into the world, feeling the overwhelming urge to push and following my husbands directions without questioning his authority or knowledge.
Birthing his child into his hands, I, at that very moment trusted him so implicitly. I was probably the most vulnerable I have ever been in our relationship, and I didn’t shy away from it. I accepted it and embraced it, for the first time in my life, I just wholly trusted another human being. The first time since I was a small, innocent, newborn infant myself, before I had lost the automatic trust in my care givers. Before they had given me just cause to not ever trust another human being, which was reinforced at 17 years old.
Trusting completely was amazing. It was healing. Birthing my daughter was primal. I was woman, he was man, we were doing without words what women for thousands of years before me had done, yet it felt so much like I was the first woman to ever birth. There were no worries about shaved legs, or looking decent or worried about how I looked in the moments of strong contractions or worrying about my woman’s rights in our male society. There was no worry about what kind of sign it sent to my husband and the world that I was giving in to my husband’s directions and commands. No thoughts about the fight for power or to be leader in our relationship that happens on occasion. No fight over whose job was what. We were just doing.
We were two, and in love, with complete trust, we became three.”
By Ril G.
Photo by Glenn Bruynooghe
Filed under: waterbirth | Tags: birth in water, birth story, natural childbirth blog, waterbirth, waterbirth story
“Raiden Gregory was born at home on September 11, 2006.
It was the day before the 5-year anniversary of the 9-11 terrorist attacks. I was only one day past my due date but very uncomfortable with the summer heat. I was lying in bed getting very emotional watching all the TV movies of the attacks. I started feeling uncomfortable and kinda crampy and realized that I was probably going to have a Sept. 11Th baby. I made myself see it as though I was bringing new life in on day when it needed it most.
Sure enough I went into labor at about 4am, just as i had done with my daughter 3 years before. I spent my entire labor with my daughter in the tub but with this one I waited til much labor. That is the nice thing about the tub. It is there whenever you decide to get it and ready and warm. My labor had stalled out for a while due to stress and my midwife asked everyone to leave. within the hour my contractions picked back up again and I told my husband to call the midwife. He looked at me with such calmness and said we could handle it for a while longer. He was so calm. He was so intuitive. He knew when my contractions were coming even when I was too zoned out to pick up on the signs. he would pull me into a standing position and we would just rock back and forth. He added some nice counter pressure on my lower back as the contraction built. He was so great.
Finally they got close enough together that I knew it was time to call her. She came right over and checked me and I was 7cm. I got in the tub, and just as I had done with my daughter, I went from 7cm to 10cm and pushing within minutes. Not that we had checked again, but my contractions turned into pushing without me even trying to. I had straddled over my husband in the tub and he continued to push on my back as I pushed out our baby boy. He was hoping to catch this time as well, but reducing his wife’s pain was more important. our midwife gentle caught our baby and handed him to my husband underwater and let my husband bring him to surface. We soaked in that tub for nearly 20 minutes comfortably before we cut the cord and moved to the bed. How nice to be at home in your own family bed only minutes after giving birth.
Filed under: empowered childbirth | Tags: best birth, birth blog, birthing from within, holistic pregnancy, intuitive birthing, pregnancy blog, safe birth, safe birthing, safe childbirth
Many women who give birth in hospitals or with doctors and midwives in attendance rely upon the information obtained from technology, or from the experience of these so-called “experts” to guide them in how to safely give birth. No machine, such as an electronic fetal monitor, and no person other than the birthing woman can really know what is right for that woman.
Only by looking within herself and consulting her inner wisdom through intuitive insight can the woman know what is right to do in her particular situation. Sometimes, she may sit down, close her eyes, and actually seek this insight in order to solve a perceived problem in the birth. But most likely, as the following birth story will depict, that which must be done is instictively or intuitively made clear to the mother at a time of emergency, without her actively seeking such information.
The reason that hospital birth, or any birth attended by a doctor or midwife is inherently dangerous, is that it causes the woman to not trust or listen to what her body is telling her to do, and it causes her to listen to others and accept their assessment of her situation when there is no possible way they could know what is best. By doing this, many complications often occur. The medical establishment tries to convince us that only through medical tests or the experience of professionals can a mother really have a safe birth….but it is reliance upon those very experiences which can actually cause complications.
Your body knows what to do….if you will trust this process, and not try to second guess what your body is telling you, just trust it, you will avoid complications the majority of the time. When someone suggests a procedure to you, or a particular course of action, and it doesn’t feel right to you, makes you afraid or causes you to feel unsettled, your intuitive wisdom is telling you it’s not right…..
Listening to your body can help you deal with situations in a home birth which are considered “complications” by the medical establishment. We just call them “variations of normal.” Your body can deal with these spontaneous occurrences very well if you let it.
Judie C. Rall and The Center for Unhindered Living
Photo by Ben McLeod
Filed under: birth | Tags: baby, birth, labour, natural birth, natural childbirth blog, what birth is like
1. Cervix softens and ripens.
2. Light contractions cause the cervix to open up and thin out.
3. Baby’s head exerts pressure on cervix, speeding up dilation.
4. When cervix is fully dilated, there may be a resting period.
5. When contractions begin again, baby starts down the birth canal.
6. Baby rotates as it navigates through the bony structure of the pelvis.
7. With each contraction, the baby will advance down the birth canal, and slide back up a little after the end of the contraction.
8. The head crowns. As it emerges, the vaginal opening will be stretched around the largest diameter of the baby’s head. This sensation has been called by some the “ring of fire.”
9. After the head is born, the shoulders must rotate and slip from underneath the pelvic bone. After this occurs, the rest of the body is born immediately.
10. The baby should be then handed to Mom and allowed to nurse if he or she desires. Nursing helps the uterus to clamp down and stop bleeding, and expels the placenta
11. The umbilical cord should not be cut until it stops pulsating, as the baby needs all the extra blood he or she can get. There is no need to cut the cord all until the placenta arrives.
12. The baby should stay in skin-to-skin contact with Mom to help regulate his or her body temperature. This works better than putting them in a warmer.
Judie C. Rall The Center for Unhindered Living
Photo by Justin Henry
Filed under: birth, breech (posterior baby) | Tags: back labor, breech, breech birth, breech delivery, communicating with the baby, kicking baby, posterior baby, transverse baby, trust in birth, yurning posterior baby
from the women whose children are “rescued” from her womb by a surgeon? OK, there are two things…
P.S. If you feel your baby is crying for help, get help. Being empowered isn’t about doing it yourself, it’s about making the best choices we can with the information we have.
Filed under: homebirth | Tags: attacment parenting, birth interventions, hospital birth vs natural childbirth, mothring, safe birth
Contrary to popular belief hospitals are not the safest place for babies to be born. The mortality rate of babies born at home is half that of hospital born babies.
95% of births can be done outside the hospital, intervention does cause problems. Society is bombarded with scare tactics making these mom’s believe that hospitals are safe. Actually these hospitals and their interventions may cause the problems in the first place.
Baby will not be born before he is ready, baby knows when it is time to come into this world.
Birth is safe and shouldn’t be treated as a medical procedure.
Hospitals carry many germs that your home does not.
Hospitals and technology have been known to slow a laboring women down, which in turn may cause medication to be administered to quicken the process.
You will push when you feel the urge, not when told.
The placenta will not be pushed out of you, when you feel the sensation you will do so on your own.
You will be able to experiment through labor with different positions in order to make yourself more comfortable. most women find that lying on your back is the worst, as in most hospitals)
You will also be able to birth your baby in any position you feel is comfortable.
You are in control.
Your baby will not be separated from you at any time, you will have the chance to bond without interference.
Your baby will be born in an environment filled with love, sensitivity. There will be no scrubbing, poking, probing, suctioning, drops in the eyes or any other types of violations.
Baby will feel secure.
This is our birth, the event will have profound effects upon us, we will be able to enjoy this in peace!
Photo by Kristin Hayes
