When I Talk About ...

When I talk about and encourage birthing at home, it is not because I am crazy or anti-hospital for those that need it. It is because too many women end up unnecessarily having to heal from a major incision (both cesarean and episiotomy) , and too many babies are put at risk by the drugs and intervention commonly used in the hospital. That is fact, not opinion. For low-risk women, more complications occur in the hospital than they do at home. That is fact, not opinion. The maternity ward is the only space in the hospital where healthy, strong people willingly go to complete a physiological event in their life … surrounded by the sick, wounded, and dying. For low-risk women, you and your baby are at higher risk of developing a life-threatening infection in the hospital, or suffer the consequences of a severe medical error, than you are of having a life-threatening complication that cannot be handled at home. A recent study in Emerging Infectious Diseases found that hospital-acquired infections are the sixth leading cause of death nationally . An average of 195,000 people in the USA died due to potentially preventable, in-hospital medical errors in each of the years 2000, 2001 and 2002, according to a study of 37 million patient records that was released by HealthGrades. At least 44,000 people, and perhaps as many as 98,000 people die in hospitals each year as a result of medical errors that could have been prevented. I talk about these things because women walk away from the often traumatic hospital birth believing that it was their body that failed them and their baby – and sometimes put their baby at risk – rather than the very practices that are common in the hospital. Nearly all of the complication-ridden, scary hospital birth stories that I hear of were avoidable. They included misinformation, or outright lies, by their care provider followed by intervention in the physiologic process. Their body never failed them or their baby. Their care provider and the medical system did.



When I talk about keeping your sons whole, it is not because I have never been in the position to believe this to be best. In fact, one of my sons is circumcised. I talk about it because no one did so when we were in that position. No one encouraged us to look into the research that shows the risks – not only of death, but of permanent injury and disfigurement. No one encouraged us to do some Biblical research to find that for Christians, not only is circumcision not required, it is spoken against by Paul. No one provoked the thought process of circumcision being a irreversible, permanent alteration of someone else's body … even though that body “belongs” to us, so to speak. I often hear people say that circumcision is a personal decision for each parent. The one thing that is lost in this is that the baby has no choice in something that is done, rather brutally, to his body. He has no power to say no. He will only have to live with the results (and possible complications) for the rest of his life. For some men, this includes sexual dysfunction. God created the foreskin for a reason. It is not without function, it is not without purpose.



When I talk about breastfeeding being one of the most important choices you can make for your baby, that is fact, not opinion. Breast milk is literally the only perfect substance for your baby for the first year of his life. Baby needs nothing else in that first year to grow, develop, and be happy. Breast milk is the only substance that a baby's digestive system can efficiently break down. Babies are literally hardwired to breastfeed. They know how to get to the breast without anyone putting them there. They know how to nurse without anyone showing them how. This is especially true when a mother has given her baby the gift of a physiologic birth – no drugs or interruption in the bonding process immediately following birth. When I talk about breastfeeding it is not because I am being judgmental of those women who don't, it is because every baby has a birthright to breastfeed, and many are deprived of this right. Breast milk is not only a complete nutrition, it also completes the baby's immune system with antibodies that will help shield baby from illness. It is a powerful healing agent – capable of wiping out eye infections, ear infections, diaper rash, and even acne. Breastfeeding your baby helps protect against SIDS, reduces the risk of childhood obesity, raises IQ levels, and increases both jaw and eye health. And let's face it ladies – we lactate for a reason. It is our God-given super ability. It should be used, if nothing else but for the health of our children.



When I talk about co-sleeping, it is not because I am afraid a predator will come and snatch away baby if he is in the other room. It is because studies have shown that co-sleeping (even if just in the same room) reduces the rates of SIDS, aids nighttime feedings, and makes baby feel more secure. A baby spends 10 months inside of his mother, listening to the beating of her heart, the sound of her breathing and her voice, and is comforted knowing that she is there. Imagine going from this place of comfort and security, to being isolated from the one being you trust to keep you safe. Here's where I get controversial : I find it cruel to put baby in another room. A baby should, at the very least, be allowed the security of being in the same room with mom and dad. Hearing the familiar sounds, and knowing that they are right there in case of need. The best advice that I can give new parents is to put the money into a savings account that they would have spent on a nursery. Baby doesn't need a nursery – baby needs you. They are very simple that way, it is us adults that make it much more complicated than it needs to be.



When I talk about baby wearing, it is not because I am a hippie – though I do not take offense to this. Ha! It is because baby feels the most safe and secure when in the arms of someone who loves him. Instead of being constantly buckled into a car seat, baby can be up on your chest, listening to you breathe, your heart beat, and your voice. As baby gets older, he can see everything that you see. He can be at eye-level with people, allowed to interact. Baby also stays content much longer through a shopping trip, walk, or even housework. It has also been shown that babies who are worn rather than placed in a seat have much fewer incidences of skull deformities. Some babies who are commonly placed in a seat end up needing to wear a corrective helmet due to the flattening of the back of the skull. I also cringe and feel twinges in my back and arms when I see moms toting around the heavy car seat with baby buckled in. With the right carrier, you won't feel pain, and baby will be content. It really is about making things easier for mom, and making baby feel the most loved and secure!



When I talk about any of these things, I am not being judgmental. Do I get sad when I think about what is done to babies unknowingly by well-meaning parents? Every day. It seems that parents do more research about the type of car seat, stroller, crib, and accessories to buy than they do about the things that matter most. I would love to see this change. I was once that mom, so I understand. It is easy to do, because these are the things that our society values. Research the “things”, hand the responsibility of childbirth and baby rearing to your Obstetrician and Pediatrician. Don't feel bad if you choose drugs, don't feel bad if you choose formula. Don't feel bad if you choose to place your baby in another room upon returning home from the hospital. Don't feel bad if you choose to displace your child's needs in order to maintain yours. Our society places very little importance on what is vital to health and happiness in the little beings that we are given responsibility of. It places more importance on the happiness of adults. It is no coincidence that the doctors who tell you that there is nothing wrong with choosing drugs in childbirth, are paid by the very pharmaceutical companies who supply them. It is no coincidence that the ads that tell you not to feel guilty about choosing not to breastfeed are funded by the mutli-billion dollar formula industry. Our society is not fueled by the importance of mother-baby bonding as it should be. And women fall prey to this – sometimes happily – every single day.



My question is, at what cost?

"I'm ALL about the drugs!"

Nothing causes me to have to pull together every single ounce of self-control, like this phrase when it comes to childbirth:

"I'm ALL about the drugs!"

I had a booth at a local fair here this past weekend. It was for my Midwifery services, and some slings and nursing covers ( which I'm not entirely for, lol ) that I've made. Several women walked by, and when they saw that it was for home birth, laughed and said "I think it's great. But I'm personally ALL about the drugs. ALL about the drugs!" I had to choke back the comments that wanted to pour out of my mouth. Such as, "Yeah, I used to be selfish too." and "Oh. Your poor baby isn't though, do you care about that?"

I really have a very hard time restraining myself from these things. And it seems so harsh, but this is really something I am passionate about, after knowing first hand what drugs and intervention can do. And half of me gets it - I was like that too. When I didn't know any better. But I can't avoid thinking of Noah lying sedated in a NICU bed, because of my poor choices, when I hear these women say this. Maybe they truly don't know what drugs do to babies. Mostly, as I've done some informal polls in many mommy-sites, just don't care. Their comfort is more important than the risks to baby. This is a TRAVESTY! When you know better, and you still put your baby at risk ... you can no longer claim ignorance.

My heart breaks for these women who don't know better, and for the babies that have no choice. And it KILLS me to hear women say "I just don't like pain". Life is painful. You get injured, you get sick, you go through pain in working out or training for a marathon. But you can't go through childbirth without numbing yourself from the chest down?

I just really wish more women knew that they are capable of going through childbirth without drugging themselves and their babies. I wish they knew of how empowering natural childbirth is, and how very rewarding it is to get that HUGE release of endorphins after birth when no drugs are involved. Really, they are robbing themselves of a life-changing experience, and putting their baby at risk at the same time.

Free in Southern Utah - Midwife Open House and Business of Being Born Screening

Meet the Midwife Open House and Film Screening!

Bring your girlfriends, neighbors, pregnant ( or hoping to be ) friends! Hope to see you there!

Christine Fiscer - Traditional Midwife
www.joyfulbirthservices.com
(Please excuse the kinks - still working some out )

I am a new Midwife to Utah, originally from California. I will be hosting an open house on Saturday, August 8th at 6pm. Business of Being Born showing at 7:30pm.


*Watch Ricki Lake's birth documentary - The Business of Being Born
*Free initial consultations
*Q&A about Home Birth, Waterbirth, VBAC, Twins
*Raffle for a handmade Mei Tai Baby Carrier

I am located in Hurricane, just 2 1/2 miles from I15 on State Route 9. Email JoyfulBirthServices@gmail.com, or call 435-216-5411 for additional information and directions. **Please RSVP if you plan on attending.**

It Only Takes One

To be honest, I’m not entirely sure why I am writing this. Therapeutic? Maybe. To possibly help some other woman along the way, somewhere? Maybe. But maybe I am doing this for my daughters. It terrifies me to think that unless our birth environment changes, that they will be faced with the same misinformation and fear in childbirth that I faced in the very start of my childbearing years. The very same that caused me to end up on an operating table, being cut open, having my son removed from my body. The faith in my body and the faith in my Maker were blacked out by one single, smooth talking authority figure. Who was I to question him? It only takes one sometimes. Even when you have one hundred telling you the truth…sometimes it only takes the one.

So this might be my way of being a “one”. Certainly not for every woman. I can be far too controversial for that. And not every woman wants change. Some women want to remain in the place that they are in, because it means that the responsibility lies on someone else’s shoulders. But if my passion, my heart, my advocacy changes things for even one woman, then I have done a good job. I always tell people that I am the furthest from a feminist that they will ever meet … except when it comes to childbirth. We NEED strong women to stand up against what is being done to other women, for what has been done to us. Our babies. Our bodies. We NEED strong women to make a change, now, so that our daughters don’t have to fight…and face losing as we did. This is OUR responsibility. Not just the outspoken advocates who have already been heard, and labeled an activist. It is OUR responsibility, the average woman’s, to fight against the damage being done to women as a whole. If we don’t, then our daughters face the same.

I hear from women all the time, “I know that a home birth is probably the best way to have a natural birth, but my husband would never go for it.” We place the responsibility on our husbands or partners for something that they will never physically experience. Our husbands do not feel what we feel during childbirth. The hard work, the pain, the joy, and the utter empowerment. They will never know what it feels like to constantly have their body violated by unwanted vaginal exams, or checkups done without prior permission. They will never know how it feels to have the baby that they just worked so hard for, taken away by a stranger with gloves on. They will never feel that pull. It’s not instinctual for them. Stress can completely interfere with labor, and this is a fact that many women do not know. I don’t think I can even count on one hand, the women that I have come across that actually knows what goes on inside of our body during labor. Why? Why is this not known? Why is it not known how routine practices in childbirth can damage the hormonal flow?
So far, I have never come across a woman who has been unable to labor effectively in their home. Some don’t understand why their labor at home was shorter than their labor in the hospital. This all points back to the beautifully choreographed dance of hormones in labor. But women are not educated about hormones. They are not educated about what goes on inside of their body, and inside of their baby, during labor and childbirth. Seldom do I come across a woman who knows WHY inductions are not good, and even more seldom do I find a woman who knows that when an induction “fails”, the body was doing its job beautifully – protecting the baby who is not ready to be born.

For most women, it is simple. She goes to her routine prenatal appointments, and doesn’t ask too many questions. After all, her doctor or midwife is a doctor or midwife, and knows what s/he is doing. She goes in for any and all tests and screenings that are recommended. As she gets to 36 weeks, she prepares for weekly vaginal exams to see what her body is doing, if anything. At 38/39 weeks, she is offered a membrane sweep, since her cervix doesn’t seem to be cooperating. And since she trusts her care provider fully, she does not question this, or ask about potential risks and side effects. She becomes discouraged that her cervix has not yet begun to dilate, and asks her care provider what will happen if she gets to the next appointment and has not yet had her baby. She does not do her own independent research, because after all, she is not the one with the medical degree. Her care provider discusses the possibility of induction, and tells her that she can then pick her baby’s birth date. No more waiting! No more discomfort of pregnancy! She can plan her baby’s birth date, and have her family in town to do so, if she wishes. And to the average woman, this sounds great. Why wouldn’t it? She has not been told any differently, and she has not researched her options. She has not researched each thing that has been done, and has not been able to give true informed consent for anything. Why?

With books like What To Expect When You’re Expecting, it walks her though all of what is mentioned above. Why would she think to ask questions? Her expert pregnancy book has groomed her for these appointments, and she has been expecting them for a while. Popular pregnancy sites like BabyCenter.com, and AmazingPregnancy.com, all include the same phrase ( possibly worded differently, but all meaning the same ) sprinkled through every article : “Depending on what your doctor decides is best…”. Where is the advice about researching every prenatal/labor/birth option thoroughly and make an informed decision? Where is the information that shows both sides of the coin on a wide variety of prenatal, labor, and birth topics? Where is the responsibility?

Some women say it lies with their care provider. The care provider says it lies within the patients.

If we do not have more women stand up and teach other women about taking responsibility in prenatal care, labor, and birth…then this cycle will continue. Ignorance in childbirth is one of the most dangerous kinds of ignorance. It’s a failed responsibility that every woman needs to take back, if not for themselves, for their daughters. Their friends. Their sisters. Regardless of who it is done for, it needs to be done. And it needs to be done soon.

When I began writing this, I wasn’t sure who I was writing this to or for. I am sure now. I am writing this as a call for advocacy and activism. This is a call for women to use their voices, their feet, their minds. This is a call for women to take responsibility for birth, and make a change. There are so many avenues by which to do this, one only needs to ask. One woman can write dozens of letters to hospital administrators, state legislators, the state medical board. One woman can wear advocacy t-shirts, and get noticed, answer questions. One woman can pass out flyers, or lend help to local birth change organizations. One woman can spill her heart out onto a page, and have hundreds of readers who might finally question the routine practices in childbirth. One woman can begin a fight for the babies who have no choice in what is done to them at birth.

And total change can start with just one. Total change can start with you.

OBs are Surgeons

One thing that I don't think a lot of women realize, is that OBs are trained surgeons. They are not trained in the art of natural childbirth, nor do they often know how to just let labor "be". I wonder, if things were worded differently, would the birthing climate change?

Instead of "My doctor delivered my son...."

• "I delivered my son...."

No one delivers your baby but you. I am always honest when I say that I have only ever delivered 2 babies. And I have three children. But one was a cesarean. *I* didn't deliver him, my OB did. And I have caught 2 babies as a midwife, but I certainly have never "delivered" anyone else's baby. Why give the credit to someone else for the hard and fulfilling work that you have done?

Instead of "Well, I am going to have this done because my doctor said....."

• "I am going/not going to have this done because I have researched this thoroughly..."

We cannot rely on what anyone else tells us about anything, without doing our own research. An OB on a OB/GYN forum once put the blame on inductions and elective c-sections on us women. And you know? He was 100% correct. He made the pefectly factual statement that most women research what car they're going to buy, more than they research childbirth or the procedures that are being done. How very true. How many women actually research the risks and side effects of inductions? Of labor drugs? Of having their water artificially broken? Of ANY of the things routinely done in childbirth that have no place in a natural process?

Instead of "My doctor said this baby is getting very big..."

• "I am going to eat healthy during my pregnancy, and I believe that God has given me the ability to birth whatever size baby grows in my womb."

There needs to be less fear surrounding childbirth. God designed the process so intricately. And we are supposed to have trust in every other area of our lives, but I hardly see this subject tackled without vehement accusations of "judgement" when it's brought up that God needs to be trusted in childbirth as well. That we shouldn't be going in to be induced when there's no reason, that we shouldn't be drugging ourselves and our babies for the most amazing experience that God designed us for. Why is there such a disconnect with Christian women and birth? We are entrusted with the life of another human being. We are supposed to do our very best from the moment of conception. This doesn't stop when we're in temporary pain. The wonderful thing is, God designed our bodies to release the *highest* amount of endorphins that our bodies will ever see at once, after natural childbirth. If you're induced, have pain meds or an epidural...the endorphins are blocked. What a shame that we don't get to fully bask in the glory of our baby's birth, just to escape temporary pain. God is awesome in His design.


So going back to it....

"You don't go to a Chinese Food Restaurant if You Don't Want Chinese Food!" ~ Nancy Wainer-Cohen.

You don't go to a surgeon if you don't want surgery. You don't go to a place for the ill and dying if you want to give life. The hospital is not for healthy people. The hospital is, again, for the sick and dying. Why would a perfectly healthy woman go to a place like that to deliver a perfectly healthy baby? Not always do both walk out in the same condition. Read this.

And what always makes me laugh....why do women go to male OBs? They will never know what it's like to give birth. They will never physically understand the physiological aspects of birth. The emotional aspects, or the psychological aspects. That would be like taking driving instructions from a mechanic who knew *everything* about the car, inside and out, but who had never driven before. Umm....

Women, unless changes are made NOW....birth will be the same or worse with our daughters. Why not open the path to them growing up knowing that birth is NORMAL, rather than a medical event? Why not teach them that they have been given an extremely honorable task and privilege by God in giving birth? It's a wonderful experience, and it far outweighs any labor pains.